There’s a theory I’ve been reading up on lately called "jobs to be done theory." Its roots can be traced back to Theodore Levitt, a professor at HBS in the 1960s. It can basically be summed up by saying that the more jobs a product can help a customer do, the more valuable that product can be. Conversely, the fewer jobs that a product does, the less valuable it can be.
Perhaps most importantly is what it actually does: It takes the focus off of the “products,” and places it more on the specific needs (or “jobs”) that the products fulfill.
This is important to consider for event planners, as all too often, we identify ourselves as “event organizers” instead of focusing on the actual jobs that we’re meant to fulfill. By thinking about the mission instead of the product (the “event”) we’re able to open up our business beyond its confines, to better serve our core purpose through additional means.
So let's start here: What are the “jobs” that an event does best?
In order of importance, it can basically be boiled down to three things for a B2B audience:
- Connecting buyers and sellers
- Entertainment
- Education
Let’s look at these three areas, from the bottom up.
EDUCATION
I’ve heard it said that “education” served as the most important job for events pre-pandemic. In reality, that was very rarely, if ever, the case. Our potential attendees live in a world where they can search for all of the information they need, at the click of a button from their home office. Saying that live conferences are great for helping attendees learn is, in many respects, akin to saying that a linear feed for cable TV is great for providing entertainment value.
When you see speakers at industry events, they can almost always be found online via podcasts or via a variety of industry trade publications. Can they provide educational value? Sure, but there’s very little unique learning value in event content relative to other forms of media. Additionally, those other forms of media are far more accessible, so they have a significant advantage over event content when it comes to education.
If we’re being honest with ourselves, what most event companies are doing by promoting their speaker line up is not so much promoting the speakers’ educational value. Instead, it’s promoting the speakers as “attendees” at their event that potential delegates will have the opportunity to network with or sell to.
However, there is one area of education that is perhaps more valuable at events than any other. Specifically, Q&A with speakers.
Q&A with speakers allows individuals to meet, and learn from top industry professionals that they might have otherwise struggled to meet with. These short interactions are sometimes enough of a value exchange for an entire event to be worthwhile to an attendee.
This is important. As event planners, we need to be focusing on ways we can expand Q&A with speakers and invited guests, while minimizing some of the more traditional conference content that is not as uniquely valuable. Similarly for our virtual events, we need to make sure that we’re staying away from 100% prerecorded content and that we’re allowing for Q&A with the audience. It’s the most unique value prop for the success of a content-led event. Without Q&A, you may as well be posting on demand videos on your site.
Last but not least, the one thing that we need to worry about as event planners in the future is the availability of top speakers. If speakers have the ability to speak on virtual events (or in trade publications) at any given week throughout the year, then they may be less inclined to attend a live event that will take up infinitely more of their time. If your event is a mandatory industry meeting ground between buyers and sellers, you’re likely fine with getting your speakers to participate. They’re going to be attending regardless, so it’s less of an ask on your potential participants. However, if your event is not a mandatory industry meeting ground, your event is far more likely to be successful in a virtual environment moving forward, with plenty of Q&A.
ENTERTAINMENT
I’m going to keep this one simple: “internally focused” corporate events can be a great reward for employees. For things like sales kick-offs and incentive travel, “entertainment” is the primary job that events are fulfilling, and it’s doing a fantastic job. You could even argue that the “job” of entertainment is really less about entertainment and more about employee satisfaction. The true purpose for these types of events, especially in a post pandemic world, is to keep employees happy/motivated in their roles and to provide them with nice perks.
For all other events, including tradeshows, and conferences, entertainment is nothing more than a secondary benefit of attending the event. As a secondary “job,” the importance of entertainment and experiences needs to be valued, as it can create memorable and positive experiences for our delegates. Things like concerts, fancy stages, or outdoor activities can be a great way to boost the premium experience at events, and have attendees walking away with more positive sentiments.
All of that being said, employees are never going to justify T&E by telling their bosses that they're attending a business event in Las Vegas so they can go to a Coldplay concert.
CONNECTING BUYERS AND SELLERS
The main reason that most B2B events exist today is simply to connect buyers and sellers. It makes the whole system work and justifies travel expenses for all. Buyers can hold meetings with dozens of current suppliers in the span of just a few days, and additionally, have the ability to discover newer and more exciting ones that may have escaped them.
You could even argue that the most important entertainment and education that exists at a tradeshow is in the context of buyer and seller relationships. Through shared experiences/entertainment, they’re able to better know each other and form more trusting relationships. Similarly, through specific questions about products/solutions, buyers are better able to keep abreast of important matters to their business that can be difficult to find online or in public forums.
Connecting buyers and sellers is the single most important “job” that most events have.
All too frequently, I hear from other planners that say they work in the "in-person events industry." The truth is that we need to be less focused on the product (”events”) and more focused on the primary job: connecting buyers and sellers. Through that lens is a future for event organizations that exists beyond in-person events.
The question that all event-profs should be asking is not "how can we better engage people at our conference.' Instead, it should be "how do we better connect buyers and sellers?"
Once we’re asking that question, our businesses can remove themselves from the boundaries of the physical events of the past and open the door to expansion into a variety of digital futures that can help us accomplish our primary job, and purpose.