Breaking the Addiction to Big Events: The Shift from Massive to Bite-size' is Underway

Companies love big events. As centerpieces of the B2B marketing calendar, trade shows and conferences have long underpinned sales strategies. 

But there's an ugly truth to confront. Mega-events require huge investments, substantial resourcing, and long production times. Their inflexible nature goes against what most companies and marketing teams aim for - agility, speed, measurable results. Still, we've accepted them as business "must-haves," despite the risks posed by long-term contracts and budget burn, and frankly poor UX.

Attendees come to big business events to discover, learn, and network. And not always, but pretty darn often, they get distracted by devices, overwhelmed by overstuffed agendas, lost in rows of booths - and miss yours.

The COVID Conference Comedown

This year, everything changed. Big, in-person events became unsafe (and, for the time being, illegal). But while we're here, should we avoid big virtual events, too?

When I asked this question, it spurred controversy on LinkedIn.

• Most of the commenters wholeheartedly agreed -- smaller virtual events were just better. The ideal size for engagement ranged from 6 to 48.
• Some pointed out that they use large virtual formats to gather big groups and then breakout into subsets and multi-formats. Great move! But I consider this simply a smart promotional strategy to gather a crowd for smaller events. 
• Some flat-out disagreed! They believe that they could engage huge groups with skilled moderators, strong intentions, and fancy chatrooms. 

One person who agrees that smaller events are better is Stephanie Buscemi, Salesforce's Chief Marketing Officer. She boldly announced the company was upending its mass events strategy. Instead of hosting 170,000 attendees, events are being "bite-sized" to 8 people; she sees the value and quick wins of adapting to smaller and "ultra-niche" gatherings that capture audience attention and encourage connections. "Once you get over eight people on the line, somebody is going to be tuning out. You can't really have a meaningful conversation."

But it's not just Salesforce that is shifting its approach to big events. 

Teams in nearly every enterprise organization are spinning up dozens, or even hundreds, of tiny Zoom events to reach the right buyers — not thousands of unknown people. They're creating focused sales moments that cater to purchasers at specific stages. Curated roundtable discussions where prospects can contribute. Whiteboard sessions where customers' voices are heard.

We're Gonna Be Here for While

The shift to smaller events has been set in motion. A recent PwC survey concedes that the trade show market won't fully rebound until 2024. And I predict that as we come back, there's no fully going back to how trade shows were before.

At some point, deprived of their big-event fix, many companies will have a moment of clarity: smaller events are just better.

CMOs will shift their strategies. Sellers will develop a new small-ball playbook. And attendees... well, I predict that attendees will rejoice in the newfound interaction, personalization, authenticity and accessibility. HOORAH! 

Small events will mean more meaningful experiences, more relevant conversations, more time spent creating valuable connections.

People may disagree with me. And certainly, I have been to a couple of large business events that have accomplished an intimate, engaging experience -- So it is possible. And those event producers are my personal heroes. But I mean it literally when I say only a couple. To the majority of the colossal crowded conventions, I bid you adieu. Goodbye, big, clunky, outdated formats! Goodbye, "webinars in sheep's clothing." 

Goodbye "content" over "connection." Welcome to a new era in event marketing where size matters, segmentation is table-stakes, and personalization is paramount. 

Nevertheless, I expect many to cling to their tentpoles. Some CMOs may tell you: "Big events fill our pipeline, and we make all of our important connections there!"

But do you? Do you really?

Sure. In the US, B2B events generate $381 billion in direct spending annually. 56% of B2B business leaders still expect to spend more on events next year. And yes, event marketing ranks first in sales conversions. But how many of those connections are made at the smaller, unofficial get-togethers organized outside the big tentpole event, like this:

And, if we're real, how many of the success measures you attribute to enormous events - impressions, invites sent, booth traffic, overall registrations – are vanity metrics? (Yeah. I said it.)

Small events deliver results -- Starting with attendance rate. 

Take a look at the inverse correlation between size and attendance rate: 

And it’s not just that they attend. It’s that they show up ready to engage – and to buy. 

They generate clear event ROI more frequently and faster. And they can deliver a return of more than 10x over big events. That's not a COVID-skewed result, either. We've been tracking the outcomes and value of smaller, independently produced events for years.

 So I’m Betting On 'Bite-Size'

The reality is that small events have been winning for decades. The need for 'big' has just blinded us. But with better event technology and a newfound reason to gather, smaller events can be scaled up to reach more of the right people and turned into real revenue generators. 

At Splash, we have seen massive success with small customer circles, Splash User Groups, and smaller firesides. So we're staying the course, because:

• Smaller events are lower cost and easier to optimize.
• Smaller events have more of the right people, namely enterprise buyers vs. the SMB buyers that crowd the big ones.
• Smaller events drive pipelines faster with better, more targeted conversations.
• Smaller events are easier to get your distributed team involved, which results in more personalized touch-points.
• Technology has enabled us to segment our audiences in unprecedented ways, which opens up new possibilities for small event formats.

EventProfs: It's Time to Get Good @ Small

When in-person business events come back (and they will be back), if I'm right, they won't be 5,000-person gatherings. They'll be a series of "campfire" events of 10 to 12 like-minded people sharing stories and experiences. They will be better, smaller, and more focused on connection than ever before. And that's what we #EventProfs MUST be ready for.

Time to Get Good @ Segmentation: We should all be doubling down on honing our skills to find the right people, put them in a small-group environment, and facilitate small-group experiences that drive BIG outcomes. So, in many ways, the real shift will be towards software that does a better job optimizing 'who's in the room.' Getting the right people to actually show up by measuring relevance, sentiment, and intent will be the job of automation software, and so as #EventProfs, we need to master:

Time to Get Good @ Formats: One of the simplest things you can do is alter the format. Even just naming your event something different can change everything! Opening it differently, setting intentions, eliminating content, focusing on interactivity - all can be game-changers. Here are a couple of great formats that are built to engage smaller groups.  PS….Invest in a facilitator-- it’s worth it.

Time to Get Good @ Technology: You can leverage tech to make big events seem small. But be prepared, the software to support this endeavor is STILL One of the biggest gaps in the virtual event-tech stack. I've nicknamed it "VIRTUAL WAY-FINDING" – it's the tech that enables attendees to seek out conversations and sessions. Several companies are innovating here, introducing 1:1s, breakouts, session caps, automated agendas, avatar joy-sticking, and speed networking. When this category is unlocked, it will be a seismic shift in what is possible online. So let's keep on supporting and experimenting with tech that makes 'big' events feel 'small.'

Time to Get Good @ Distributed: It's time to hand over the keys. It's 2020; Salespeople hosting their OWN events is the new field marketing (or PMs, recruiters or execs for that matter)!). Democratize who can host an event! Build scaled playbooks. Build best practices for meetings into your company culture. Enable smaller teams to host their OWN events in a coordinated way. Do this and you will unlock the power of your whole organization.

But when in doubt, just keep it small.

Even smaller than you think.

Smaller than that! :)

I believe now is the time to build formats, systems and organizations to "shrink the audience" :). Do more smaller events, and I believe you'll emerge as a leader who can successfully scale into the next era of events.