Events and conferences today are a dime a dozen. Just in the #martech space there's something every week that you could spend your time going to from one vendor or another. But if it's your turn to put on a show for prospects and customers, that doesn't mean you just just show up. Excellence is all about thinking about the details--and that includes how your brand looks and feels when prospects approach; what side events you can run to attract prospects and customers to share their time, insights, and needs with you; down to the giveaways that you have on the tradeshow floor.
It's no longer really about who spends the most money at an event, it's far more about the experience that people have with you while they're there.
So focus on getting that sponsorship and speaking slot. Put together a dinner or happy hour on one of the nights even if you're not a sponsor and take out some customers. Make sure your staff onhand knows the audience, knows what they're there to speak about, and knows that the goal of the event is.
Sweating over the details is not just about logo colors and website videos, it's about those times where the interaction with the customer and prospect actually happens. Make sure you feel good about how you are showing up here too.