Why Business Events Are Still the Most Underrated Growth Lever

Here's what I've learned after years of watching brands throw money at events: most business events are expensive theatre that generates nothing.

But when done properly? They're one of the most effective engagement models available—not because they're "nice experiences", but because they compress trust-building into hours instead of months.

Most brands misuse events as expensive hospitality. The best brands use them as strategic reputation infrastructure.

Here's why inspirational business events work, and what "managed correctly" actually means.

Why Events Outperform Most Other Engagement Models

1) They Create High-Trust, High-Attention Conditions

Digital is low attention and low accountability.

Events are the opposite: people show up, stay, listen, and interact in real time.

That changes the psychology:

• Less scepticism: You're physically present, not hiding behind a landing page

• More openness: The environment signals investment and seriousness

• Faster rapport: Face-to-face accelerates relationship velocity

• Higher retention: People remember what happened in a room far better than what they scrolled past

You can't fake presence. And presence builds trust faster than any digital campaign.

2) They Turn a Brand Into a Moment, Not a Message

Marketing is often consumed passively. Scrolled past. Ignored. Forgotten.

Events are experienced.

People remember:

• How it felt

• Who they met

• What they learned

• What surprised them

That emotional residue becomes associated with your brand.

A white paper tells people what you think. An event shows them who you are.

3) They Generate Social Proof at Scale

A good event doesn't end when the last panel finishes. It becomes:

• Peer-to-peer validation: "I was there; it was worth it."

• Content for weeks: Clips, insights, quotes, photos that extend reach

• Credibility for future partnerships: "They pulled that off" signals capability

If content marketing is how you tell your story, events are how others witness it.

And witnessed credibility converts faster than claimed credibility.

What "Managed Correctly" Really Means

This is where most brands fail. They throw an event together, hope for the best, and wonder why it didn't move the needle.

Here's what actually works:

1) It Has a Single Strategic Outcome (Not Ten Vague Goals)

Pick one primary objective:

• Pipeline acceleration

• Partner acquisition

• Category leadership

• Community building

• Employer brand lift

If an event tries to do everything, it does nothing well.

I've watched too many events try to be "networking + thought leadership + product launch + recruitment" simultaneously. The result? Confusion and diluted impact.

Ruthless focus wins.

2) It's Designed Around the Audience's Tension, Not Your Agenda

The best events don't ask: "What should we present?"

They ask: "What is our audience wrestling with right now?"

Build the programme around:

• Pressure points they're facing today

• Uncomfortable trade-offs they're making

• Practical decisions they need to get right

• Real-world constraints they're navigating

Inspiration without applicability is entertainment. And entertainment doesn't convert.

3) It Earns Inspiration Through Substance

"Inspirational" doesn't mean motivational speeches with stock photos and platitudes.

It means:

• Insight people didn't have before

• Clarity, they can act on

• Access to perspectives they can't normally reach

• Honest discussion of failures, not just wins

The fastest way to make an event feel shallow is to make it self-congratulatory.

Nobody leaves inspired by brands patting themselves on the back. They leave inspired when they've learned something they can use tomorrow.

4) It's Orchestrated Like a Campaign, Not a One-Day Show

Events should have three phases:

• Pre-event (4–6 weeks): Build anticipation + qualify the right attendees
  Don't just blast invites. Create curiosity. Share previews. Make attendance feel selective.

• During: Deliver a tight narrative + high-quality interactions
  Every session should build toward the strategic outcome. No filler panels.

• Post-event (2–4 weeks): Convert momentum into relationships, content, deals
  This is where ROI lives. Follow-up calls. Content distribution. Relationship deepening.

Most brands overspend on the "during" and underinvest in pre/post. That's backwards.

5) The Room Is Curated (This Is the Real Secret)

Events convert when the right people are in the room.

Curate:

• Attendee profiles: Don't just fill seats. Get the right seats filled.

• Seating and networking structure: Facilitate connection, don't leave it to chance.

• Discussion formats that force participation: Panels are passive. Workshops, roundtables, and facilitated discussions are active.

• Moments of intentional connection: Build in structured networking, not just "mingle time".

Unstructured networking is usually wasted potential. People default to those they already know or stand awkwardly with a drink.

Design the collisions you want to happen.

Why Inspirational Events Are the Best Engagement Model

Because they combine what other channels can't, at the same time:

• Credibility (earned, in-person)

• Emotion (felt, not claimed)

• Community (shared experience)

• Conversion (relationships move faster)

A great event makes people think the following:

"I trust these people. They understand my world. I want to stay close."

That is engagement in its most profitable form. Digital can inform. Content can educate. Advertising can remind.

But events? Events build the relationships that actually close business.

The Mistake Most Brands Make

They treat events as marketing expenses instead of strategic investments. They measure success by attendance numbers instead of relationship quality. They execute logistics flawlessly but forget to design for outcomes.

The brands that win with events? They approach them like product launches—strategic, intentional, and relentlessly focused on what happens after the room empties.

——-

Note:

What's your experience? Have you seen events drive real business outcomes, or are they mostly expensive theater in your world?

I'm curious where others are seeing this work—or fail spectacularly.

About the Author

Steve Gardiner (exec MBA) is a senior marketing and commercial leader at Lighthouse PR, bringing global experience from Accenture, Electronic Arts, Virgin Media, Telekom, and Etisalat. Latterly, as VP Business at Etisalat, he was responsible for $1.8B in revenue.

Today, Steve applies his strategic, marketing, and growth expertise to support Lighthouse PR clients as part of the agency’s service offering.