Going to in person events for content = no ROI

Your host today is Peep Laja, Founder at CXL

Covid disrupted so many things. Office life is not gonna be the same. Same with events.

I see too many old school events being brought back - reminds me of those companies trying to get everyone back to the office.

Old school: it's about content.
New school: it's about people.

There's no ROI in going to in-person events for content.

The travel and lodging costs, event ticket - and then you get content you can get free elsewhere.

On top of that, most talks are mediocre.

If content would be the main thing, then virtual events are better. You can skip flight and hotel fees. Most virtual events are also free.

Even without virtual events, most conference talks are all available on YouTube for free. Most speakers give the same talk 27 times, many put those talks on YouTube.

My POV: In-person events focused on speakers and talks is an obsolete idea.

I went to SaaStr Annual last fall. Didn't see any great content, but I had a really great time. I'm convinced the ROI from this event was actually *huge*.

Why?

Because I hung out with like-minded people going places. I invested in relationships with these amazing folks and connected on a human level.

The only issue was that I worked hard to find those people there. The event itself did nothing to facilitate connections.

If there's one thing I've learned in this life, it's that the ROI on relationships is infinity.

So many of the great things that have happened to me personally as well as the professional success I've had is because of the people I've met in serendipitous ways, often at conferences.

In-person human connection is just so much more powerful than any online format. Online meetings are just not the same.

It's fine to continue a relationship online via Zoom etc, but you get a much bigger boost from even a 20 min in-person conversation.

Again: the idea that you organize or attend in-person events for content is obsolete.

Yeah you can have some keynotes at events and that's fine, but the bulk of the time should be allotted for matching people up, talking about their actual challenges.

Roundtable discussions, matchmaking, 1:1s, whiteboarding sessions, and all other formats like that. Not presenter vs audience setup, but real people getting to know each other while talking about relevant stuff, figuring things out together. (Yes, it needs a whole new level of facilitation).

In-person events are for relationships, not PowerPoints.

That's how I'm going to do all my events going forward. Focus on facilitating conversations and people getting to know each other, and not who is on the stage.

Come experience this at CXL Live in Austin TX (Oct 25-26).

It's designed for making lasting connections and learning from peers.

Get your tickets here.

Connect with Peep on LinkedIn.

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