Event Marketing Managers (EMMs) with more experience are seeing greater potential compensation yet slower hiring rates in 2024, reflecting how tech startup recruiting is still adapting to new challenges in the evolving market. The impact of economic uncertainty and emerging technologies have caused considerable upheavals in the SaaS market, and are forcing many companies to rethink how they reach their prospects.
In our annual update to the Betts Compensation Guide, we dive into the latest salary data for the top go-to-market (GTM) jobs in tech and what developments are affecting them. For this blog, we will cover where these trends are specifically impacting earnings for Event Marketing Managers and how these overlap with those seen with other sales and marketing jobs in the technology sector:
Tech Event Marketing Manager Compensation Trends
The evolution of events in tech over the course of the pandemic and in its aftermath are a bit of a microcosm of the changes the industry has gone through over the 2020’s. With in-person gatherings becoming impossible with COVID-19 spreading and venues shutting down, everything that could be migrated to the digital world was, and people used online platforms to stay connected. By 2024, these factors shifted again, and organizations face new disruption with a combination of old lessons and new strategies.
Compensation and hiring rates for most GTM jobs in the technology sector were stagnant from 2022 to 2023, but with a handful still seeing growth year-over-year (YoY). Most of these select few roles either require skill specialization, or candidates must have a considerable level of experience to be considered. EMMs fit more into this latter category in 2024, with most startups seeking knowledgeable and experienced professionals who can help them pivot for the new normals they face and drive outreach strategies in their channels for maximum success.
Event Marketing Manager Salary Data for 2024
The average salary for an Event Marketing Manager in tech ranged from $80,000 – $160,000 across the U.S. OTE (on-target earnings), or total potential income with bonuses, equity, etc. typically was up to 10% of the base salary rate.
Both the wide range and lack of meaningful variation between each location reflects how Event Marketer recruiting is being driven, with most tech companies hiring an EMM only when the need arises and focusing on finding who fits their unicorn candidate profile best. Leaving wiggle room to adjust the salary in your pitch may allow you to be more flexible when you are having a hard time sourcing top talent, but it also can make it harder to attract the best qualified candidates if you do not have a clear target range. The Betts Compensation Guide includes recommended salaries for each role based on our findings and the average Time to Hire (TTH) for the industry.
More Top Trends for Tech Marketing Compensation
Here, we will dive further into some of the top trends affecting compensation for Event Marketing Managers and other tech marketers for 2024. Many of these developments are also having a lasting impact on GTM hiring throughout the technology sector, and some are signs of the direction that talent acquisition will take in the industry over the next year:
The Return of Events for Tech
The return of in-person events from 2023 to 2024 should obviously herald a new heyday for tech marketers with experience in running them; however, recruiting for EMMs remains down about 25% from 2019 rates. While the numbers are picking back up, it is happening at a snail’s pace even while many organizations seek to rebuild their pre-pandemic outreach. The fear of overhiring is certainly one contributing factor, but it is also worth noting that most tech startups are still trepidatiously mixing old techniques with new tactics while attempting to figure out what exactly works in this current market.
The Diminished Role of Email Marketing
A trend that is being felt across multiple go-to-market roles is the diminished importance of email outreach as a critical responsibility. Most companies are still sending electronic messages, but their impact has greatly waned, and for many Generative AI is taking over the lion’s share of the grunt work. This means that Event Marketers in tech are left with one of their crucial responsibilities diminishing, and a growing need to explore new avenues to engage prospects and clients.
Increased Hiring Demand for Experienced Event Marketers
Above all of the other trends impacting compensation rates in 2024, the increased demand for well-experienced candidates is the most important one when it comes to jobs such as Event Marketing Managers. So much so that for unicorn candidates with more than three years of experience, we recommend increasing your pitch offer by up to 10% of the target rate highlighted in the Betts Compensation Guide. This will give your hiring managers a better chance at securing top talent, given how in-demand these “unicorn marketers” will be.
New Marketing Strategies for Tech Startups
A major contributing factor to the trend for hiring more seasoned tech marketing professionals is the growing need among many startups to rebuild their outreach strategies, requiring someone with experience to take the reins. The big shifts in the technology sector and economic uncertainty in the market has left many SaaS companies looking for new ways to get their prospects’ attention, and those marketers who have proven to be able to launch and drive their own playbook are at the top of the recruitment list for most.
Source Top Event Marketing Talent with Betts Recruiting
Sourcing top talent for an open Event Marketing Manager position requires knowing what your unicorn candidate for the role looks like, and ensuring that you are looking in the right places as well as staying on top of compensation data. Let the expert recruiters at Betts help you refine your profile for your right fit Event Marketer with our latest research and scale your recruiting search to track down the experienced, qualified professional you need to boost your marketing strategy.
Contact Betts here to get started on your search for your next Event Marketing Manager, and see for yourself how we can help you optimize your talent acquisition process while maintaining your hiring budget.