The Business of Test Drives

So, you have created a promising pipeline of prospects; people who align with your commercial strategy and have, at least, a passing interest in what you offer. The next challenge is to warm them up further, nudging them from mildly intrigued to seriously interested.

One of the most effective ways to do this is through experiential marketing, otherwise known as getting them to an event. The principle is simple, but it used far less often than it should be: let them experience your firm in action.

Think of it as the corporate equivalent of a test drive. A prospect can read all the reviews, consume all your thought leadership papers, watch the promotional videos, and listen to a slick pitch, but none of these are as convincing as getting behind the wheel.

To illustrate the point, consider a personal anecdote. Many years ago, when I was just starting out as a motorcyclist, I strolled into a Honda dealership to inquire about a test ride. They declined, on the grounds that I lacked experience. So I went to BMW’s Park Lane showroom instead, where they promptly handed me the keys to a top-of-the-range touring bike, for the entire weekend. I am now on my sixth BMW.

The lesson? Experience builds commitment in a way that marketing materials simply cannot.

A well-run event serves the same function. It allows prospective clients to:

• Meet you and selected colleagues
• Hear what you have to say – thus providing evidence of your expertise
• And, critically, see that you are competent and pleasant human beings.

This final point should not be underestimated. Clients, particularly in professional services, want to work with people they like. An event is an opportunity to demonstrate both expertise and basic decency which, in many industries, is enough to set you apart.

They can also see the company that you keep, and if you have a high-quality guest list, that could be helpful.

So, if you want to turn warm-ish prospects into hot ones, get them into the showroom and hand them the keys.

The process for effective events is simple:

• Pick a topic your audience cares about (see below)
• Gather material (research, interviews, or analysis).
• Compile a compelling report or white paper.
• Share your insights—via LinkedIn, newsletters, and direct outreach.
• Host an event—breakfast briefing, panel discussion, webinar, etc
• Follow up—not with a hard sell, just a conversation.
• Repeat… endlessly.

Events come in all shapes and sizes. Some, like JFDI’s annual New Business Barometer research (something I highly recommend), involve a few hundred people and an unveiling of industry research. Others, like breakfast workshops for 6-10 people, are more low-key but highly targeted. Both approaches work.

Other possibilities:

• Panel discussions (good if you can attract a heavyweight speaker).
• Breakfast/lunch/dinner roundtables (clients enjoy eating).
• Conferences (either hosting or speaking at them).
• Small, curated networking gatherings

Lunchtime webinars with live Q&A to supplement in-person events are also worth considering, especially if you are dealing with folks in different time zones, as you can record them and make them available, later.

You can also boost your media credentials at the same time as impressing would-be clients, by publish a series of papers, written by journalists with you topping and tailing them, aimed at the concerns of very large potential clients. You would hold invitation-only (ie no substitutions) dinners to discuss these. We commissioned the a former editor of the FT to do this for my old firm.

In terms of topics, I think they come in five flavours:

• Zeitgeist – matters that seem to have attracted widespread interest (e.g. AI panic)
• Evergreen issues – these are topics that are perpetually of concern (e.g. hiring woes)
• Emerging trends – this is one where you notice that a few clients have started to mention a new concern. Chances are, it’s something others may become interested in soon, too.
• Original insight – these are matters that your professionalism leads you to believe will be an issue, but others have not quite spotted it, yet.
• Piggybacking – this is where you notice something produced by someone else, and improve on it with your knowledge and make it your own (e.g. riffing off McKinsey’s latest industry thesis)

Whatever the format, the rules remain the same:

• Flawless execution—guests will judge you not just on content but on whether the IT works, whether the coffee arrives on time, and whether they feel looked after. If anything goes wrong, it will count against you (even if it wasn’t your fault).
• The topic must be compelling—if it isn’t, people won’t come.
• Crucially, your firm must actively contribute—simply organising an event is not enough. You should have a major, if not the major, speaking role.
• A good ratio is one in-house person per two guests, ensuring attendees meet enough of your team to get a feel for the firm. Clients should leave thinking, “These people know what they’re talking about and I liked them.”

The goal is not mass-market reach but high-quality engagement with the right audience. Done properly, marketing is not a cost—it is an investment. One that builds a predictable, scalable pipeline of new business.

Why treat one like the other?

Ask most agency owners if marketing is an investment or a cost, and they’ll nod wisely, say “investment”, then promptly treat it like a cost. This is an error. If you want a thriving PR business, you should expect to spend at least 4% of your gross profit on marketing and new business. That’s not a theoretical benchmark—it’s the minimum I’ve seen deliver results, and the annual jfdi/Opinium New Business Barometer will show you how your peers stack up.

Spend much less, and you risk drifting quietly into irrelevance. Spend much more, and you may be accused of trying too hard—though in practice, I’ve yet to see a firm fail because it over invested in new business.

When I scaled Shandwick Consultants, one of the earliest decisions was to boost marketing and business development spend from a token ~1% to something closer to 9%. That shift didn’t do the work alone, but it catalysed everything that followed.

So where should the money go?

Even modest-sized firms should be staging at least one event a month. August and December are excused due to holidays and festive inertia, but otherwise, there should be movement—a breakfast briefing, webinar, roundtable, or any event that maintains visibility and enables prospective clients to experience your business in some way. Larger firms? Every division should pull its weight. If a prospective client asks, “What’s your firm been up to lately?”, you should have an answer measured in activities, not awkward silences.

Then there’s social media. Activity here should be relentless but strategic. Share your content—sorry, intellectual property—and follow potential clients assiduously: digitally first, professionally later. Don’t be shy about advertising or entering awards. If two firms are otherwise equal, but one has a trophy cabinet and the other looks like it lost the three-legged race at school sports day, most clients will favour the winner.

And let’s not forget the soft power of hospitality. Clients, intermediaries, and future partners rarely entertain themselves. Budget for the coffees, lunches, and conferences—not to mention the speaking slots. And don’t scrimp on the CRM system. Without it, all this effort risks dissolving into a swirl of expensive but untraceable activity.

The real danger?

Not spending too much. Spending it badly.

Money evaporates via outsourced cold-callers or overcatered dinners where nobody remembers what anyone said. Marketing is, and must be, an investment. But like all investments, it requires intelligence—and a plan.

So: look at your management accounts.

If you’re spending less than ~4% on marketing and new business, what exactly are you doing to win clients?