To scale Pulse and build an event marketing program, Gainsight needed a registration solution that integrated with their CRM and marketing automation software. Unaware of Eventbrite’s enterprise capabilities, they shopped around for a new registration provider to help them — a decision that, according to Kennada, caused more problems than it solved.

“Instead of pouring time and resources into creating an event worth attending, we found ourselves dealing with operational challenges like payment processing,” says Kennada. He remembers one attendee based in the UK needed to use a corporate card with a US billing address — something their new provider struggled with. “It was archaic.”

The poor experience wasn’t limited to their staff. “When it comes to registration, you just want it to work. But the checkout process for attendees was clunky, and less brand-forward than we hoped for.”

Frustrated with their new event registration platform, they noticed similar, much larger events using Eventbrite. “It got us thinking: if they’re hosting 1,000+ person events with Eventbrite, why can’t we?”

With their registration problems resolved, Gainsight could worry about planning an event that would attract attendees in an emerging market.

“Our entire business strategy was based on Pulse becoming the customer success industry conference of record — not a Gainsight user conference,” Kennada says. “We put a big emphasis on growing conference attendees every year to mirror the growth in the industry and profession.”

The Pulse team uses Eventbrite’s analytics dashboard to make sure their event promotions are driving registrations. But Kennada can’t always be glued to a computer. “That’s when the Organizer app comes in handy,” he says. “When I’m away from the office and want to know if we’re hitting our registration targets, it’s nice to know the answer is always in my pocket.”

As Pulse heads into its sixth year, it’s hard to deny what Gainsight has accomplished. What began as a one-day, 300-person event has grown into a three-day, 4,000-person conference with over 150 speakers.

“The conference is the most important thing we do every year,” Kennada says. “Because Pulse is an industry event and not our software user conference, attendees have drawn an association with Gainsight thought leader for customer success industry.”

This monumental success, though, can be attributed to the experience Kennada and his team creates for attendees — something he says wouldn’t be possible without Eventbrite.

“Some solutions require a certified full time staff member to do the simplest of tasks,” he says, recalling the year Gainsight switched to an Eventbrite competitor. “It felt like I needed a computer science degree to create something as simple as a promo code. Now, with Eventbrite, I can jump in, create the code, send the URL over, and it’s done.”

Using Eventbrite, Gainsight is more self sufficient and has insight into every aspect of their conference. And as their event marketing program becomes more efficient, Kennada and his team can use their passion for customer success in more productive ways.