Event Management Services

Event Performance Group

The COVID crisis has dramatically impacted the events industry with major consequences to organizations that rely on non-dues revenue from events to cover operational and overhead costs needed to achieve their member education initiatives, advocacy efforts, and missions. Without consistent and reliable event revenue contributions, leadership is often forced to reduce staff or make deep budget cuts. This puts tremendous pressure on staff to produce more revenue with less resources, an almost guarantee that events will not get the time and attention needed to achieve expected results and revenue. This can also lead to a vicious cycle of burdened staff becoming unproductive and more staff and budget cuts needed to keep operations going.

Instead, organizations should consider outsourcing their events, so they get the time and attention needed to generate needed non-dues / net revenue, increase exhibit & sponsorship sales, grow attendance and quality buyers, and improve industry and member engagement. To address the needs of our clients, EAG launched a new division, Event Performance Group (EPG), with an expanded team of experts with decades of experience managing events ranging from small reginal tradeshows to large, international, and complex conferences & expos, as well as virtual and hybrid events.

Regardless of size, our firm prides itself on producing premier events for the industries served. Instead of a ‘cookie-cutter’ approach to event management, EPG conducts our 360° Review & Analysis for every new client’s event to better understand the market served, audience needs, and the client’s expected financial targets and event objectives. From better event insight and understanding of the unique aspects of each market and needs of the client, EAG can develop tailored Business Plans and long-term Strategic Vision Plans, that identify and capitalize on new opportunities for growth and approaches to overcome obstacles, ensuring our teams have a road map and timeline for success.

The team assigned to each event has in-depth experience and knowledge of the industry / market and expertise to implement proven strategies, programs and technologies that can grow exhibit & sponsorship sales, conference revenue, attendance and quality of buyers, improve participant retention and net revenue, and generate other desired results for your organization (convert non-members to members, sell publications and other products, etc.).

EPG helps our clients extend the brand value of their events and generate incremental revenue year-round through virtual events, small local or pop-up events, co-located pavilions, and other strategies, empowering organizations to deliver more value to the entire industry and ensuring they receive more non-dues revenue.

Comprehensive Event Management Services

EAG’s comprehensive event management services include:

  • Finance & Budgeting: Establish detailed budgets that realistically anticipate revenues, expenses, and net profits, including the forecasting of revenue growth, suggestions for expense control and the resulting effect on the financial “bottom line.” Establish banking and accounting processes for exhibit and conference sales and payment processes.
  • Sales: EAG’s sales team is highly experienced in selling exhibit booth space and sponsorships, as well as virtual events and year-round opportunities, including executing
    • Sales growth strategies – pipeline development, expanding supplier categories, pavilions & showcases, creative sponsorships, and customer relationship building
    • Onsite and online space renewal programs
    • Sales Database – manage and expand sales prospect database through lead generation, competitive shows, and research
    • Exhibitor customer service support
    • New exhibitor and venue orientation programs
    • Exhibitor surveys – pre-event, onsite, and post-event

    EAG has consistently increased sales conversion rates and revenue, exhibit net square feet and number of companies, and sponsorship revenues, as well as exhibitor retention and satisfaction scores that meet or exceed recognized industry sales benchmarks.

  • Attendance and Lead Generation Marketing: EPG’s marketing experts have extensive experience developing innovative attendee marketing strategies, promotions, and campaigns to improve event attendance and retention, expand the quality and key target roles of buyers, and create better engagement and attendee satisfaction. Our marketing team effectively supports the sales team with sales campaigns to generate leads and convert leads to exhibit and sponsorship sales. Our team executes
    • Positioning – Messaging by target market
    • Pricing – Strategies for conference and expo to drive desired results
    • Brand Awareness – search optimization strategies to enhance online brand presence, drive traffic, and generate new leads year-round
    • Attendee Promotions – Creative and integrated campaigns using direct and digital channels, optimizing results throughout
    • Events – Special events, networking programs, and other engagement strategy development and execution
    • Attendee Database – Manage and expand the attendee database of prospects through lead generation, attendee referrals, list sourcing, partnerships, and research
    • Public Relations – Communications and media coverage strategies
    • Content Marketing – Video and photography management to capture testimonials and success stories and other content marketing strategies to boost brand awareness and conversions
    • Partnerships – Media and organization partnerships to expand reach to new attendees and marketing impressions
    • Sales Materials – Sales prospectus, lead generation campaigns, sponsorship brochures and other sales material to effectively present the value of exhibiting and sponsoring

    EAG’s strategies have consistently generated better attendance results and expanded buyer roles / levels / sectors, leading to improved sales renewal and exhibitor sales results.

  • Branding: Reimagine or launch your event brand with a strong brand identity, including logo development / redesigns and brand statement development.
  • Website Development: EPG can develop a new site or redesign event websites with new content, lead generation strategies and contemporary designs. Our sites are secure, search optimized, and mobile responsive, greatly improving online brand presence, user experience, search page rankings, website traffic, lead capture, and registration conversions.
  • Education Programming: EPG can help guide the education team / committee with strategic track, topic, and session planning to develop the right content for existing and new target audiences desired and leverage the program to improve attendance and conference revenues. EPG can also fully develop the program with support from the organization and provide abstract and speaker management, speaker / keynote identification and speaker recruiting to develop a strong conference program that can attract quality and more attendees.
  • Operations: EAG has worked with many service providers to successfully execute tradeshows and conferences, including general service contractors, A/V companies, registration providers, housing management companies, and many others. We can work with an organization’s contracted vendors or identify and contract new vendors as needed. EAG will execute
    • Exhibit Hall set-up and tear down and exhibitor services & help desk
    • Registration – manage pre-registration, onsite registration, and reporting
    • Housing block negotiations and management
    • Onsite staffing
    • Security
    • Transportation
    • Shipping
    • Other operations and logistics services
  • Meeting Planning: Coordinate and manage services by appointed contractors and venue, including food & beverage, conference room set-up, conference production and A/V
  • Site Selection: Selecting the right location and venue for the event is critical for attendance and sales success. EAG can select strategic locations and venues for several years out and negotiate the venue contracts.
  • Technology: New technology can save time, costs and enable event strategies and program. EPG has hands-on experience with dozens of solutions and exclusive contracts with others to effectively manage events, including:
    • Event management (exhibit booth and sponsorship sales management, floor plan management, online contracting, etc.) – EPG uses Map Your Show (MYS) to manage exhibit sales and sponsorships, floor plan, and exhibitor database and data collection.
    • CRM for sales and database management – EPG uses Hubspot for managing the sales database and sales efforts, as well as execute effective lead generation efforts
    • Marketing automation platforms, social media management and digital ad management – EPG uses best of breed platforms, including Hubspot, Feathr, and other solutions to execute highly targeted and engaging campaigns, retargeting, and other digital campaigns to improve conversions and registrations
    • Speaker and abstract management – Our experience expands across many solutions, including eShow, a2z, Cadmium, and many others
    • Content management (abstract management, awards, sponsorship fulfillment, website, etc.)
    • Registration and lead retrieval
    • Business matchmaking, appointment scheduling, social engagement
    • Housing management
    • Engagement technologies – chatbots, AI, beacons, kiosks, etc.
  • Virtual and Hybrid Events: EAG can provide solid strategic planning to help clients determine the right strategy for their 2021 events and beyond, including venue identification / renegotiations, pricing, hybrid options, new sponsorships, and other considerations. Once the plan is approved, EPG can fully execute all live and virtual components, ensuring revenue and event objectives are achieved, and expanded benefits are realized, including
    • Increasing worldwide attendance
    • Improving year-round brand awareness
    • Reaching first-time attendees that generate a funnel of prospective attendees for future live events
    • Expanding supplier participation with unique sponsorships that provide a positive ROI
    • Enhancing engagement for all participants

    There are many other benefits to executing hybrid or virtual events as an ongoing strategy.

Launch or Expand Events

Should your organization want to launch a new event or extend your event to new markets, industry sectors, or geographic regions, EAG is a trusted resource to develop the go-to-market strategy and execute all aspects of the launch or new events to ensure revenue and attendance goals are achieved and the event becomes viable and sustainable. The EPG team has successfully launched trade shows and conferences in many different markets and in the U.S. and abroad, establishing market leading events and a sustainable revenue source for organizations.

Our Promise

Organizations will benefit from EPG’s approach to event management:

  • Focus on improving non-dues / net revenue, attendance, and brand value all year long, achieving our clients’ goals and objectives
  • Highly experienced team of strategic event managers with expertise in all aspects of events to successfully plan and produce your event
  • Comprehensive and customized approach for each event, including an in-depth analysis and strategic business plan with financial projections and investment needed to improve ongoing performance
  • Proven track record improving financial performance, attendance and expanded universe of buyers, exhibit & sponsorship sales and expanded supplier categories, participant retention and satisfaction, and virtual event attendance and sales
  • Hands-on experience with a vast number of technology solutions to effectively identify and implement the right solutions for each event and drive adoption of the technology to improve participant satisfaction, streamline operations, provide enhanced networking and connection opportunities, and reduce costs.