Drew Sammeth, Client Educator, LexisNexis:
We’ve all heard the anecdote, ‘it’s quality, not quantity,’ but is that really true? Unless you’ve only invited your ten best friends, you need some meat on that list. So, I would counter that a successful event is a combination of both quality contacts, and a robust list of (vetted) strangers.
With the expectation that we see a rough ten percent return on RSVPs, to get 100 people to your event you need to invite about 1000. If they are all ‘quality’ contacts, maybe you can get away with six or seven hundred, but you’re pushing it. A considered plan is crucial when deciding who to invite, as it will directly affect your actual attendance. We’re tempted to blindly search our database for key words that might indicate a good target, or search for an entire industry without consideration of how we work with a number of companies. That might be a good start, but it isn’t a considered plan… that is a last minute data-dump, and won’t yield your best returns.
Being pro-active in your marketing approach is the driver for your success. Embed marketing into your firm’s culture and encourage (dare say require?) participation… we all sink or swim, right? Build industry and marketing lists thoughtfully and with purpose, and engage with your firm’s client development efforts. With firm-wide engagement, marketing lists are easily populated with many good contacts by the people that ‘own’ the relationship. If your efforts are thorough, your list management can provide an easy path to locating quality contacts across your database that add value to your efforts. A search? Yes. A data-dump? No.
Then equally as important: KEEP THESE LISTS CLEAN! They need to be ready when you need them, so you aren’t scrambling to update. We know how invaluable our lists can be when properly maintained, or how worthless they can be when they are not. List maintenance is never done, so be sure to include this in your data plan. Ensure the quality of your contacts is tied to the quantity, or all that work was for naught. If done right, however, you will see your events filled with the right people… and that’s just good marketing.
Just a reminder about our June InterAction webinar! Don’t let your marketing lists become bogged down with less than perfect data. Save time for enjoying the spring weather by putting these best practices into place now. Join Drew Sammeth, InterAction Client Educator, this Wednesday, May 17th at 2pm ET
Click Here to Register!