Backend integration of Salesforce, Marketo and Attend that automates demand generation and registration process for a multinational event series.
Your challenge if you choose to accept it… Conceptualize and develop a unique soup to nuts Marketing event series that involves everything from the most basic event planning logistics to developing a registration platform out of existing tools.
As an experienced Events Marketing Manager, I was used to more than half of this project. It was a matter of spinning plates and making sure each plate stayed spinning in the air. A lot of research went into determining key factors like
Then came the development of actual event planning and logistics which I orchestrated into a twenty city test. Like any minimum viable event (MVE), this production came with a heavy cycle of iteration driven by audience feedback and an assortment of variables. Much like the design process, each city was the opportunity to understand what works, what doesn’t work and iterate for following events that were days away. The final test event established the basis for the elevated event experience our audience craved--a workshop.
This was challenging on multiple levels. For one, to respect the time of our very busy attendees, the event was two hours long from start to finish. Adding a workshop to the two hour event not only took an extra two hours of their time, it also required us to consider two distinct audiences--a primary and secondary. Like a domino effect, one big change like this instituted a change in almost every other aspect of the project. Things like venues, budget, value proposition, and most challenging of them all--the registration process.
With very basic tools at my disposal, I was able to get by with using our existing tools to create a simple and straightforward registration experience for the audience. But with the added “session”, it was something that normally would be produced on specialized registration software like Cvent or Eventbrite. Unfortunately, a big constraint was budget.
So how does one streamline the experience that affords the least amount of excise?
It wasn’t easy, but following the same design process I used for developing the typical event portion of the project, I started with research. Talking to different stakeholders and collaborating with subject matter experts (SME’s) led me to learning that there is potential to develop a registration platform with our existing tools--Marketo and Salesforce. I tried to learn about each tool and how a custom API integration can mimic the backend process of actual registration software.
What does that mean for the user?
Putting complicated loose backend wires aside, I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel too much and found a way to modify the existing registration landing page to provide a simple user flow that afforded the least amount of effort for users.
The flow above assumes that users spend no more than five minutes in the registration process.
The registration data could then be sorted and automated into designated actions within the marketing automation tool (Marketo) and customer relationship management tool (Salesforce).
But will it work?
I honestly wasn’t sure. But with an established user flow, we now had a solid foundation to focus our efforts on. Our next task was to determine the workflow that would get the Marketo and Salesforce tools to improve their relationship and work together in perfect harmony. Like any relationship, it took a lot of creativity that got us from this complex first attempt.
to this...
Working within the API constraints, this customized workflow programed into Marketo and Salesforce, magically automates the registration process to provide
But wait, there’s more
After a month of testing and iterating, the bulk of our custom registration platform was working and nearly complete. The last step was to fulfill the stakeholders’ need--automate the onsite check-in process with live and actionable updates to the Sales and Marketing teams--while also providing an elegant check-in experience for attendees with printed badges and all.
The problem was that there was no existing tool available to run this. With a little persuasion about optimizing the users and stakeholder experience, I was granted enough funds to bring in the final tool that would bring the registration platform full circle.
Like much of the affordable registration software in the market, Attend’s functionality overlapped with what we were building but didn’t have the data integration we required. What it did have, was a unique feature that fulfilled the experience needs for stakeholders and attendees. With a little coding on the backend between Attend and Marketo, and creatively building physical check-in kits, I was able to successfully integrate Attend into the mix.
Not only did we surpass the needs of the business with $4M of revenue in the first year, we also received a high average event NPS score of 65. As a result, what was once a national event series project ignited into a multi-national event series and a replicable events-in-a-box package that our business partners could take advantage of.
This project to develop a registration platform, a portion of the larger project, took three months to design, develop, test, launch and execute was a very unique experience for an Events Manager role. I wasn’t sure how viable the platform would be, considering the extensive scope and constraints, but faced the challenge keeping focused on the users and all stakeholders involved. The registration experience may have only been a piece of the larger event puzzle I was responsible for developing, but the success of the overall project was contingent on this initial first impression to potential customers.
It was a constant juggling act with the weight of stacked hats worn on my head (Designer, Developer, Project Manager and Events Manager). But coming out the other end with flying colors challenged me to realize my underlying passion. Long days and nights were rough, but the time spent designing user centered experiences in a technical context lifted my spirits. Underestimating my abilities to tackle such a feat wasn’t realized until hearing all the great feedback and seeing the results. Thanks to an amazing team that supported me in every aspect I could ask for is what gave me the confidence to quit a career I was great and pursue the ultimate challenge of becoming a Designer.
Delightful experiences following this first impression would also contribute to the program’s success that lie in the little details I orchestrated like
I wish I could share more of the user experiences that I designed into the overall project, but due to confidentiality mumbo jumbo, I hope you get the gist.
Being an Events Manager is already a challenging job. They say it’s like herding cats (cats=people). But in a startup with limited budget, contracting vendor support was a luxury. I was constantly spinning different plates in the air, periodically checking to make sure no plates were at risk of shattering on the floor.
