Authored by:  Deb Victor, Power Objects

Over the years, Convergence has become the largest marketing expenditure for PowerObjects, and therefore, we need to make the most out of that investment.  One key component is driving customers and prospect to the event.  This is not the responsibility of one person or team within PowerObjects. Rather, everyone on the PowerObjects team is responsible for driving attendance to Convergence, whether you are in marketing, sales, consulting services or support.  We divide our strategy into two different buckets, ongoing and pre-event, to ensure that we are always focused on maximizing the investment.

Here are some key activities you can utilize, broken down by bucket:

Ongoing Throughout the Year:

1. Newsletter: Reference Convergence year round in your newsletters. Remind your audience to plan and budget for the conference.

2. Customer Events: Have a customer share his/her Convergence testimonial at your customer events.

3. Account Reviews: Make Convergence a topic in all account reviews throughout the year so that customers can budget for the event.

Pre-Event:

1. Webinar: Host a "Why Attend Convergence" webinar the week before Convergence registration opens. Record the webinar and post it on your Convergence webpage so it can be referred to in subsequent marketing efforts. Example: http://www.powerobjects.com/convergence2012/#webcast2

2. Webpage: Host your own Convergence webpage which includes critical news and updates from your company related to the event. Take a look at ours for an example: http://www.powerobjects.com/convergence2012

3. Signature Block: Include the event in your email signature blocks. You can download an example from PartnerSource

4. Social: Use Twitter and LinkedIn to post messages. Have your updates auto post to social media channels. Use hashtags: #CONV12

5. Email: Organize bulk email communications regarding the event, but also have templates created that the customer account managers can send out with a more personalized approach. Set a schedule to send your communications such as two weeks before registration opens, the day registration opens, the week before Early Bird registration ends, and lastly 4 weeks before Convergence starts.

6. Phone: Ensure every customer and prospective customer call, including support calls, from October to the event has a reference and reminder to Convergence.

Final Thoughts

These communication activities are great, but not worth much if we aren't communicating the value proposition of Convergence.  Make sure each touch point articulates the value in their investment.  If you are new to Convergence, Microsoft PartnerSource has a "Top 5 Reasons Customers Attend Convergence" PowerPoint presentation that will assist you.

Happy Convergence Marketing! 

Deb Victor, PowerObjects and member of the Convergence Partner Advisory Council