Event Management & Data

Are You Losing Money on Event Marketing without Knowing it

Victoria Rudi
February 7, 2024

Table of Contents

Ever feel like events are causing a big black hole in your marketing budget? Unable to trace all of your expenditures without seeing any ROI? No way of seeing where every dollar you spend is going?

You’re not the only one. Even big corporations are losing money on event marketing without even realizing it. Surely not, right? But it’s true, there is no exception, and just like any other company or organization, the same applies to big corporations.

The reality of event marketing is that every event run across your business is the culmination of a whole range of different decisions which are likely to cost money. And that’s just for one event.

Imagine what it’s like doing this on a much larger scale where you’re running multiple events in different locations. Things just got a whole lot more complicated and fast.

Even if you think you’re doing everything right, you could still be losing money. That’s why we’ve identified 3 areas where the pennies could be disappearing along with what you can do to make it stop.

📌 You don’t have a centralized system to overview the results from every single event

From the event planner manually creating reports through to the head of marketing unable to track ROI. Having no centralized system to track results for every event is a headache for everyone.

Not only does it mean that you have no way of tracking performance, but it also means that you can’t use this information to plan future events. And without being able to identify successes and failures, you’re effectively going into your next event blind.

This can have big implications on the amount of money currently being spent and the amount of money being wasted at future events. Ticket prices could be too low, or too much could have been spent on catering. The point is that without a centralized system to track results, you’re going to be completely unaware of all these different factors.

To overcome this, it’s important to find an EMS which integrates all results and metrics into one centralized system. This gives everyone involved with event marketing instant access to the information that they need.

Reports can be created at the click of the button saving time for employees. ROI can be tracked providing an overview of where all the money has been going. All of this means that events can be planned more efficiently and with a clearer view of where the budget is going.

📌 You don’t have a clear planning protocol

Just like any other area of business, companies lose a lot of money when they don’t have the right planning protocols in place. That’s why extensive planning is essential in preparing yourself for all possible eventualities at your events.

A planning protocol gives everyone a clear understanding of how to plan events and what they should be doing in specific situations and scenarios. Because without a clear plan, the probability that incorrect decisions such as choosing the wrong venue or spending too much on speakers is going to increase.

To help with this it’s important to create a set of guidelines that give staff a clear idea of how much should be spent when planning an event. Not only should it include the event as a whole, but also more specific items along with what to do in emergencies.

By doing this it becomes much easier for staff to make the right decisions when it comes to spending money. By following the protocol they get a clear picture of what the event should look like and the budgetary requirements needed to achieve it.

📌 They’re using different planning tools or paying for multiple one-feature types of tools

Going back to the point of centralization, event technology plays a big part in this but it can also contribute to creating silos across different events.

Not only does it get extremely expensive using different tools across teams but it also makes it extremely difficult to track everything in one place. Without any real insight into what is going on at each event, each team has no idea how much others are spending.

It effectively means that each team is working alone without help and support from others who are effectively running the same event just in a different location.

To combat this it’s important to find an EMS that can be implemented across each of your events team. For fast adoption, it needs to be easy-to-use and be compatible for everyone using it.

It’s also vital that the software has the specific features that you’re looking for such as website building, check-in, and metrics so that your selected solution covers all of your needs and avoids you splashing out on any other tools or features.

Key takeaways

  • When managing multiple events at once there’s a high chance that you’re going to be leaking money without even realizing it. It doesn’t matter if the event was a huge success or how much revenue it generated there are always areas that can be tightened.
  • Transparency, visibility, and clarity are key to making sure that your business is able to have more control over its event marketing finances. Technology plays a big part in bringing all of this together and that’s why it’s crucial that you find the right EMS that encompasses all of this.
  • The right event technology helps make companies more organized when it comes to the planning and management of events. And it gives them the correct frameworks and processes to run smoother events that will help save a significant amount of money.

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Victoria Rudi
Senior Content Specialist
With a Master’s degree in Event Management and a keen follower of SaaS technologies, Victoria is an event content master, producing insightful and valuable for Eventtia’s blog and beyond