Get the Most Out of an Event!

How do you create a Return on Investment for your Event? Try a 440% increase in sales for size!

It starts right at the concept stage, working out what the objectives are and making sure they are measurable. We constantly review performance, and make any necessary changes along the way to ensure that the final ROI creates measurable results for your budget!

A recent case in point:

The event and its objectives

A customer travel incentive event for the construction industry designed to build relationships with customers and increase spend between April and October 2016. To provide a basis for measurement, the client had tracked historic spend with 155 key customers and set individual targets for the incentive period. These were then monitored throughout the programme and regular performance messages were sent out based on whether the customer was on target, had already achieved target or was lagging behind and in need of encouragement.

The incentive was "by invitation only" and the Branch network submitted their requests to an online system which automatically invited the customer to participate. A launch brochure was produced to ensure that partners were included and supportive from the outset, and an incentive website was set up so that customers could monitor their performance and read all about the rewards to come. Each month colourful emails teasingly revealed further elements of the event to ensure it remained interesting, exciting and fresh.

The reward

Winners enjoyed four star-studded Arabian nights at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton Grand Canal hotel in Abu Dhabi including a visit to Ferrari World, dune driving and an authentic Bedouin dinner in the desert. Guests could also choose from a range of optional activities: city tour with a breath-taking visit to the 74th floor Observation Deck of the Etihad Towers, golf on one of the many pristine courses or an opportunity to chill and be pampered in the hotel's magnificent Spa. When they weren't dining in the dunes, winners were able to take their pick from a range of 5-star restaurants in and around the hotel.

For those people who were not on track to achieve target, alternative prizes such as theatre breaks were offered to ensure that everyone remained motivated throughout the programme.

The results

75% of participants engaged with the programme on a monthly basis, measured by sales, responses to email, website logins and bonus question responses.

In terms of sales, 89% of customers increased their spend year-on-year with an overall increase to the tune of £5.2 million – an improvement of 440%! 37 of the 155 participants qualified for the trip with their partner. For an initial investment of just £150,000 the ROI speaks for itself!

Most importantly, Area Managers and Directors joined the winners on the trip so that they could spend time with key customers to generate continued business. Hundreds of thousands of pre-orders were made before the trip was over! And of course, the feedback was excellent with customers keenly awaiting the next incentive ...