PRECISION DEMAND MARKETING STRATEGY A Better Approach to Planning This is the ideal time to create a connected, buyer-driven strategy across in-person, hybrid, virtual events, and webinars. So, before in-person events return and you’re in full execution mode again, do some planning. Discuss how you intend to manage data from all types of events and how you’ll connect to the rest of your demand engine. As part of your planning, take a long look at how you’re deploying your budget. Prior to the pandemic, a large percentage of your budget might have been allotted to sponsoring and exhibiting at third party trade shows and conferences. Today, those numbers are in flux. With much of the spend for them moved into other channels, large in-person events budgets may be harder to justify. Execs may not be as willing to devote large chunks of the budget to events, if they remain siloed. You can create a better business case when you show a holistic events strategy. Events are essential to your overall marketing strategy, but they need to show ROI. Implementing a Precision Events strategy helps you meet that need even as it ensures the entire marketing and sales team gets the most from its events investment. The wise approach is to plan for a balanced mix of in-person and virtual events and to then connect them to other digital touchpoints as steps in each buyer’s personalized journey. Just keep in mind that this all can be Industry specific: more traditional sectors, for example, may return to in-person faster than B2B tech, which may stick with a digital or hybrid approach longer. Time will tell. P — 9