Beyond the Budget: Corporate Event ROI Strategies That Deliver Results

Corporate events fulfill many roles: rewarding team members and partners for a job well done, connecting leaders and business-development professionals with existing and prospective clients and stakeholders, and introducing a company to new markets at social events for trade shows, conferences, and other industry-wide gatherings.

In order to make these events successful, you have to master many moving parts. Corporate event venues must be comfortable and convenient, food and music must be enjoyable but unobtrusive, and the swag distributed to attendees must deliver strong branding at a manageable price point. Every decision must be made through the prism of how it can be leveraged to ensure an event’s profitability.  

Plus, the makeup of event attendees is constantly evolving, and it’s essential to pivot to adapt to your market. For example, 36% of today’s workforce are millennials, and 18% are Generation Z, whereas only 15% are baby boomers. Simply put, these aren’t your father’s event attendees; social media and other digital tools are essential to create a conversation. If you’re not planning corporate events to effectively reach all audiences, building ROI is impossible.

Bishop-McCann’s expertise and deep experience in creating successful corporate events can help you efficiently make connections and grow business. Let’s talk about corporate event ROI strategies that can make this happen.

Why Corporate Event ROI Strategies Matter

Corporate event managers face a dynamic landscape in planning successful events. The rise of virtual communication tools like Zoom and Google Meet has increased the need to demonstrate the unique value of in-person gatherings. As recent economic conditions result in companies more closely managing expenses, they rightly expect corporate events to deliver a strong return on their investment. This focus on boosting ROI underscores the importance of employing strategies that maximize event effectiveness.

Obviously, every company has unique goals for its events, making it essential to accurately measure their impact. When significant resources are invested, ensuring a substantial return in both financial and time-related terms is a realistic expectation.

Corporate Event ROI Key Metrics

Without the right measurement tools, it’s nearly impossible to measure the success of even the best-laid plans. Here’s a rundown of the event analytics and reporting you should incorporate into all corporate events:

• Financial ROI: With corporate events, money talks. Corporate meeting planners must track the financial impact of event sponsorships, how well tickets are selling, and how effectively the event spurs post-sales growth. Don’t know where to start with your budget? Bishop-McCann offers several ways to help build an event budget.
• Attendee engagement and satisfaction: The lifeblood of an event’s success is enthusiastic attendees who are participating in and benefitting from event programming while enhancing customer lifetime value. Corporate meeting planners need to factor in using tools to measure participation throughout the event and overall audience sentiment.
• Brand impact: How well is the event reinforcing your brand’s strength and its position in the marketplace? Tracking mentions of your corporate event or brand in the media and within social media are important steps, as is measuring a long-term shift in brand sentiment after the corporate event is completed.
• Operational efficiency: Is your event optimizing cost efficiency? Are your vendors effectively fulfilling their roles? Are the processes for managing sponsorships, content, and engagement optimal? Fine-tuning these elements not only streamlines execution but also ensures your event runs smoothly, stays on budget, and delivers maximum value.

Steps to Maximize ROI on Corporate Events

Profitable events don’t happen by accident. Planning, execution, and follow-through must maintain a consistent approach while providing enough elasticity to adapt to changes and improvements spurred by new information or stakeholder feedback. Let’s run down the key steps that ensure a profitable corporate event:

• Pre-event planning: Plan with intention. Using your business objectives as a reference point, develop firm event goals and align KPIs to accurately gauge how effectively the event’s management team and stakeholders are fulfilling the event’s targeted outcome. Start with the end in mind and review data from prior years to cultivate an experience that will provide ROI for the stakeholders and attendees.
• Technology & data collection: Using the right tools is critical to success. There are many state-of-the-art analytics tools that help corporate event planners remove the guesswork and provide actionable data to measure how successfully an event is meeting its stakeholders’ goals. Bishop-McCann utilizes numerous tools to measure engagement and deliver ROI, such as Cvent, Google Forms, JotForm, and Slido. RFID tracking helps streamline event check-ins to verify attendee presence at educational and social events. QR codes on the screen during sessions allow guests to easily scan and answer in-the-moment questions (and provide results in real-time on the screen for additional engagement). Post-event surveys provide an outlet for valuable feedback that allows event managers to improve future planning and post-event outreach. These surveys are critical, but we’re flipping the script on surveys by measuring event engagement with AI. In collaboration with Zenus and Immersion Neuroscience, Bishop-McCann has developed the JOY Index™, an immersive technology that anonymously measures event attendees’ facial expressions, body language, and brain activity in real time.
• Optimizing content & experience: Make sure programming is tailored to the modern attendee. Provide a balance between high-profile keynote speakers who generate enthusiasm and industry leaders and experts who knowledgably address opportunities and pain points that attendees encounter frequently. Knowledge is power but also remember that people do business with people, so provide ample networking opportunities that help attendees relax and build relationships.
• Maintain relationships post-event: Corporate event attendee engagement is just beginning when the event ends. Deliver surveys and other engagement opportunities within days after an event, and tailor them to encourage candid feedback. Don’t be too attached to programs or processes; if you don’t listen to what attendees and stakeholders want and need, long-term success is unlikely.

Let the Right Partner Build Your Corporate Event ROI

When attendees feel connected to leadership or a company, they are more loyal and more willing to push forward to help the company meet its goals. That’s the power of corporate events.

One company that understands the value of connection through events is First Watch. Bishop-McCann has partnered with this trendsetting breakfast/brunch/lunch restaurant chain to create memorable events. For its Leadership Conference, a gathering of franchisees, managers, and vendors, we wanted to create an unforgettable celebration for its 40th anniversary while managing its financial parameters.

To create an impactful event that generated ROI, festive events included a 360-degree photo booth, an ‘80s-themed lunch, and the development of a high-tech registration system and an event app that streamlined digital assets to engage the event’s nearly 800 attendees.

Event managers must constantly move forward in measuring and optimizing events to serve the needs of attendees, sponsors, and other stakeholders. From pre-event e-blasts and other communications to real-time analytics measuring attendee satisfaction and post-function surveys, Bishop-McCann helps event managers constantly measure what is successful and what needs to be improved to ensure successful corporate events.

Trust Bishop-McCann to Build Successful Events

With nearly 30 years of event-management expertise and a data-driven approach, Bishop-McCann delivers corporate events that are not only engaging and enjoyable but also drive significant ROI. We provide the comprehensive tools, talent, and experience you need to achieve your brand and financial objectives. Let's partner to elevate your event strategy and maximize your return on investment. Connect with us to start the conversation!

Let’s Talk: Discover How Bishop-McCann Can Elevate Your Event ROI Strategy