Events
Using Events
Eloqua event management simplifies the process of marketing event registration.
The goals of implementing an event are to:
- Reduce setup time by using a repeatable program to send multiple invitations, reminders, and follow-up emails.
- Drive more attendees with a series of pre-determined steps based on Eloqua best practices.
- Generate leads using personalized follow-up from the appropriate sales representative.
- Use behavior of recipients and attendees to qualify registrants and prioritize follow-up.
Some of the best practices for setting up events are:
- The original invitation should be sent three weeks in advance of the event.
- Reminders should be sent to registrants approximately one week before the event, then again one day prior to the event.
- Second chance emails (1 week before the event) and last chance emails (within 24 hours of the event) should have slightly different content, and should be sent only to those who have not registered.
- Follow-up emails (five days after the event) should be segmented based on which invitees attended and which did not.
Examples of events
The event management functionality brings together the different functionality of the Eloqua application together so that the user can create an Event, but still have access to the advanced features from other Eloqua modules. Here are some examples of Events that you can set up with the Eloqua application.
Simple Event
- Scenario: Training classes with 3 sessions in 3 locations and a waiting list of 20 per session.
- Eloqua modules required: Eloqua Standard or Enterprise for Email and Email Tools, Forms and Custom Object Records.
Complex event
- Scenario: Automated invitations (and reminders to sign up) to multiple events with multiple sessions and registration updates on a web site.
- Eloqua modules required: Eloqua Standard or Enterprise for Email and Email Tools, Forms and Custom Object Records, Program Builder and Data Lookups.
Examples of associated emails
Email invitation example
- For an event, the registration Form is embedded on a landing page.
- The benefit of using this form in an email is increased form submissions.
Email confirmation example
- Use this type of email to provide confirmation of registration along with additional information and instructions, or to send a real-time notification of the contact registration to the appropriate salesperson so that they can decide whether to follow up by phone or email.
- The benefits of using this email is that it lets registrants know when they are confirmed and sets them up to receive timely reminders.
Follow-up email example
There are two types of follow-up emails:
- For those who attend the event
- For those who missed the event
The benefits of using a follow-up email are that it allows you to gather feedback and uncover additional opportunities, and that the follow-up can be transitioned back to the appropriate salesperson.
The role of forms
Eloqua's form tracking and processing provides a rich link between web traffic and sales interest. By making it easy for either sales or marketing professionals to quickly create, deploy, and process forms on the company website or sent in emails, sales and marketing organizations are now able to improve the response to campaigns, promotions, and offers.
Powerful forms can be created quickly and easily using Eloqua's form creation toolkit without any knowledge of HTML. Eloqua provides a simple graphical interface to create and implement fully-featured forms layout, whether for a newsletter registration, an information request, or a sign-up for a webinar. The finished form can either be hosted on your website or Eloqua microsite or sent directly to prospects in an HTML email.
Once a form has been created, the Eloqua application provides the ability to quickly and easily add "processing" functionality, the ability to do things with the incoming data. Using the simple graphical interface, a broad range of options can be configured, including:
- Campaign and newsletter subscriptions
- Data tracking and analysis
- Graphical email auto responders
- Email notifications to sales and marketing
- CRM logging
- Trigger a timed follow-up
- Custom actions and more...
Next steps
Creating an add to calendar feature for events
Updating event registrations using form processing steps
Viewing and managing event reports