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14 actionable tips to ensure your events are impactful and well-attended by the right people.
While in-person events may no longer dominate B2B SaaS marketing strategies as they did 25 years ago when I started my career in tech, they remain an irreplaceable tool for lead generation and business growth.
I’m a big fan of organizing small, targeted events focusing on quality over quantity. With minimal investment, these events can deliver exceptional business impact.
Recently, I organized two such events—one in Melbourne and another in Jakarta—for my clients. Both events achieved full attendance and delivered remarkable ROI, proving that meticulous planning, execution, and follow-up can yield fantastic outcomes at very low cost.
Below are tips on how to ensure that your in-person events in 2025 are well attended and yield the best results for you.
Pre-Event Planning: Setting the Stage for Success
The foundation of any successful event is laid long before the first guest arrives. After defining your event objective (e.g., building a sales pipeline for both net new accounts and existing customers), identify your target audience and follow these steps:
1. Secure a High-Value Speaker
Ideal: A successful customer who is a peer of your target audience or a thought leader, or an analyst/consulting partner providing industry insights and recent research.
Alternative: Leverage internal expertise. A presales head or product leader can present research findings or customer success stories.
Example: "Our Presales Head, with over 10 years of experience working with CIOs, will share key lessons learned from leading digital transformation projects in [industry]."
2. Craft a Compelling Invitation and Landing Page
Choose a Timely, Relevant Topic: Align the event theme with current trends and challenges your audience faces.
Create an Engaging Event Title: Grab attention by using numbers and specific outcomes. Examples:
“10 Innovative Ways to Accelerate Digital Transformation”
“7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Migrating to the Cloud”
"How Customer X achieved [desired outcome] with these proven Strategies"
Highlight Attendee Benefits:
Educational insights
Networking opportunities with peers
Bonuses like cheat sheets, guides, templates, or even a special giveaway.
Design a Valuable Agenda: Prioritize quality over quantity, whether a half-day or full-day event. Ensure every session delivers actionable value.
Choose the Right Venue: Select a location that is accessible and offers the right level of prestige, especially for C-level attendees.
Avoid scheduling events on Mondays, as they tend to have lower attendance rates. While preferences may vary by country, consider timing your event strategically: mornings to lunch, lunch onwards, breakfasts, or dinners can all be highly effective, depending on your audience.
Build a Resonant Landing Page: Clearly articulate who the event is for and what they’ll learn. Add a note that registration is subject to confirmation due to limited seats.
Add Partner Logos: To enhance credibility, feature trusted partner or sponsor logos on both the landing page and invitation.
3. Build a Robust Database
Aim for 10X your target audience. For example, to attract 50 attendees, you’ll need at least 500 clean & qualified contacts.
(Read: Why CRM data quality is the foundation of marketing and Sales Success. Enrich your database by working with your sales team and partners. Use tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Lusha, Apollo, or Zoominfo. If your database is weak, I would strongly recommend investing in working with a reputable bespoke event organizer whose database you can leverage.
Note: Sending event invitations to cold emails is generally considered less intrusive and less likely to be considered spam, making it an effective outreach strategy for expanding your audience.
Plan for a typical drop-off rate of 40–50% across most of APAC, excluding Japan, where attendance rates are nearly 100%. Example: Aim for 50–60 registrations to ensure 30 attendees. Occasionally, drop-off rates can be significantly lower, making over-registration a welcome challenge.
For top prospects:
Encourage more than one registration per company.
Offer special treatment, such as the best seat reservation, prime networking opportunities, and a special giveaway.
Marketing the Event: Driving Registrations and Building Anticipation
Marketing goes beyond sending invitations—building excitement, establishing credibility, and driving registrations.
4. Leverage Partner & Sales Support
Co-brand the event with trusted partners or sponsors.
Engage sales, customer success, and executive teams to reach out to key prospects personally.
Arrange weekly check-ins with stakeholders to monitor progress and follow-up efforts to ensure the focused accounts are covered.
5. Send Invitations Early
Launch your campaign 4–6 weeks before the event.
Send invites weekly to all non-registrants, adjusting subject lines for non-opens. Send weekly invites to all non-registrants, updating subject lines for those who haven’t opened previous emails. It’s common to see a strong registration spike after the initial email (a great sign!) and another surge closer to the event date. Stay calm, trust the process, and maintain consistent follow-ups.
Use multiple channels like email, social media, and direct outreach.
6. Create FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
Share registration updates:
“20+ executives from [industry] have already signed up!”
Highlight testimonials from past attendees:
“A morning well spent networking with peers and exploring fresh, practical solutions .”
Share exciting updates, e.g., “We conducted the event rehearsal, and the findings will astound you."
Note: Honesty is key. Making false or exaggerated claims can damage trust and credibility, so always ensure your messaging is authentic and accurate.
7. Confirm Attendance
Send calendar invites to all registrants and reminders 1–3 days before the event.
If registrations are below target, send SMS or WhatsApp reminders to reduce drop-off.
Highlight perks:
“Network with 50+ industry leaders.”
“Enjoy exclusive product demonstrations and gifts.”
On the Day: Creating Memorable Experiences
Your event day is your chance to deliver an unforgettable experience.
8. Facilitate Strategic Engagement
Prepare name tags to facilitate networking.
Arrange seating to encourage networking among key stakeholders.
Facilitate 1:1 meetings between reps and top prospects.
Include live demos in presentations or set up hands-on demo stations.
Have a skilled moderator to maintain energy and incorporate interactive elements like polls and quizzes with gifts.
Ensure attendees stay engaged while waiting:
Provide printed handouts with event details or relevant insights.
Play an engaging video loop showcasing your company, products, or key event highlights.
Facilitate networking and introductions to make the waiting time productive.
9. Gather Feedback
Distribute feedback forms or surveys using QR codes or digital tools to collect attendee feedback, valuable account data, and follow-up requirements efficiently. It will serve you greatly to ensure every attendee fills out the form.
TIP: Include as part of the questions Comments on the event experience and Consent to publish their comments publicly.
To maximize participation:
The moderator should inform the audience that attendees who complete the feedback form will receive access to event slides and resources.
Offer incentives, such as giveaways or exclusive content, to encourage attendees to complete the form.
Post-Event Success: Turning Leads into Results
Follow-up is critical to converting attendees into leads and customers.
10. Send Prompt Thank-You Emails (0-2 days after the event)
Include event highlights like slides, photos, and additional resources.
Share a feedback link for those who missed the onsite survey.
11. Engage Non-Attendees
Share key takeaways, recordings, and photos with all invitees—not just attendees.
12. Boost Social Proof
Post short videos, testimonials, and quotes on social media to showcase the event’s success.
13. Offer Post-Event Perks
Provide personalized recommendations, consultations, free assessments or free trials, or discounts.
Invite attendees to future events or webinars.
14. Organize Post-Event Follow Up Meetings
Collaborate with SDRs, sales teams, and partners to assign follow-up responsibilities to attendees.
Monitor progress and ensure results, especially opportunities, are captured in your CRM.
I find that small, targeted in-person events are among the highest ROI-generating activities in B2B SaaS. By following these best practices, you’ll create experiences that drive engagement, foster meaningful connections, and deliver measurable results.
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