Ichi Telethon | Don't Throw in the Towel on your Field Marketing

Dive headfirst into the strategic labyrinth of field marketing budgets for the coming year with Mara, Kelly, and Felicia, industry stalwarts who know the ropes of throwing a great event without breaking the bank. They're bringing their A-game to help us navigate the tightrope walk of allocating funds amidst recession fears, crafting events that resonate in a hybrid work culture, and turning every attendee into a promising lead. It's a treasure trove of nuggets for marketing pros who are juggling the demands of customer delight and internal morale, all while keeping one eye on the bottom line.

But wait—there's more to this marketing rodeo than just number crunching. We're tipping our hats to the unsung heroes at Better Productions and Excel events teams who turn wild ideas into flawless executions. Their stories of agility and triumph, amidst the backstage hustle, are nothing short of a masterclass in event production. So, buckle up for a ride through the strategies that are revolutionizing enterprise selling and the heartfelt appreciation for the teams that make it all possible. Our guests peel back the curtain on creating those unforgettable experiences that bridge the gap between business transactions and human connections.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

All right, thank you so much, dalia. We are going to be. Oh, actually, I have an incredible segment to introduce you to coming up next. This is all about field marketing. So when you manage a global event portfolio and you have all of the different types of programs your proprietary conferences, your third party events, your trade shows you have this layer of field marketing that is just a demand-gen machine. But it's not just customer field marketing. There's also internal field marketing. So we have employee engagement marketing activities and opportunities, especially with so many employees being hybrid and remote, actually taking things in market with them. So I am super, super excited to welcome three incredible field marketers. I have one focused on internal and I have two focused on customer field marketing conversations. Super excited to bring this one in.

Speaker 1: 0:52

Now the field marketing programs. You have to be strategic about 2024. Where is your budget going? How do you pick where your budget goes? Do you send your budget where the salesperson actually does the most with the leads that they get? Do you send your budget to the salesperson? That's the squeaky wheel, just so they'll stop bothering you.

Speaker 1: 1:09

And what types of field events are actually in driving engagement? And when I say engagement, I mean people actually showing up. Audience acquisition and attrition I still think are the hardest part of those customer field events. For the employee field events, how are you overcoming the challenge of employees just saying I don't have time to take off work to go do some of these employee engagement activities that you're telling me I need to do? So from top to bottom and inside to out.

Speaker 1: 1:35

Field marketing and field events are always a challenge and always fun, and everybody says they have the best job. How do I get that job? So Mara coming from Delta, kelly coming from Dreamio and Felicia coming from Excel Data are going to talk to us a little bit about our field marketing programs Before we jump into the field marketing conversation. By the way, I actually don't know if they're going to be doing this, but we called it. Don't throw in the towel on your field marketing, so they may be folding towels. So if you see something weird going on, we're taking a TikTok approach and that very well may happen. Otherwise, they're just going to talk. Because this is an incredible conversation. Here we go, mara, over to you.

Speaker 2: 2:18

All right, well, thank you so much. One I want to give an A++ to Kelly, who actually paid attention when we send nobifold those to every event that we go to that tells us what we're supposed to do and what we're supposed to bring. And I would say Kelly gets an A++ because she read what she was supposed to read and did what she was supposed to do. Thank you so much for bringing your towel with you today.

Speaker 3: 2:45

Hey, to be fair, I put away all of my towels this morning so that I had a nice clear space.

Speaker 2: 2:51

I love it. I love it. Well, I want to. We are going to be fast and furious here. So, with Felicia and Kelly, one of the first things I want to talk about because it's on everybody's mind with whether we will or we won't cover recession and what it looks like. So let's just talk about what your budget's going to look like in 2024 and where are you going to allocate them to. You want to go first Felicia.

Speaker 3: 3:20

Sure, yeah. So that's the hot question, right? Our sales teams that we support so lovingly and so eagerly. Everybody wants to know how much money their region is going to get. I mean, we as field marketers are that go between between sales and marketing, and we have the sales people to feed but the marketing initiatives to really drive forward. So we kind of have to take that step back and look at both and say, all right, what's the split? How much business is coming from Amia or APAC or North America or Latam? And really understand that breakdown and do that backwards math of how many leads do I need to get to a closed sale in order to make sure that our events are profitable and our sales people are feeling the love and the support that they need? And while we love everybody equally and we have no favorites, most of the time you, yourself.

Speaker 3: 4:33

I mean, we always have our sneaky favorite and they're always the ones that follow up on our event leads the most. But we do still have to feed the ones that aren't following up on our sales leads as quick or event leads as quickly as we'd like and coach them and poke them and do it. Now that mom voice comes out. But it really is that judicial fairness that we try and hit in order to make sure that we're doing our jobs as field marketers.

Speaker 2: 5:09

How about you, kelly? How are you seeing your budgets?

Speaker 4: 5:12

My budget is flat, and the word that I would say I feel like I take a shot every time I see a most as this is we got to be more efficient with our money. We got to get more MQLs with the same amount, and so for us we kind of start at the finance level where they tell us how many you know one opportunities we need to get for the year, and then we kind of back out from there and we have like a 70 30 split for me or versus North America, and then I kind of back out to see what is our global you know, marketing brought in as far as pipeline for each AE, and then you could kind of see the delta and then that's kind of how we'll plan, because we do have some ease that just naturally, where they kind of sit in territory will get less leads. So we need to do a little bit more focus on them, just to keep it equaled and balanced. So that is our approach for next year.

Speaker 2: 6:08

And I think that in the employee space, you know, when we look at regions, we really look at places that are going to be impacted by our customers, right? So you know, we we kind of go into areas One is employee acquisition and one is employee retention and while both are equally important, some need more more juice for the squeeze, right? So you know, in places where we really need to hire, we really have to put that money towards, you know, getting people interested in us and and getting them to apply and then ultimately to choose us to work for. But then, in the same space, you have that employee retention, because anybody who has great customer focused employees, you always have that lore of other people wanting those same employees. So really, that delicate balance, and you know we are always past, I think, to do more with less, right? So you know, if you did great with this amount, if we gave you 20% less, can you do more? And you're like I'm thinking, your math is not nothing.

Speaker 3: 7:18

But okay, that's that. Make it make sense how more with less.

Speaker 2: 7:25

I think that's where we kind of are today, but knowing that we are going to do need to still do that. You know, it's funny as much as we get fatigue around hybrid events and different things like that and everyone was like we're so excited to get back in person and then we just hear about what right now is what events are hitting the mark for you.

Speaker 3: 7:53

Yeah, I think there's a mix of both hybrid and in person. I mean, we love going in person, we are people, people. That's why we're in the event industry. But I think, as we are all under budget constraints I work for a smaller startup and we don't have infinite money as much as I wish Hybrid going. Hybrid is really cost efficient where we can do some in person with the larger trade shows but also do some some online events where we can really get down to those smaller, more intimate groups and maximize our budget, because I'm spending a whole lot less on a small networking group where we're doing a you know, shakoodery board making class or a whiskey tasting, versus going to a giant trade show where I'm maximizing to $300,000, potentially for you know, a 20 by 20 and speaking sessions and a giant sponsorship. So it's it's really that that mix of okay, I need to do this for branding and demand gen, but I also need this smaller style event to really feed sales and get them in front of their ICP.

Speaker 2: 9:26

Oh nice. Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head with the balance, and that it's even more so with less budget. How about you, kelly?

Speaker 4: 9:35

Yeah, so we predominantly sell to the enterprise and enterprise selling, you know, relationship building is really key, and so we we try to do as much as we can in person, just because we know that's going to have a bigger impact.

Speaker 4: 9:49

And what we've found that we've had to do this year is people really will come out if it's like a Michelin star restaurant or something like very unique that they can't do.

Speaker 4: 10:02

So instead of having so many plan for the year, we kind of cut in half so we can put more money to like a really really unique and bespoke type of offering to get those customers or prospects there. And so that's kind of been the shift, as I think is especially cost post pandemic. People are just so like protective of their time and they just won't go unless there is like the super unique opportunity. And then something else we've had really a great success with post pandemic is when we get their spouse or family member involved. So if we are going to be doing like a sporting event, we say bring your plus one, bring your child or whatever. And we noticed that for the dinners and then when we include their families, that our conversion rates are really high and it's really successful and actually is able to progress deals so that makes sense, because who wants to go to an event by themselves?

Speaker 2: 11:05

and you know, employee events are the same way. You know, what we have learned is we've got to meet people where they are, and sometimes they're not in the cities. We want to take them to their actually communities, and so, I think, figuring out a way to engage them and their community and you know, one of the awesome perks of Delta is flight plan flight plans that you could do with your family and be able to take them. So, you know, I think, when we have stuff that allows people to bring their friends and family to celebrate with them, or, you know, the community service piece, which allows us to do things in the community, it makes a lot of sense to do it. And you're right, like, instead of throwing 15 things at them, give them one thing that they really want to do and they're afraid to miss out.

Speaker 2: 11:49

On right, I live in the world of Joma, which is the joy of missing out, but that's because we're in the world and we never want to go anywhere. You really want to give people FOMO that they can do that. So you know, I love that. Event planners we could talk all day about this, right, but you know, with a minute or so left, I really wanted to see what is sort of your one word or your mantra that you were going to go into in 2024 with with your you know, I know I'm kind of springing it on you, but when you think about it, what is that thing that's fresh in your mind? That's either your one word that you're marching towards are sort of like your mantra.

Speaker 3: 12:30

Oh God.

Speaker 2: 12:33

Do you want me to go first and then make it easier for you? Yes, I love it. So you know, this year I'm really looking at perception versus perspective. I'm really looking at the perspective. You know, we talked you talked a little bit about bespoke events, but I think we really have to allow employees that have a personal experience and everybody isn't coming with the same and really making sure that we're making events personalized. So, instead of doing it from a perspective where we throw everybody into the same bucket, really trying to give them a perspective, their perspective and have personalized events.

Speaker 3: 13:14

Yeah, I think for me, don't be afraid of the budget. I am. I come from a long background of startup event field marketing, and so it's really that don't be afraid to ask for more money. If it's going to be effective, it's going to pay for itself. So I have to stop being my cheap, giant hearted self and wanting to make sure that we maximize every penny. I still want to maximize every penny, let me just get that straight. But I also want to push the boundaries and say, all right, we're not going to just do a $2,000 dinner, let's push it to seven, let's get a better restaurant, a bigger room and push our team to fill it, not because we can't, but because we need to push ourselves in order for us to get to that next place. And as much as spending that money and not making our goal terrifies me, I know it'll be so much better for us and it will really challenge us this year.

Speaker 2: 14:24

Yeah, that's great.

Speaker 4: 14:25

That's great, and, kelly, with a few seconds left, that we have what is your sort of I'm going to say just continue to experiment, always leave a little bit budget to try something new and, you never know, that might be the next thing that helps you bring people to your booth or to your bed.

Speaker 2: 14:41

So Well, thank you both for joining me. I think it's a great conversation and, you know, as we roll, it can't believe it's already going to be 2024. And as we roll into the new year, I'm excited to be watching your company on the different channels that we see, whether that's LinkedIn or anything that you might put on social media. But I'm excited to see what you put out there this year. And again, thank you so much for your time and your energy today.

Speaker 4: 15:12

Thank you guys. Bye, hi what a great conversation.

Speaker 1: 15:18

That was amazing, so, nicole what are? Your priorities for 2024 based on what they were saying.

Speaker 5: 15:25

Well, our motto is what would be the point, kimmy? Less calories, more money or less fat, more money. But here's my thing. If I had to pick one word, it's money, because with money then you could become skinny or you get sucked right out. That's why they don't let me on, Look the. Tds, let me on the show now. But because they said I put my arm out of the view, so you know.

Speaker 1: 15:46

Yes, welcome to our new show, also Between the Bulbs.

Speaker 5: 15:49

Yeah, Between Two Bulbs.

Speaker 1: 15:52

OK, so if you're just joining us, my name is Liz Lathan, I'm Nicole Ashibodou and we are here to pump you up. This is the Club Ichi Telefon, and this has been going on all day. It's a 12-hour live broadcast and we are a little over halfway through it. Nobody has taken a bathroom break or had any food.

Speaker 5: 16:11

No.

Speaker 1: 16:12

We're just being fed caffeine and it's a really fun ride over here, yeah. But big shout out to the Better Productions team. They have ruled with it. They have made some incredible things happen. Today. You have no idea, but if you want to know, we'll tell you all the scoop, because they are a dream to work with.

Speaker 5: 16:29

Ain't no party like a telephone party.

Speaker 1: 16:31

Let me just tell you right now I just hate it when you work with a production team and you know what. I have this great idea and they're like it's way too complicated. We can never do that.

Speaker 5: 16:37

We can't do that, like I don't think they've told us no one time. And when we go back they're like sorry, last minute changed. They don't chop us in the throat, to be fair, we didn't tell them what we were going to do Till last night, but they're doing a really great job.

Speaker 1: 16:50

Also, the Excel events team. I want to really thank you for jumping in and giving us this incredible platform for everybody to be a part of.