Via - Smart Meetings: A new study by Freeman illustrates the dramatic role event data is playing in helping event professionals deliver bigger and better meetings. “Data Benchmark Study,” which was produced in partnership with Chief Marketer, showed that collecting and analyzing everything from attendance to leads and sales has the potential to positively influence decision-making and help event marketers and planners significantly improve the attendee experience.
Increasing Data Budgets
The study of more than 650 leading marketing executives from many of the world’s largest corporations revealed that event marketers are using the results of event metrics to secure budgets, set strategies, make decisions and positively impact ROI.
The study found that the data is primarily used to increase sales (62 percent) and drive brand awareness (60 percent). Data points collected included qualified leads (37 percent) and website traffic (30 percent).
Additionally, the study found:
88 percent of companies surveyed use event data to inform other marketing strategies and decision-making
70 percent use event data to enhance event experience
63 percent rely on data to improve product development
Event marketers are taking notice of the importance of data, as well. Two out of three professionals surveyed said they plan on increasing spending on data and analytics in 2019. Proper use of data and analytics can potentially improve and add value to attendee experience, data which planners can use in making better, well-informed decisions in the future. “Data is becoming the fuel that powers the marketing mix. It powers the insights that drive critical decision-making at all junctions in both marketing and throughout an organization,” said Freeman vice president of data and analytics Ken Holsinger.
More than half (54 percent) of brands surveyed believe better, more reliable data will mean an increase in attendee quality by at least 21 percent. Event marketers and planners cite creating top-quality, memorable experiences as the goal. Event experiences that attendees remember will almost always result in them not only coming back the next time around but spreading the word to colleagues.