How Do You Measure "Success"?

Our firm recently hosted our annual business symposium. We had more than 150 poeple in attendance, and a good number of those were our own clients.  When a partner  asked, "what do we get out of this?" it gave us the opportunity to pause and consider, once again, our goals for this yearly event. 

As a local firm, we want to garner has much face time as possible with the business community, but we don't really have the budget for an on-going advertising campaign.  As such, we rely on events to help us 'tell our story.' Throughout the year we offer a series of inexpensive roundtables and semiinars designed to provide hands-on information in a work-shop format based on relevant and timely topics. This helps us build an audience for our larger, more elaborate annual program. The symposium begins at 4:00 with a cocktail reception following at 6:00. It is 'successful' based on several measures.  First and most important, our clients appreciate it. Secondly, business owners in the community (A/K/A prospects!) attend and are impressed. Thirdly, we have the chance to get some media coverage and demonstrate our value as business advisors. Lastly, it helps nurture our culture, as it is a source of pride for our employees to be a part of this much talked about program. 

I am curious to know if you host similar events, or niche programs, that help you enhance your brand - either in conjunction with, or in lieu of, advertising programs.