Relationships form the bedrock for the best marketing, whether that’s engaging with your audience over social media or using customer data to better understand consumers old and new.
But despite all the tricks of the trade, the best relationships develop in the real world. This is all the more important to remember because the use of events is so easily lost in today’s incessant scramble for digital storytelling and data-haul.
Whatever your involvement in events, do not lose sight of the following advantages they possess over the computerised domain.
Real contact
Events allow you to be personable and agile with your brand’s personality in a way that is so much harder to achieve online. The power of the human touch cannot be overstated, and increasing the number of quality touch-points you can offer to contacts will increase the chances of these converting into clients.
Approachability
Meeting face-to-face means there’s nowhere to hide, which fosters respect and a willingness to cooperate far quicker than can be achieved through screens.
If prospective clients have a human to associate with the brand, then they know it’s real and that there are real people accountable for its good name.
Memorability
Attending a live event means your pitch and presence will stay in the memory as a unique customer experience. This will have a positive knock-on effect on perceptions of you and your company that will be shared and trusted far more readily than positive online engagements.
People will be far more willing to trust connections they have met in person, an advantage that can be used to drive increased ROI.
Increased value
At an event you are not constrained by the unwritten terms and conditions that bind computerised interaction. As such you can offer more value, reaching out and shaping your offering according to your contacts wants and needs.
Furthermore, curating quality networking opportunities turns you into a valuable human resource, rather than one more faceless seller.
Ultimately, events present an inimitable opportunity in which the casual and the professional ethic can blend. The result is an environment that is incredibly fertile for meeting new contacts and forging relationships that can push any business onto the next level.
By Stephen White, Amplified Business Content
Drop us a line via our website, or call us on 0845 5000 328 to find out how we can create, curate and share content via live events, social media, digital and print.
