30 statistics that prove events are worth the investment

With a lot of time and hard work put into the success of events, you want to be rest assured that it will pay off. Whether your goal is to generate new leads, strengthen customer relationships, or increase sales, you want to feel confident in being able to achieve it.

Investment has a multitude of meanings, for some it will be spending money, others it will be using resources or even time. All with the result of making a profit and gaining an advantage. So, we’ve compiled the top stats to prove how worthy investing into events really is for businesses…

The value of events for ROI & sales

1. 68% of B2B marketers believe that live events generate the most leads (Marketing Charts).
2. 64% of event marketers say trade shows are used as sources of new business opportunities (CMO Council & E2MA).
3. On average, the ROI for events is 25-34% (Marketing Charts).
4. The average cost of a meeting at a prospect’s office is around $259, whereas a trade show face-to-face meeting costs $142. (CEIR)
5. 44% of marketers encounter a 3:1 ROI from event marketing (Statista).
6. Lead generation is the top reason to attend events according to 46% of event managers (IAEE).
7. 63% of marketers use trade shows as a source of lead generation (Marketing Charts).
8. 83% of brands say that increasing sales is their top reason for event participation ( Live Marketing ).
9. The UK Events Industry is currently worth £42.3 billion ( Installation, AV Technology ).
10. 79% of marketers generate sales through event marketing ( Statista ).

The value of attendees at events

1. On average, attendees spend around 9 hours on the show floor visiting exhibits (Freeman).
2. 81% of attendees at trade shows have buying authority (CEIR).
3. 1.5 billion participants attended B2B events globally in 2017 (Events Industry Council).
4. Just under half of trade show attendees (49%) plan to buy one or more of the products or services exhibited (Freeman).
5. Around half of marketers (47%) think that events are a highly effective way to reach and engage with customers (CMO Council & E2MA).
6. 38% of event attendees visit the company’s website after the event (Event Marketer).
7. Trade shows and conferences are in the top-3 sources buyers turn to when researching products and services (Marketing Charts).
8. 95% of marketers agree that live events provide valuable opportunities for attendees to form in-person connections (Endless Events).

The value of spend on events

1. The most successful companies are spending 1.7x above the average marketing budget on live events (Bizzabo).
2. 55% of B2B organisations spend 21%+ of their marketing budgets on events (Bizzabo).
3. Businesses that have seen a revenue growth of 30%+ have been increasing their event activity the most (Splash That).
4. 1/3 of businesses spend more than 20% of their marketing budget on events (Splash That).

The successful outcome of events

1. 41% of marketers believe events are the single-most effective marketing channel (Bizzabo).
2. 75% of content marketers said that the most effective content marketing strategy is in-person events (Content Marketing Institute).
3. 73% of marketers say events are better than other tactics for customer engagement (Marketing Charts).
4. Over half of marketers are satisfied with their strategies and results of events (Marketing Charts).
5. 80% of marketers believe that live events are crucial to their company’s success (Endless Events).
6. Over half (52%) of marketers believe that event marketing drives more business value than any other marketing channel (Splash That).

What the future holds

1. 26% of event planners expect an increase in their event budget (EventMB).
2. 85% of event planners are optimistic about the future of the global event industry (EventMB).

As you can see, investing into events has the potential to really benefit your business, through brand awareness, in-person conversations, generating sales, and even efficient marketing. So, the next time you start questioning whether you’re overspending on your events, reflect on these stats to remind you of the benefits and profit events can bring. And I’m sure the numbers will speak for themselves in your own results!