Nearly nine out of 10 consumers become regular customers following events. That was one of the findings of EventTrack 2013, the second annual study from the Event Marketing Institute and experiential marketing agency Mosaic. Surveying event attendees, brands, and event agencies, the report highlighted the importance of live events to consumers and how that leads to purchase decisions, brand loyalty, and their perception of a company or product.
According to the study, 95 percent of consumer respondents said participating in a recent event made them more inclined to purchase the products promoted. Indeed, 52 percent said they bought the product or service marketed at a recent event attended; 54 percent said they bought a product or service at a later date. And a surprising 88 percent of event attendees who buy once say they become regular customers. Key to this is allowing attendees to see how a product or service works, with 71 percent of consumers saying sampling or seeing a demonstration is an influential factor.
"The follow-on impact of an initial sales conversion is an important area for marketers to consider when creating their event programs," Event Marketing Institute President Kerry Smith said in the report. "Oftentimes events are evaluated based on short-term financial goals such as if the outcome of the program covered the costs. This data suggests that marketers who add engagement elements to their live programs and can track future sales activity can begin to document the lifetime value of a converted customer. This could change the conversation around event performance from being about short-term impact to be more about longer-term R.O.I."
EventTrack also reported that alongside an average budget increase of 5 percent for event and experiential marketing last year, there has been a boost in the number of event programs produced by brand marketers, up from 137 per company in 2011 to 152 last year. Also on the rise are agency revenues, with average gross revenues up 12.4 percent, the best year since 2007.
More on the report and its findings can be found here.
