Wilson Miller - Technology Marketing. Inspired.

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Event Cycle Planning - balancing live and online events in your marketing initiatives

Creating a face-to-face sales opportunity with a ‘real’ prospect is the nirvana for many technology marketers. However, it’s getting harder for ICT companies to engage prospects with live events because of competing noise from other communications channels, employer demands on time and an increasing firewall of apathy. Conversely, online events are becoming more enthusiastically received as market confidence increases with conferencing and meeting technologies. The challenge is that both have a significant role to play, but how do you optimise the value for these isolated investments?

Event Cycle Planning is about developing the optimum programme of live and online events, sequenced to the complex purchase cycle stages of the technology buyer. It’s about designing a strategic calendar of education, relationship building and sales progression communications mapped to the information, research and referencing needs of the potential customer. Event Cycle Planning ‘matures’ relationships and business opportunities faster than a more conventional silo-ed approach – and with a common reporting platform.

Wilson Miller practises Event Cycle Planning to accelerate the purchase cycle. We develop an integrated series of events that pull ‘names’ through to ‘prospects’ through to ‘customers’.

The traditional business case for live events is based on brand awareness and lead generation. However, Event Cycle Planning goes further by exploiting the capabilities of live events with the lead nurturing, prospect intelligence and ‘one-to-few’ relationship opportunities created through online events.