The digital transformation of the events industry has surfaced more ways than ever to monetise conferences, exhibitions, meetings, training and the like.
Despite planners feeling the need to offer their virtual-only events for free during the early stages of the pandemic, as the market has matured and event design has grown more sophisticated, the opportunity to reach a broader audience with exclusive on-demand content has produced extensive revenue-generating opportunities.
Yet, with new models and methods comes confusion and questions such as:
- What kind of registration types should you offer?
- Should you tailor price points for different audiences?
- Can you still make money on free virtual events?
- How can you prove ROI?
Let’s attempt to answer some of these questions.
To price and ticket your event optimally, you must first define its value - for attendees, sponsors and the organisation itself. You can then maximise that value by mapping it to relevant attendee, sponsor and organisational goals. Maximising value leads to higher ROI for your organisation and a more rewarding experience for your audiences.
Attendee-focused value
The best way to maximise value for attendees is by understanding their interests and motivations. Use historical data, surveys, feedback forms, interviews, and other tools to help you craft the most valuable attendee experience—from the first moment they interact with your brand to the moment they leave your event.
Look for ways to address their pain-points and provide value through education, entertainment, networking, high-touch support, status, convenience, or other business benefits.
Sponsor-focused value
Sponsors support events when they help their organisations achieve higher goals, such as increasing revenue, driving sales leads, positioning them as leaders in their industries, or gaining media exposure.
The best way to find hidden value is by understanding sponsors’ business needs—e.g., building brand awareness, increasing reach or engagement, strengthening loyalty with existing customers, acquiring new customers, or raising funds.
Organisation-focused value
Find internal value by aligning your event to your organisation’s key business objectives.
An event’s purpose could be to enhance brand identity and awareness, showcase product innovations, or highlight corporate culture. If the company’s goal is to build a sales pipeline, an event may aim to gather leads from qualified prospects. If its goal is to drive revenue, an event may target existing customers with a high-value item or service they can purchase onsite.
Once you have defined what value means to each group, you can use this information to build value propositions that are unique, authentic, and compelling. By focusing on value for all three groups, you can price your event accordingly and maximise ROI.
Now that you’ve defined the value you want to provide, let’s look at how value-based ticketing and pricing can help you translate that value into packages attendees and sponsors will love.
Ticket price is not just about calculating costs and adding a profit margin; it’s also about how much people want what you’re selling. A value-based ticketing strategy finds ways to ensure each buyer’s perceived value of the experience equals or exceeds the price they pay.
To influence perceived value, and consequently, ticket demand and price, consider the following strategies:
Flexible pricing
Use a tiered pricing system to add flexibility to your events. Offer packages ranging from free to super-premium in order to create the right balance of reach and engagement. Free tickets may offer access to view the digital plenary session content only, whereas paid-for tickets could include all digital content and 28-day access to on-demand session recordings. Your top tier of tickets could then offer full and continuous access to all content on-demand plus a voucher for a local meal delivery service to bring you lunch, a coffee shop gift card, a seat at the breakout session tables, and a discount coupon for 25% off VIP registration at a future event.
Premium content
Differentiate your event by offering exclusive content that costs more to produce. Gate this high-value content behind the paywall. In this scenario, perhaps plenary sessions are all-access, but more niche or specific content requires an upgrade. This approach lets you grant high-value attendees access to content more suited for their needs while still satisfying more budget-conscious attendees with standard content.
Premium training
Training materials, tools, learning guides, or the ability to receive certifications or continuing education credit can incur costs that you’ll want to recoup with ticket fees. If the value of the content is transparent, audiences will be willing to pay no matter the event format. Not only that but delivering great content showcases your event expertise, which can be a huge draw for future attendees.
VIP experiences
Give super-premium ticket holders access to exclusive experiences not available to basic ticket holders. These could include additional networking events, VIP speaker sessions with Q&A time, or increased levels of access to exhibitors or sponsors. You can offer these experiences before, during, and after the event. For virtual events, VIP experiences can include more interaction or one-on-one time with a speaker or trainer.
Early bird offers
Incentivise your audience and sponsors with discounted ‘early-bird’ rates that will increase over time. Create discount codes and time limited exclusive sales and offers. Urgency is a powerful driver that you can use to encourage audiences to secure registration early on in your promotional plan, allowing you to better assess the demand for your different packages.
Sponsor marketing
Create sponsor packages that provide access to different audiences at varying tiers of investment. This lets sponsors reach varying levels of exposure and attendee engagement. If you communicate the value of each tier clearly, partners will understand the value exchange and match their investment accordingly. A top tier sponsorship may include an off-site drinks reception before or after your event, or being matched to super-premium ticket holders who have requested one-to-one time with relevant businesses.
At last year’s Cvent CONNECT Europe, the Cvent team adopted flexible pricing to create three offerings: free virtual, premium virtual, and in-person. By offering premium content, special perks, limited access, and VIP experiences, higher ticket values were established for the premium and in-person tiers while increasing sponsorship value. Early bird incentives were used to create urgency and entice registrants.
Creating a meaningful attendee and partner experience is vital to producing profitable events. Understanding the elements of value and how they make attendees and sponsors feel will help you determine the proper fee structure. If you provide a valuable and unforgettable experience, attendees and sponsors will be happy to pay.
To access a full version of this article, download a copy of the e-book entitled How to Ticket & Price Virtual, Hybrid and In-Person Events.
