Customer acquisition cost (events)

Events escape scrutiny for years because their costs are scattered and their outcomes slow; a CAC figure ends the exemption. Computing it means assembling the true total cost of exhibiting — space, build, travel, staff time, the lot — and dividing by customers whose source traces to the event through CRM attribution. Done across several shows, it produces the ranking that actually drives decisions: the prestigious show may acquire customers at four times the cost of the regional one everyone was ready to cut. The comparison against digital channels is the commercial point, but make it fairly — compare against your other channels' fully loaded costs, not just their media spend, or events will always look expensive next to a number that excludes salaries. The common mistake is measuring too soon and dividing by near-zero customers: long sales cycles mean event CAC computed a quarter after the show is meaningless, so score each event at a fixed maturity point, such as twelve months. One honest nuance: CAC says nothing about customer quality — if event-acquired customers are larger or retain longer, a higher CAC is fine, so read it next to lifetime value rather than alone.