Antoinette Barnard, Head of B2B Sales & Alliances at Rabobank, implemented a transformative event strategy for the B2B services tribe, delivering notable success within its first year. This strategy aligns with the tribe’s collective goal of attracting and retaining merchants and enhancing customer satisfaction. Barnard emphasizes the tribe’s cohesive structure, enabling effective collaboration and prioritization across areas like Identity & Payment Acceptance, Customer Support, and Risk & Compliance.
A pivotal change was establishing a dedicated customer engagement function on June 1st, which leveraged events to gain direct customer insights, previously lacking in marketing-driven data. The model, operational for nine months, has generated unprecedented sales leads and strengthened market awareness. Rabobank expanded its presence at major events like Money 20/20 and Webwinkel Vakdagen, showcasing innovations such as the Tap to Pay solution while engaging merchants, partners, and customers directly.
Barnard underscores the value of in-person interactions for deeper engagement and tailored solutions. Events now feature knowledgeable representatives, including partnerships managers and co-hosted sessions with partners, showcasing collaborative offerings. This approach fosters long-term relationships, supports shared goals, and drives tangible ROI, with metrics like sales conversions and Net Promoter Scores reflecting success.
The dedicated events team, part of the customer engagement area, integrates customer insights to refine strategies and enhance journeys. Rigorous planning and accountability ensure alignment with business objectives, emphasizing results-driven participation. Barnard’s leadership has redefined the role of events, solidifying their impact on sales, PR, and customer engagement.
We are very proud of Antoinette Barnard and the team Carolien Van Leeuwen, Tamar Kling, Remco Timmerman, Robert van Haersma Buma and Alet Nel on their achievements and grateful that we could help them with this new event strategy. This is a lead by example of a strategy that is in line with the overall Rabobank B2B go to market strategy, focussed on a specific target audience, verticals and content approach. All resulting in a clear event ROI. Well done!
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