Unlocking Event-led Growth with Pepper Content

Summary

Impersonal marketing tactics have been the go-to way for businesses to generate buzz and attract customers for long. However, there is a rising number of founders who are recognising the importance of building true and lasting connections with their customers and the larger industry through exclusive, in-person events. Called event-led growth (ELG), this strategy is finding favour across a wide range of industries, especially vertical-focused SaaS businesses. The results can be significant, with research showing increased brand visibility, stronger customer connections, and even new partnerships.

Establishing connections is a vital part of being alive. Every animal, from ants to humans, makes connections and strives for deeper, more meaningful relationships. With age, humans tend to find comfort in forming fewer, but deeper, bonds. These bonds allow us to understand, anticipate, and fulfil the needs of those we associate with. They are as important to life as they are to business. Building strong bonds with your customers means you can identify their challenges and the solutions to address them. One way to establish meaningful, long-lasting connections is to meet someone face-to-face, perhaps even share a meal.

This connection is the core principle of an increasingly popular business strategy called event-led growth (ELG). It is a go-to-market approach to B2B marketing that leverages exclusive in-person events. These help to cultivate strong relationships with potential and existing customers. It also prioritises building genuine connections and building trust over traditional sales methods.

It is an important strategy for founders, especially those building vertically-focused SaaS businesses. Research shows that businesses are deriving meaningful returns on investment from hosting events. As many as 63% say it has given them better brand visibility, and an equal number vouch for events leading to stronger customer relationships. Over 50% also found stronger or new partnerships by leveraging this approach. 

For Anirudh Singla, founder and CEO of the content marketing platform Pepper Content, taking the ELG route was a no-brainer. 

The company’s main executive touchpoint is the chief marketing officer. And CMOs are inundated with sales pitches daily. ELG flipped the script by creating a close gathering of peers and industry leaders who come together to discuss issues and subjects that matter to the larger industry. 

For Pepper Content, the signs were clear. It found that across industries, CMOs preferred roundtable dinners or executive retreats over generic conferences.

“Our learning from the industry was that if we want their time, we need to be able to host our exclusive events," - Anirudh

He takes us through the contours of this approach, and how entrepreneurs can best use it to improve their outreach and business outcomes.

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Account-based marketing

How does one begin to plan for an ELG motion? One way is to outsource event planning and execution. However, hiring an external agency comes with a price tag that may not always work favourably for all businesses. 

“For most people, the motivation is if either their peer group or better people are going to be attending the event. So getting the right quality of people becomes a big factor,” says Anirudh.

For Pepper, the way to do this right was an in-house team of eight to ten people. This team tackles various crucial roles:

• Outreach: Identifying and inviting high-value guests who can contribute meaningfully to the discussions.
• Engagement: Ensuring a seamless experience for attendees, encouraging participation, and maximising conversions.
• Pre-Briefing: Researching the backgrounds of all guests beforehand to personalise interactions and ensure discussions are relevant to their interests and challenges.
• Logistics: Sweating the small details matters. Top-notch venues with excellent food options and convenient travel and parking access significantly impact the overall experience of the attendees.

These exclusive gatherings build trust and relationships that traditional marketing tactics take much longer to achieve.

Anirudh also points out that Pepper leverages these events not just for immediate sales, but also to gain valuable customer insights. Open discussions with industry leaders provide a platform for learning about challenges, trends, and potential product development opportunities.

“We have also found a lot of potential advisors through these roundtables because of the industry connections they bring. We realised they could help us amplify our reach,” - Anirudh

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Crafting the perfect roundtable

Unlike typical events that often emphasise product showcases, ELG focuses on industry-specific topics and discussions. The idea is not to make a sales pitch but to prioritise relationship-building with executives, and cultivate these relationships to broaden your network and customer base. 

Broadly, there are a few components of planning and executing a growth-focused event:

• Quality over quantity: Prioritise high-value attendees who can contribute meaningfully to discussions and become potential customers. 
• Data-driven Targeting: Leverage industry databases. “There's a different density of decision-makers in different places,” says Anirudh. “You can use data available through different databases to understand, for example, how many marketers are there in New York versus the Bay Area. You can further segment that by designation and industry,” he adds. 

• Leverage Technology: There are many event management platforms available to streamline communication, registrations, and logistics.

A well-executed event for a smaller audience is often a good starting point. Founders can expand the scope and frequency as they gain experience and solidify their understanding of how ELG is working for them. 

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Beyond the event: Building relationships and pipelines

ELG is a long-term game. The immediate impact of a good discussion is brand awareness and relationship building. 

Pepper Content's roundtables resulted in face-to-face interactions with top industry leaders, many of whom became loyal customers and brand advocates. “A lot of people who came for these dinners also started referring some customers to us over time,” says Anirudh.

“We have seen early success already with pipeline conversion, and we are also now building out a community-based playbook,” - Anirudh

The way Pepper Content is doing that is through podcasts.

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Beyond attendance numbers

To gauge the effectiveness of their ELG strategy, founders should look beyond the attendance numbers at their events. Though specific parameters may differ across businesses and industries, there are broad commonalities when tracking the effectiveness of your ELG approach. 

“Your benchmark, broadly speaking, is the relevance of people who came for your event and then eventually how many of them became a part of your business pipeline,” says Anirudh.

Qualified leads: Track how many event attendees become qualified leads within your sales pipeline. ELG aims to connect with key decision-makers, so attendees moving into your pipeline signifies success. For instance, if 15 attendees identify five potential long-term customers, it is a win. 

Customer feedback: Analyse feedback and discussions to identify industry trends, customer challenges, and potential product development opportunities. This customer insight fuels innovation.

Amplification potential: Consider the reach of the attendees. Satisfied guests who had a positive experience at an event or had an invigorating discussion may recommend your company to others, organically expanding your brand awareness.

ELG is just like building personal relationships. It requires constant engagement and consistent effort. For a business wanting to expand its brand and business, it is important to remain focused on making genuine connections that will pay off in the future.

"It's a marathon, not a sprint," says Anirudh. "Success hinges on building genuine connections, one person and one event at a time. Patience is key, as the true value of ELG unfolds over time," - Anirudh