This newsletter is mostly focused on B2B events, but lately I've been fascinated by what's happening on the B2C side.

SXSW made some big changes this year, and from everything I've heard, it's one of the best editions in a long time. That sent me down a rabbit hole of other B2C examples and the creativity behind some of these activations has been really inspiring.

I'm starting to think about how to bring more of that energy into my content and the events I work on. More on that soon.

Let’s get started.

After a month of talking about how to execute events — the frameworks, the website design, the sponsor strategies — I realized I skipped something more fundamental: why you should be doing events at all.

So let's fix that today.

The case for events comes down to three categories: Revenue, Retention, and Relevance. Let's break each one down.

Every healthy business wants multiple revenue streams. Relying on one or two income sources is a fragile position, and if you've ever felt the anxiety of a slow quarter hitting all your channels at once, you know exactly what I mean.

Profitable events change that equation. When structured correctly, an event doesn't just break even, it generates margin that can fund new hires, technology investments, and business opportunities you wouldn't otherwise be able to explore. It also gives you something spreadsheets rarely predict: a reliable, recurring revenue event on your calendar that you can forecast around.

The discipline I always push for is intentionality. Every event I've worked on, I've built a budget model upfront to demonstrate the path to profitability before a single dollar is spent. Not every event needs to be a sellout, but every event should have a clear path to positive ROI. That's what transforms events from a marketing line item into a genuine business moat.

Here's a metaphor I use with every client: think of your client base as a bucket of water. Sales is the person filling the bucket. Churn is the hole at the bottom. Most businesses respond to churn by telling sales to pour faster. Events can help plug the hole.

In B2B, client relationships are everything. Your customers are paying recurring fees for your product or service, and the single most cost-effective thing you can do is make them feel genuinely valued and the best way to do that is in person. Over a meal. With a drink in hand. Doing something memorable together.

That kind of face-to-face connection creates a texture of relationship that no Zoom or email thread call can replicate. When clients experience your brand through a thoughtfully hosted event (one where they laugh, learn, and leave with something valuable), they don't just stay, they become advocates.

The downstream business impact is real. When retention improves, your sales team doesn't have to sprint just to stay in place. They can shift their energy toward net-new growth instead of backfilling churn. You can forecast more confidently. And your customer success person/team spends more time driving expansion than putting out fires.

There's a concept in brand-building that I keep coming back to: know, like, and trust. It maps almost perfectly onto why events are such a powerful tool for staying relevant in your industry.

Know is awareness. It's how people first encounter your brand — through social content, email, word of mouth. Important, but not sufficient on its own.

Like is affinity. It's the preference that tilts a buyer toward you over a competitor. You earn it when your brand consistently shows up in ways that resonate. Events accelerate this dramatically because there's no faster way to build genuine affinity than sharing a real experience with someone.

Trust is where buying decisions actually happen. And trust, at scale, is earned through some sort of transformation. When you host an event that genuinely creates value for attendees, you don't just earn their trust, you also earn their advocacy. When someone closes a deal in your room, meets a connection that changes their trajectory, or walks away saying it was the best use of their time all year, they are naturally inclined to pay you back in some way.

It usually often comes in the form of testimonials, which is the most powerful form of marketing you can generate. When people post about your event, recommend it to peers, and return the following year, you've built something no ad budget can buy: a community that sells for you. Every testimonial, every social post, every "you have to come to this" conversation creates a ripple effect that attracts new attendees, and starts the cycle all over again.

Events are one of the few business investments that can pay dividends across revenue, retention, and relevance simultaneously. They're not easy to execute well, but when they are, the returns are unlike anything a single-channel strategy can match.

One thing worth keeping in mind: not every event needs to hit all three. If you nail just one, you're already ahead of most. Two is even better. And if you can build something that checks all three boxes? That's the holy grail.

The businesses winning right now aren't just creating content or running ads. They're creating physical and experiential spaces where their clients feel seen, their community feels connected, and their brand becomes synonymous with the moments that matter.

That's what a great event does. And it's exactly why you should be hosting one.