Unlike software, marketing physical hardware demands a significant focus on in-person experiences like trade shows and partner events. Customers need to physically touch and interact with the product to understand its differentiation, something a spec sheet cannot convey. This fundamentally shifts the marketing mix away from purely digital channels.

Shift event ROI measurement from lead counts to "revenue in the room," a metric combining potential prospect revenue with the retention revenue of existing customers attending. This provides a more holistic view of an event's business impact, including crucial customer engagement and advocacy.

Contrary to the view that events are difficult and not scalable, Semafor's CEO considers them one of the highest-margin businesses adjacent to quality journalism. He is pleased when competitors dismiss events, viewing their skepticism as a competitive advantage that leaves a profitable market open.

The ROI of attending an event extends beyond lead generation. A key, often overlooked, metric is client retention. Simply showing up at an industry event can prevent existing customers from churning to a competitor who is present, making defensive retention a primary pillar of event strategy.

Marketing high-priced in-person events requires less "shtick" than digital equivalents. The inherent scarcity (limited seats), tangible experience, and human craving for connection are powerful, built-in marketing hooks that digital products struggle to replicate authentically.

Instead of focusing on immediate ROI, structure events to foster genuine connections and goodwill ("karma"). This builds a stronger, more resilient brand over time, even if it means creating opportunities for competitors by inviting them.

Blings found that having a small booth at many events was ineffective. They shifted strategy to consolidate their annual event budget into three major events where they could afford to speak and give masterclasses. This elevated their brand and dramatically improved lead quality.

Companies over-invest in booth aesthetics and under-invest in preparing their go-to-market teams. True event ROI is driven by setting clear pre-event outreach goals, on-site engagement metrics, and rapid, personalized post-event follow-up, not by the physical booth itself.

Major tech companies like Apple, Google, and Meta have abandoned neutral trade shows for their own branded events (e.g., WWDC, Google I/O). Following Steve Jobs's playbook, this strategy allows them to control the entire presentation, avoid direct comparisons with competitors, and own the distribution of their announcements.