Impact Programme and Framework in Action
Event turn-around and then YoY Growth
This event delivered the growth target one year ahead of schedule
Situation
This established event had been around for five years.
However it consistently fell short of its promise to deliver a significant number of qualified buyers to exhibitors. This led to:
- Exhibitor dissatisfaction: Suppliers questioned the return on investment of participating, with some leaving the event.
- Negative exhibitor NPS: Surveys revealed negative sentiment from exhibitors regarding the value proposition.
- Dominant competition: Two well-established players held a strong market position, further squeezing out this event's potential.
Objectives
The event needed a major turnaround to
- Deliver on buyer promise: Achieve consistent growth in the number of high-quality buyer attendees for two years.
- Boost exhibitor ROI: Increase exhibitor satisfaction and demonstrate the value of participation.
- Surpass revenue targets: Grow event revenue by 55% over three years.
- Differentiate from competitors: Establish clear competitive advantages to attract exhibitors and attendees.
Solution
Strategy: Here's how it was implemented
- 3-Year strategic plan: A comprehensive plan was conceived outlining a detailed roadmap for event development and delivery over three years.
- Redefining value proposition: The event's value proposition was revised to stand out from the competition and offer a compelling reason for exhibitors and attendees to participate.
- Revamping buyer programme: The core hosted buyer program, a key selling point, was revamped to ensure it delivered on its promise and attracted high-value buyers.
- Improving exhibitor ROI: Account management and customer onboarding enhancements were implemented to increase exhibitor satisfaction and ROI.
- Winning back suppliers: The business development strategy was updated to regain supplier confidence and encourage participation.
- Audience Insights: Deeper audience personas were developed through research to understand their needs and preferences.
- Content revamp: A design thinking workshop helped tailor the educational content to resonate more effectively with attendees.
- Meeting audience needs: Additional content and features were added to address specific audience demands.
Results
Delivered growth target one year ahead of schedule
- Consistent audience expansion: Audience numbers consistently grew throughout the three years.
- Revenue soared: The 55% revenue growth target was exceeded within two years, not the three planned.
- Increased exhibitor satisfaction: Exhibitor NPS scores transitioned from negative to positive, reflecting a significant improvement in sentiment.
- High audience NPS: Attendee NPS scores climbed to the high twenties, indicating a positive overall experience.
- Market leader status: The event became the undisputed market leader in the UK.
- Global expansion: The successful event format has been geo-cloned in the APAC region.
"I was always impressed by David's ability to form clear, long-term strategies to grow the events. Under his leadership, the business flourished and more than doubled in size in 3 years and became a very profitable business for Centaur. David stood apart from the other Event Directors, was always good to work with, collaborative and is very skilled at organising large scale and complex events."
Learning: Get to the heart of what your audience needs
Regularly reviewing and refining your value proposition, audience personas, educational content, and buyer programs ensure your event remains competitive and delivers true value to attendees and exhibitors.
When turning around and reviving an event the Framework acts as your team's strategic compass
It is the distilled wisdom and experience of running hundreds of events, unearthing the challenges that slow growth.
The ten comprehensive modules below are built on these learnings and equip all event organisers with the necessary best practices, core principles and growth strategies to reverse the fortunes of their events.
