Post by Paul Griffiths

The phrase “great to catch up with everyone” probably covers a multitude of sins, after most industry events. Incidentally, I heartily believe this. Our industry is relationship-led and there is genuine value in spending time with people face to face. But I don't believed the value of events comes purely from “being there”. If that were true, everyone attending the same conferences would come away with roughly the same commercial outcomes. Clearly that’s not what happens. Some agencies create genuine momentum from in-person events over time. Others have perfectly pleasant conversations, spend a considerable amount on tickets and travel, and six months later struggle to point to what actually changed as a result. That difference is revealing about your commercial culture. Growth of your market research and insight agency comes from investing in that brand building and relationship creation. But only to the extent that you have sales and nurture workflows to capitalise on it. Speak to the 95% who don't have budget to buy, and get opportunities from the 5% that do. Having client and prospect outreach, that builds trust gradually through repeated exposure, is essential. Events should be the highly effective kick-off point for this. This Rodeo13 guide give some great advice on how to generate more value from events. Check it out!