3 Essentials Every Event Marketer Should Be Measuring
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Event marketers should prioritize metrics that reflect the customer experience rather than solely focusing on ROI statistics, as understanding the customer's needs and perspectives is crucial for successful events. Customer Experience Management (CXM) entails optimizing every interaction a customer has with a brand, influencing loyalty and satisfaction. By implementing strategies to gather feedback and address customer pain points, marketers can create more meaningful and enjoyable experiences that resonate with attendees.
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• I need to meet an engineer from [company].
• I need to get certified on [system].
• I need to connect with my peers in the industry.
• I need to compare [x company]’s solutions to [y company]’s.
• I need to make connections that build my customer base.
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3 Essentials Every Event Marketer Should Be Measuring
- 1. 3 ESSENTIALS EVERY EVENT MARKETER SHOULD BE MEASURING Metrics through a Customer Experience Lens Pat McClellan | Chief Strategy Officer | Opus Agency | 14Q4 1
- 2. Okay, kudos to the event marketing industry because we’re all talking about metrics. Many are actually going beyond the talk and implementing robust metrics strategies. ROI Everybody is seeking the holy grail: It’s critically important. 2
- 3. PROVEN ROI SUCCESS Since 1876, this bottle design was a proven success. Filling the bottles is the epitome of industrial efficiency. All the ROI metrics are great—as long as your objective is getting ketchup into the bottle. 3
- 4. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE But customers want to get ketchup out of the bottle, and everybody knows what that experience is like. Shake and shake the ketchup bottle. None will come, then a lottle. Richard Willard Armour 4
- 5. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DESIGN (2006) Why did it take 130 years for somebody to think about the customer experience? Because the metrics they were focused on proved they were doing a good job. We need to flip our thinking on metrics, putting the customer first. 5
- 6. A recent survey from the Event Marketing Institute asked event professionals about ROI metrics. Nearly 50 separate metrics were included, all seeking to quantify various aspects of return on investment. With so much focus on ROI, it’s vital that we don’t overlook the whole reason we’re doing events. THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. 6
- 7. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT CXM—it’s a thing. It used to be called CEM, but Forrester started calling it CXM, and that seems to have stuck. To be clear, we’re not talking about customer service, or customer satisfaction, or how we love our customers and they love us. It’s much bigger than that. TechTarget defines it this way: Customer experience management is the collection of processes a company uses to track, oversee and organize every interaction between a customer and the organization throughout the customer lifecycle. The goal of CXM is to optimize interactions from the customer’s perspective and, as a result, foster customer loyalty. http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/definition/customer-experience-management 7
- 8. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT Dozens of business books and websites explore every nuance of CX, and the CXO — Chief Experience Officer — is the hottest new position in executive suites across nearly every industry vertical. Companies as diverse as Dunkin Brands, Philips Electronics, and FedEx have not only employed some version of a CXO, they have empowered that person with helping to drive growth. Jonathan Maziarz “The Rise of the Customer Experience Officer” The CMO Site http://www.thecmosite.com/ 8
- 9. Sources of dominance 1900-1960 1960-1990 1990-2010 2010-? Successful companies Age of manufacturing Mass manufacturing boosts industrial powerhouses. Ford, RCA, GE, Boeing, P&G, Sony Walmart, Toyota, UPS, CSX Microsoft, Google, Dell, Capital One Southwest Airlines, Amazon, USAA, ... Age of distribution Global connections make distribution key. Age of information Connected PCs benefit those who control information. Age of the customer Empowered buyers demand a customer focus. In their book Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business, Manning and Bodine show that we’ve moved beyond the Information Age into an era focused on the customer. And really, isn’t that where we should have been focused all along? “Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business” by Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine (New Harvest, 2012) 9
- 10. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT CXM is a big deal because companies have figured out that Customer Experience is the essence of brand—more than your logo or tagline, and even more than your product or service. It’s the experience of every touchpoint in the customer journey, from advertising, marketing and the sales process, through purchase, training, product usage and customer support. CX Journey Mapping Process Create Initial Map Evaluate Explore Design New Brainstorm Experience Persona, Brand Attributes, Key Trends Behavior Line On Stage Experience Back Stage Support RESERVATION SYSTEM Evaluate Attitudes Prioritize Focus “Moment that Matters” Determine Impact Readout “We focused here, because…” Oracle . CX Journey Mapping Workshop . designingcx.com Clarify Needs & Drivers Examine Capabilities (Roles & Processes) Desired Transformation INCREASE REFERAL RATE Build CX Design Canvas Brainstorm Innovation Reality Check Meaningful emotional Redesign Experience Build CX Hypothesis Attitudes & Emotions Desirable Feasibl Viable e Useable effortless Useful functional 10
- 11. And guess who owns some of the most immersive and powerful touchpoints in the whole Customer Experience landscape? Event Marketers. As Head of Customer Engagement at NetApp, Tanya Andrade is on the front lines of the company’s renowned Customer Experience culture—“a focus,” says Andrade, “that customers cite as the biggest competitive differentiator for NetApp.” “We see events in the context of the whole customer experience spectrum. The customer or prospect might be in ‘our home’—our event or Briefing Center—for up to three days. We have to make them feel welcome and cared for.” 11
- 12. All effective measurement programs model the relationships between customer experience quality, the factors that drive it, and business results. “Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business” by Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine (New Harvest, 2012) See what we did there? Turns out that Customer Experience is the driver that leads to what we wanted all along. CXM ‣ ROI 12
- 13. THE CX PYRAMID At its core, CXM looks at every customer-brand touchpoint and tests three simple requirements. “I felt good about that.” “I didn’t have to work hard.” “I accomplished my goal.” The Customer Experience Pyramid Manning. “Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business” by Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine (New Harvest, 2012) 13
- 14. Follow CX Tweeter @cxtweeter All right, @ACME, thanks for the snazzy invite and low-stress registration—C U at #ACMEworld! #Stoked #Vegas #Keynotes&Keno 51 RETWEETS WERE THE CUSTOMER’S NEEDS MET? That’s the foundation of the CX Pyramid and for good reason: If you’re not meeting your customers’ needs, you won’t have any customers. In the event marketing space, this question has traditionally led us to measure easily quantifiable things like attendance stats, badge scans at the expo, speaker ratings, demos delivered, meetings scheduled, etc. These are all proxy metrics where we assume that if we get butts in seats, we’ve met their needs. But aren’t most of these our needs? Like the ketchup bottle example, we’re measuring the efficiency of things going into the event. What is your process for understanding your customer’s needs? What do they want to get from attending? 14
- 15. Kim Kopetz, Director of Customer Experience at Intel Corporation, calls this idea “ROA” (Return on Attendance). “It’s the simple recognition that your attendees have lots of brands vying for their attention and engagement, so brands need to be thinking more about what the attendees are getting out of being at your event—from their perspective.” Kim suggests a pre-event survey of registered attendees that simply asks what they hope to get from attending. Post-event, you can survey those same attendees on your success at meeting those objectives. 15
- 16. CX Tweeter @cxtweeter I need to figure out if we can do this project with what I already bought from you. CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS SOUND LIKE THIS I need to discover new vendors and resources that will save me money. I need to be more valuable to my boss. I need to understand the big picture. Follow 1 day in and #ACMEworld is rad! Great training breakouts and a killer #keynote. Ready to go enterprise w/ the @ACME platform! 65 RETWEETS • I need to meet an engineer from [company]. • I need to get certified on [system]. • I need to connect with my peers in the industry. • I need to compare [x company]’s solutions to [y company]’s. • I need to make connections that build my customer base. 16
- 17. Follow CX Tweeter @cxtweeter Day 2 at #ACMEworld in sunny #LasVegas. Today’s mission: I need to renew my certification on the @ACME platform! #NewSkills #JobSecurity 51 RETWEETS And those are just the big picture needs. You’ll want to understand t he customers’ needs at every touchpoint along the way. It’s a daunting task, but well worth the effort. You’ll likely find some surprises that will force you to rethink and innovate. And your metrics for Customer Needs Met will evolve as well. • I need to register for the conference from my phone. • I need a translator for the website. • I need to understand which sessions to attend. • I need to be invoiced for the registration fee. • I need to figure out where to pick up my badge. • I need to find the session I’m supposed to be in. • I need to learn how to… • I need to get the slides from the breakout session. • I need, I need, I need… 17
- 18. MEASURING CUSTOMER’S NEEDS MET • Does your event have a “HELP Button”—a clear path for attendees who have an issue? This will provide you vital input from customers whose needs were not met. Be prepared to act on that input. • Shift your metrics focus to the customer’s perspective. There’s nothing wrong with “success metrics”, as long as you’re talking about your attendees’ success. What is their Return on Attendance? • Do a quick survey at pre-event registration to understand exactly what attendees want to get from attending, preferably in their own words. • Find metrics that indicate areas for improvement. For example, let’s look at online event registration. Typical metrics show your success in getting people registered for the event. But how are you accounting for those people who didn’t register because their needs weren’t met? -- Analyze how many people came to the website multiple times but didn’t register. -- Measure how many people started the reg process but didn’t complete it. Follow up with them to understand why. -- Look at how many registered but left their profiles or agendas incomplete. -- Track average time required to register and plan the agenda, then analyze outliers that could indicate problems with language, platform or usability. -- Track how many people are unable to get a session they wanted (or are wait-listed.) • These are metrics that can reveal gaps in the quality of your customer experience. • Establish benchmarks and goals for the quality of each experience, and aim for continuous improvement. 18
- 19. Ariel Kelman is VP of Worldwide Marketing for Amazon Web Services. With AWS events focused on IT and developer audiences, Kelman says attendees aren’t interested in glitzy branding and a sales pitch. “Customers expect to have more and more advanced content. And they want to hear from our other customers and our partners. That’s more important than having AWS in front of them every minute. “Our event metrics ask if the technical depth of our content met attendees’ expectations, and we ask them to rate individual components. We take in that data and use it to refine our content and delivery.” 19
- 20. When NetApp welcomes guests into their briefing centers, the process starts before the visit with an account call, where the customer’s needs and objectives are clearly articulated. During the visit, a Briefing Program Facilitator joins the group and acts as the customer’s advocate—assuring that the engagement stays focused on their needs. The process concludes with a post-visit account team debriefing. This approach is a microcosm of NetApp’s broader Customer Listening program, run by the company’s Customer Success team. You can probably tell from the names of its programs and teams that NetApp is very serious about putting the customer first. 20
- 21. Follow CX Tweeter @cxtweeter @ACME certification done, I’m fried and so is my iPhone battery. Couldn’t find breakout session…or my badge. #ExpoFatigue #INeedADrink 55 RETWEETS The next important layer of the CX Pyramid asks a simple question of every customer touchpoint: Was it Easy? How much effort did the customer have to expend to get their needs met? “I felt good about that.” “I didn’t have to work hard.” “I accomplished my goal.” 21
- 22. CX Tweeter @cxtweeter The Effortless Ease of doing business is a major focus for us because customer expectations are becoming increasingly sophisticated—they expect the ease of Google-like search and self-help options that are relevant at every touchpoint. Kim Kopetz, Director of Customer Experience, Intel Corporation Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty by Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman, and Rick DeLisi. Penguin Group US. Follow Drinks help, but @ACME wins the day for replying to last tweet. Badge replaced and free phone charger hooked up! #EasyPeezy #Swag 40 RETWEETS WAS IT EASY? This is perhaps the biggest gap in event marketing metrics, and the biggest opportunity to differentiate a truly great experience. As the authors of “The Effortless Experience” explain, surprisingly, true loyalty is not about delivering delight; it’s about simply meeting customers’ needs and making it effortless. “While most companies have for decades been pouring time, energy, and resources into the singular pursuit of creating and replicating the delightful experience for their customers, they’ve ironically missed the very thing customers are actually looking for… the effortless experience.” 22
- 23. It might seem to you that we’re expending most of our focus measuring negative things — customer pain points — and you would be right. You probably already have a good handle on the success metrics. The key insight here is that there’s more impact on loyalty and incremental ROI in eliminating negatives than in augmenting the positives. Good planning: Strong coffee just when I need it. Ready to hit 3rd and final day of #ACMEworld hard! #FinishStrong CX Tweeter @cxtweeter 51 RETWEETS Follow “By focusing on the sources of customer effort, we can eliminate the bad interactions… Instead of getting customers to say, ‘You exceeded my expectations,’ we really ought to be trying to get customers to say, ‘You made that easy.’” The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty by Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman, and Rick DeLisi. Penguin Group US. 23
- 24. Holy sensory overload, Batman! There’s no more chaotic, draining place on Earth than an expo floor. #ACMEworld #WhereAmI? #Whatsmynameagain? CX Tweeter @cxtweeter 51 RETWEETS Follow In the event marketing space, making the experience easy starts by understanding customer pain points. • Difficult and time consuming registration, agenda planning, badging, logistics planning • Navigating onsite, lodging and transportation, downloading and using the mobile app, connecting with people, dealing with crowds • Standing in line, waiting for anything • Access to executives • Access to food and drink, wifi, charging stations, a place to sit and talk 24
- 25. The Ten Principles Behind Great Customer Experiences by Matt Watkinson (Financial Times Series) Pearson Education Limited. To prevent or mitigate these pain points, consider the general concepts shared in Matt Watkinson’s book The Ten Principles Behind Great Customer Experiences. Meanwhile, my event app crashed and I can’t RSVP to tonight’s #networking event. Boo! #ACMEworld #KindaOverIt CX Tweeter @cxtweeter 51 RETWEETS Follow • Less, but better • Prioritize • Limit choices to a manageable number • Reduce time on task • Reduce wait times • Reduce the possibility for error • Use convenient channels • Be in the right place, at the right time • Speak the customer’s language Since premiering in a 2005 Superbowl ad, the Staples “easy button” has created brand differentiation for a retailer selling commodity office supplies. What is it about the concept that is so appealing? Simple. We all want one! Push the button and things become easy. There are big gains in customer loyalty going to those companies who can make it easy. Responding to popular demand, Staples started selling “easy button” toys in October 2005, with proceeds going to their charitable foundation. We already asked if your event has a HELP Button. Perhaps it needs a virtual easy button as well. How could you implement this concept? 25
- 26. MEASURING EASY Design key performance indicators (KPIs) into your processes so that you anticipate and manage those things that define “easy.” Create a dashboard that tracks things like: • Average time to register online and check-in onsite • Average wait time outside breakout sessions • Average wait time to get food/coffee • Number of people and time spent trying to get into a session they want • Number of customer issues and resolution times • Resolution success rates by type of issue Again, establish benchmarks and goals and manage for continuous improvement. Measuring something like “easy” can seem abstract, so let’s look to the customer for clarity. For every customer experience, we have to understand how the customers define “easy.” Here are some synonyms that may work, depending on the experience: • Fast or timely • Short wait time (or better, no waiting) • Simple • Intuitive • Highly-visible • Clearly-articulated • In the right language • Well-documented 26
- 27. IS IT ENJOYABLE? Capping off the CX Pyramid is our most subjective metric yet. Remember, we’re not just talking about the overall experience of the event, but rather, each and every touchpoint. For touchpoints like the Keynote Session, the Party, or the Training Labs, figuring out what’s enjoyable isn’t too hard. But what about Registration and Check-in, the Shuttle from the Airport, Navigating the Expo Floor, and the inevitable Waiting in Line for Food? These customer experiences challenge us to apply innovation and creative resources to the most mundane aspects of our events. Again, we need to start by playing defense, with focus on mitigating the common buzz-kills: boredom, wasting time, repetition, de-personalization, confusion, disconnection, low battery, hunger and thirst, lack of information. But don’t stop there; how can you make standing in line enjoyable? “I felt good about that.” “I didn’t have to work hard.” “I accomplished my goal.” CX Tweeter @cxtweeter Yes… food, drink, Wi-Fi and phone chargers fall squarely into the “meets needs” section, but they’re also prerequisites to any level of enjoyment! 27 Follow Event app back up, RSVP sent, today’s sessions running on time, hot food hot & cold food cold. #BackOnTrack #SmoothSailing #ItsTheLittleThings 51 RETWEETS
- 28. 25 Minute Wait From This Point Look to the geniuses at Walt Disney Imagineering who create the theme park attractions. They refer to lines as the “pre-show,” and not in an ironic way—they have Creative Directors responsible for designing this pre-show experience. You probably don’t have Disney’s budget for designing your “pre-show,” but here are some key concepts to consider: • Give attendees a sense of control by keeping them informed and managing their expectations. (The posted wait time is always a bit longer than the actual wait.) • Indulge the senses with imagery, media and Wi-Fi connection. (This is especially important in the sensory desert of a convention center hallway!) • Control the flow of people and ideas—use this captive audience time for promoting other sessions and sharing brand messaging (but make sure it’s not a short loop or the repetition will be tedious). • Give them a reason to interact with others and something to think about, like a competitive trivia game that builds anticipation for the “show” to come. • Have your “characters” work the line. It’s a great opportunity for your execs to meet and greet your attendees. Create a photo op and promote sharing it. For more of WDI’s experiential insight, look up “Mickey’s 10 Commandments” — 10 key ideas to guide any experience design. Did you know that Disney is credited with inventing the switch-back line? Follow CX Tweeter @cxtweeter “You just made it through 72 jam-packed hours at #ACMEworld. What’re you going to do now?” “I’m going to Disney World!” #LeavingLasVegas 51 RETWEETS 28
- 29. You Must Be This Tall To Enjoy This Experience MEASURING ENJOYMENT • Enjoyment issues (both positive and negative) will be apparent in social media. Publicize hashtags for your event and monitor posts for real-time sentiment. • Conduct a series of brief focus groups onsite at your event; group them by attendee segment. This is a great approach for collecting qualitative data. Listen for the way they articulate needs and issues, then use their words in your surveys. • For more discreet touchpoints, tracking enjoyment is more a matter of staff attention and empathy. -- Be attuned to the comments section on surveys. -- Have your staff and brand ambassadors talk with attendees on the show floor or at breaks. Ask if they’re having a good time. Find out why…or why not. -- Collect, analyze and respond to the input you receive. • Net Promoter Score is useful for quantifying overall enjoyment. It will tell you if you’re succeeding, but it’s too general to be prescriptive if you are coming up short in this category. 29
- 30. IT’S NOT COMPLICATED. Met my needs. Easy. I enjoyed it. Follow CX Tweeter @cxtweeter Well played, @ACME. This year’s #ACMEworld was the best ever! Met my needs, easy and enjoyable throughout! #SeeYouNextYear 51 RETWEETS Customer Experience Management challenges us to consider every brand touchpoint and to evaluate each of those interactions through the customer’s eyes. As event marketers, we need to ensure that we’re listening to the customer’s voice and measuring our success on their terms. 30
- 31. Opus Agency provides event marketing, management and production solutions to Fortune 1000 companies. Since 1993, we have been a trusted adviser to a diverse group of customers creating unique, high quality events. We design, plan and execute brand experiences that accelerate results and enable our clients to achieve desired business goals. Our passion for customer success inspires our own CXM process. We want to meet all of our customers’ needs while making the process easy and enjoyable! Pat McClellan is Chief Strategy Officer at Opus. Over his 30-year career, Pat has combined his strategic marketing skills and passion for technology to lead media production and events marketing projects for some of the most prominent and respected brands in Silicon Valley and beyond. Pat received his MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management and his BS in Radio-TV-Film from Northwestern University. 31
- 32. RECOMMENDED CXM RESOURCES • Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business by Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine. Forrester Research. • The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty by Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman, and Rick DeLisi. Penguin Group US. • The Ten Principles Behind Great Customer Experiences by Matt Watkinson (Financial Times Series) Pearson Education Limited. • The Customer Experience Revolution by Jeofrey Bean and Sean Van Tyne. Brigantine Media. • Why CXM Is the Next Step in Customer Interaction • Forrester’s CXM Blog • Customer Experience Mapping Resources 32