For years, CMOs and their teams have regarded digital behavior, such as content consumption and website visits, as proxies for interest. This intent data, deeply tied to modern go-to-market strategies like account-based marketing (ABM), has become a critical investment area. (In a recent post, Streampoint shared that the market for buyer intent data tools is projected to grow from approximately $400 million in 2023 to $900 million by 2032.)
It’s no mystery why. Intent data fuels core B2B marketing functions like audience segmentation, content strategy, and lead prioritization. For advanced teams, it enables precise targeting of buyer-ready audiences, effectively bypassing casual browsers. Over the last decade, intent data has become nearly synonymous with ABM and reducing wasted outbound spend.
But here’s the question: Are event marketers underestimating the power of events as real-time behavioral intelligence hubs?
What if rich insights into audience behavior are happening in the room, not just online?
Of course, digital intent signals like content downloads and website visits are invaluable. The skyrocketing investment in intent data isn’t misplaced. However, event marketers have a massive opportunity – not to replace digital intent data, but to enhance it with real-world behavioral insights from in-person events.
The Behavioral Insights Opportunity
Events are teeming with behavioral signals, yet they remain largely untapped as sources of intent data. Why? A few reasons:
1. In-person data is new to the intent game. Even intent data providers define intent narrowly, focusing on online activities that signal purchase intent.
2. Event marketers focus on execution, while demand gen teams consume intent data. As a result, valuable event signals rarely get activated for pipeline acceleration.
3. Events are valued for relationship-building, not data collection. Sales and revenue teams celebrate events for their networking impact but often overlook their potential as high-intent data sources.
This presents an enormous opportunity for event marketers who hold the key to unlocking these insights and fueling marketing and sales efforts just as effectively as digital intent data.
In recent years, the pace of event innovation has been rapid, with event strategists pushing the boundaries to create dynamic, memorable experiences. Now, it’s time to push those same boundaries in data activation—integrating in-person behavioral signals into broader intent-driven strategies.
For any company aiming to go to market with impact in 2025, more behavioral insight = more competitive advantage.
Events: An Untapped Source of Behavioral Insights
When someone invests the time and money to attend an event, they are sending a strong intent signal. Events are among the most valuable touchpoints in a buyer’s journey.
Consider just a few of the in-person data points generated during an event:
⦿ Session attendance: Which topics draw attendees? Which are skipped?
⦿ Session engagement: What questions do they ask? Which sessions do they leave early?
⦿ Speaker follow-up: Who do they engage with post-session?
⦿ Networking behavior: Who are they connecting with? What discussions are they prioritizing?
⦿ Exhibitor engagement: Which booths do they visit? Which product demos do they watch?
⦿ Survey responses: How do they rate sessions? What do they indicate about future interests?
Each of these behaviors reveals intent, priorities, and readiness to engage, offering insights that digital behavior alone can’t fully capture. When analyzed, these signals provide a competitive edge in understanding customer behavior and predicting future actions.
Putting Behavioral Insights to Work
The value of behavioral insights lies in how they’re applied. Knowing which sessions attendees engaged with, which products caught their attention, or which networking conversations they prioritized is only useful if it drives action.
The good news? This isn’t new territory. Marketers have been refining lead scoring models for years, using data-driven approaches to segment audiences and optimize engagement. Event-sourced behavioral data should be treated with the same level of strategic rigor.
Here’s how brands can put event-driven insights to work:
1. Enhance Content Strategy
⦿ Use session attendance and engagement data to refine content planning.
⦿ If a keynote on AI in events attracts overwhelming interest, double down—publish follow-up whitepapers, run related webinars, and arm sales teams with talking points aligned with this interest.
⦿ Align messaging with real-time audience behavior instead of guessing at market trends.
2. Deliver Hyper-Personalized Follow-Ups
⦿ Post-event engagement shouldn’t be generic.
⦿ If an attendee went to multiple sessions on sustainability in events, follow up with tailored recommendations: a case study, an exclusive industry report, or a personalized consultation.
⦿ Use session and exhibitor interactions to prioritize outreach, ensuring follow-ups feel relevant and valuable, not spammy.
3. Fuel Sales with Behavior-Driven Lead Scoring
⦿ Equip sales teams with data-backed lead intelligence.
⦿ Someone who spent 20 minutes at a specific exhibitor booth, asked in-depth questions during a product session, or requested a follow-up meeting is far more valuable than a passive attendee.
⦿ Assign lead scores based on event behavior, just as you would with website engagement or content downloads.
4. Optimize Future Events in Real Time
⦿ Session drop-off rates, Q&A engagement, and exhibitor foot traffic should inform event design.
⦿ If networking lounges outperform keynote sessions in engagement, adjust programming to reflect audience preference.
By actively integrating event-driven behavioral insights into marketing and sales workflows, brands can turn their events into high-performing revenue drivers. Sometimes I write about the event landscape. If you liked this post, you’ll enjoy my last one. Check out Where Change Meets Opportunity: The 2025 Event Technology Landscape.
