Can your brand event help a customer decide?

Before booking the venue for a brand event, I’d want to know what someone should leave understanding that they didn’t understand when they arrived. It sounds like a straightforward question. Answering it properly can change the guest list, the activities, the staffing and where the budget goes.

Imagine someone who already likes your product. They’ve visited the website, read a few reviews and considered buying it. Something is still holding them back. They’re unsure about the fit, they can’t picture using it, or they don’t understand why it costs more than the alternative. An experience gives you an opportunity to work through that hesitation with them.

That’s what interests me about Oura’s approach to in-person sizing. In announcing its Canadian Best Buy partnership, Oura described an experience where customers could find their fit before purchasing, alongside product information and inventory available to buy. Sizing has a practical role in the customer’s decision. It helps answer a question that another product photograph might leave unresolved.

The question I’d bring into an event brief is this: what if the experience were designed to address one specific reason a customer hasn’t bought yet?

Find the question the customer is still asking

“Build awareness” can be a reasonable objective, especially when a business is introducing itself to a new audience. But it needs further definition before it can guide the work. Who needs to become aware of you, what do they need to understand, and what would you like that understanding to make possible?

For an interiors boutique, a customer might love a sofa online but hesitate over the fabric, comfort or scale. A showroom appointment could help them compare materials, sit on the furniture and work through dimensions with someone who knows the collection. For a food brand, tasting might answer a question about flavour, while a simple serving demonstration helps someone picture where the product fits into their routine.

These are different questions, and they call for different experiences. I’d look at customer enquiries, conversations with sales staff, reviews and the questions people ask before ordering. That gives the team something more useful to work from than an assumption that customers need “more engagement.”

It also helps identify what an event can reasonably address. If customers are hesitating because delivery takes too long or the booking process is confusing, the business may need to fix those issues before spending money inviting more people into the same experience.

Let the objective shape the creative

A clear customer question gives the creative team something interesting to solve. If the hesitation is about how a product works, people need enough time and access to try it. If the purchase requires advice, there needs to be someone available who can have a proper conversation.

That affects the practical details. How many guests can the team realistically support? Are the right samples available? Can someone hear the explanation over the music? Is there somewhere to sit, compare options or ask a question without feeling rushed?

Those decisions are part of the marketing. A beautiful space can attract someone’s attention, but the interaction inside it needs to deliver on the reason you invited them.

Across my work in customer programs, events and marketing communications, I’ve had to coordinate the people, budgets, materials and timelines behind an experience. That’s why I’d want this question settled early. It gives everyone involved a shared purpose and helps make decisions when the brief starts growing.

Plan what happens after the interaction

Suppose a customer has tried the product and feels more confident. What can they do next?

They might be ready to purchase, book a consultation or request a quote. They might need a sample, a sizing kit or information to discuss with someone else. The next step should fit the decision they’re making and be easy to take.

I’d work through that before the event. Who handles the enquiry? What information does the customer receive? If someone requests follow-up, who owns it and when will it happen? Collecting a contact detail is only useful if the team knows what to do with the request behind it.

Measure the change you intended to create

Attendance and social impressions can tell you something about reach. I’d also want measures connected to the purpose of the interaction.

For a consultation event, that might include completed consultations, quote requests and the questions that remained unanswered. For a demonstration, it could include how many people tried the product, whether their understanding changed and which next steps they took.

Subsequent purchases may be worth tracking where the process allows it. They still need careful interpretation. Someone might buy weeks later, visit through another channel or decide against purchasing for reasons the experience couldn’t resolve. A completed trial is evidence of participation; it isn’t proof that the event caused a sale.

Not every event needs to produce an immediate transaction. Education, relationships and brand familiarity can all be valuable purposes. The important planning decision is to agree on that purpose and build an experience capable of serving it.

When I look at a proposed event, I want to understand what the investment helps a customer do. Before we decide how the room should look, I’d like us to be able to finish this sentence: “After spending time with us, our customer will be better able to…”

If you’re weighing up an event or customer program and want an experienced perspective on its purpose, plan or delivery, explore Harlowe’s services to see how we could work together.