This is a guest post by Andrew Dipper, Marketing Executive at Salesforce recruitment experts Mason Frank.

Earlier this year Salesforce recruiters Mason Frank were lucky enough to visit Dreamforce in San Francisco, California.

Now attracting over 171,000 people from 83 countries, Salesforce’s blockbuster expo continues to engulf downtown San Fran year on year – with street activities, theatre sessions, business expos, celebrity appearances, after-parties and more. Think Glastonbury for geeks.

But what can event organisers learn from the world’s largest tech conference? Here’s the lowdown.

It’s all about the customer

At the heart of CEO Marc Benioff’s extravagant keynote speech was a simple message: it’s all about the consumer. That ethos echoes through the streets of San Francisco at Dreamforce, where businesses, developers, wannabe coders and Salesforce fans take centre stage as the stars of the show.

Salesforce, and by extension Dreamforce, has one of the most fanatical and loyal customer bases in the world. Why? It all boils down to the brand’s infamous 1/1/1 model – one percent of profit, one percent of equity and one percent of community time per hour worked.

“We don’t talk in the language of beating our chests, we talk in the language of our customers’ success, and we allow our customers to talk for us,” says Dan Rogers, VP EMEA marketing at Salesforce.com. “The customers who are talking for us are passionate, and it’s contagious.”

The lesson is, treat your customer right and they’ll do the marketing for you.

Create an event for everyone

While there’s something to be said for targeting a niche market, the big appeal of Dreamforce is that it’s an all-encompassing event for everyone with a love of Salesforce – the company even releases unique trail maps depending on your industry or sector (a great idea if you think you’re being too broad).

The Cloud Expo is a great example of how Dreamforce brings multiple markets, and revenue streams, together. Partners pay Salesforce to sponsor and exhibit at the expo, giving them access to potential business leads and contacts. Attendees get to engage with some of the world’s biggest brands (another big selling point for your event) and learn more about Salesforce’s functionality along the way.

A business expo can have massive commercial appeal.

Make it unique

The best tech conferences always have a surprise in store. At Dreamforce this year it was the news that Einstein, Salesforce’s new artificial intelligence in business technology, will be integrated into every major Salesforce product on the market to provide smart automation.

What’s special about your event? Have you got a major industry scoop you want to share? Is there a celebrity ambassador you can invite along to stir up publicity and bring in casual ticket buyers? A great exclusive will drive footfall, interest and copious amounts of lovely press coverage that will ensure your event has longevity.

You can boost revenue with an after-party

Don’t underestimate the social aspect of an event. A lot of event managers forget that people are there to enjoy themselves – and people enjoy themselves in different ways – whether that’s with a bells and whistles keynote or a pitcher of Miller Lite.

As it happens, after-parties aren’t just about the booze; these are great free networking opportunities for your customers that will give genuine added value to your event.

After-parties can also be a great source of extra revenue. After-party goodie bags are becoming increasingly prevalent, with sponsors able to include their branded merchandise in the bag for a fee. You can then choose whether to pass that on to the customer (free bar, anyone?) or invest it into next year’s event.

Workshops offer great added-value

Absorbed in the $599 ticket price, Salesforce offers free on-hand training from their experts that you’d normally expect to pay a small fortune for. It’s not really ‘free’ of course – it’ll all be budgeted into the Dreamforce ticket price and ultimately paid for by the attendees that don’t take advantage of the free teaching and breakout sessions.

It’s win-win situation – attendees get to learn and develop their Salesforce skills, but they do it at a massively reduced rate, and as an event organiser you get the cash and kudos.

So, what’s the verdict?

Dreamforce is the perfect example of a brand conveying corporate values through experiential marketing.

Salesforce celebrates and weaves its customer-focused brand culture into every element of Dreamforce while creating a genuinely exciting and eclectic programme of events.

Sure, it helps when you’re the recognised market leader, but you’ve got to start somewhere on your way to the top and Salesforce’s formula just works so well.