The most underrated channel isn't marketing

Everything in marketing is getting cheaper to copy.

Ads get copied.
Funnels get copied.
Messaging gets copied.
Even AI is flattening the playing field.

But you can’t automate trust in a room.

That’s why I keep coming back to events.

While most marketers are still fighting over the same channels—Meta ads, LinkedIn outreach, SEO, cold email—the real edge is getting built face-to-face. When everything becomes digitized, in-person attention becomes a scarce asset.

I’ve seen this play out over and over.

A small dinner in San Francisco that cost a few hundred bucks turned into business with companies like Lyft, plus more pipeline from adjacent industries.

A larger summit I helped put together for high-level operators generated immediate deal expansion, new relationships, and a network that continues to compound long after the event.

Speaking at conferences works the same way. You may not close something that week. But the right people see you, remember you, follow your content, and come back 12 to 24 months later when timing lines up.

That’s the part most people miss.

Events are not just about immediate ROI. They increase your surface area for luck.

A 10-person dinner can lead to a client.
A speaking gig can lead to a hire.
A summit can lead to partnerships, referrals, acquisitions, and future revenue you can’t fully track.

And that’s exactly why it works.

The best event strategies also don’t have to be massive.

You don’t need a 200-person conference to start.

Start with 8 to 10 people.
Invite a few customers and ideal prospects.
Create a format that makes people useful to each other.

Be the connector.

That positioning sticks. People remember who brought the right room together. That kind of brand equity is hard to buy and even harder to copy.

And one more thing: webinars still matter.

They’re one of the few channels that can build trust at scale while also driving conversion. Done right, webinars are still one of the highest-ROI plays in B2B, which is why I use them for my brand and my business, Single Grain Marketing.

So my view is simple:

Digital still matters.
But events create the moat.

I discuss why this matters here.

In a world where every tactic gets commoditized, the businesses that win will be the ones that know how to bring the right people together.

To building trust that compounds,
Eric Siu

P.S.

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