Benchmarks for Event Marketing

[Anonymous]

We are beginning to use Marketo more frequently for promotional events and I've been unable to find information online about benchmarks for using email marketing to promote events. We are most interested in ratios like invited/registered and registered/attended. 

Does anyone know where statistics like this are avaiable or would anyone be willing to share the rates that they have experienced with their events?

Thanks in advance!

[Josh_Hill13]

Jason,
 

If you search for Marketo's B2B benchmarking study you should be able to get some idea after you answer the questions.

My experience is that events are almost always the same if you are running content and not just a Company Buy Us Now event.

Invitations: Opens 10-25% depending on city and topic. CTR maybe 5-15%.
Registrations: 5-10% of reach depending on city and topic.
Missed Ratio: 50% unless you charge a fee in which case it'll be 30%. <--I expect this across industries.

If you aren't offering much in the way of real content, then expect a lower response rate. I used to run events where we showcased our capabilities by offering valuable economic forecasts. I suspect that unless you can setup your event that way, you won't have the same level of interest.

[Anonymous]

The ratio of registered to attended almost always hovers around 50%.  It depends on the type of event and the target audience of course.  Invited / registered is again depends on the type of event and the target audience, but we use 1%- 2% for most projections.  You should check out Marketo's 2012 Marketing Benchmarks: Awesome Stats and Essential Guidance to Rock Your Revenue Performance (www.marketo.com/webinars/stats-and-essential-guidance-revenue-performance) presentation by Jon Miller, Marketo, VP Marketing.  It's been a while since I reviewed it, but it may have those metrics among others.

[Anonymous]

Hey Jason,

I agree with everything Josh and Elliott mentioned. I know that at my organization, we aim for a 75% registered to attended ratio.

One of the ways we do this is by letting them order their food (if it's a lunch n' learn type event, particularly). Then, we have a reason to call and request their order to confirm it. This makes the lead engage with us and the event and keeps it on their radar.

Plus it enables us to stay on top of our waitlist, because a lead might not reach out to let you know they cannot attend. However, if you call to ask what food they want, or to confirm it, they will likely tell you that they cannot attend. Then you get to un-waitlist someone. 

All in all, that's one little thing that we've been able to do to improve our event metrics and success. I'd love to hear what other people do!