To ensure that your attendees return to your conference year after year delivering a memorable event experience is key. And while event planning can be stressful, it’s also important to note that there is a huge difference between hosting an event and creating an event experience, and after two years of a global pandemic—experience matters more than ever.
So, instead of seeing your next event as a way to get butts on seats, make money, or generate content, consider it as a work of art because it takes a thoughtful approach to get highly engaged attendees and build memorable experiences. This is why “Reimagining the Conference” was the perfect topic for Part 4 of our virtual workshop series on Crafting the Event Experience.
During this session, POP X co-founder Margaret Launzel-Pennes, joined Ryan Costello, co-founder of Event Farm and Chief Strategy Officer for MemberSuite, to discuss four areas that you should begin to pay attention now to reinvent your conference.
Missed Part 4 of our Crafting the Event Experience Workshop series?
Find Out What Makes Your Attendee Tick
When it comes to planning a truly engaging event, It’s not just about getting them in the door—it’s also about creating an experience that will make them want to come back and get others to join them. You also have to address the issues of attrition.
According to Ryan, getting buy-in from attendees is crucial to both gain attendees and reduce attrition, and that buy-in can come in a number of ways. Cost buy-in certainly helps (if you’ve bought a plane ticket, registered and booked the hotel you’re far less likely to flake out), but some sort of emotional or personal buy-in helps lock people in for the long run.
“If I’m going to a club, and I wait in line for 45 minutes to get in, that’s buy-in, and that is going to change my mindset when I get in—even if no one is there, and the drinks are crappy, and the music’s too loud—I am emotionally bought in.”
That emotional buy-in is powerful, and a signal of what really drives your attendee. If you can capture that, you have a great shot at getting them to join you.
“Depending on the industry that you’re in, they can be very linear in their thinking, so you have to kind of think outside of all of that and figure out what’s going to resonate with people in terms of messaging,” Margaret said. After all, she noted, “You need to get them off of their butts and on a plane or in a car and into a hotel room, spending money, and asking for a budget. Content is key—early on—in how you market it—in order to even get people paying attention.”
Beyond that, it’s important to understand the power that events—both live and hybrid —can have on the attendees and vendors. For Margaret, that power lies in capturing the element of community that so many people have missed for the past few years.
“We have to start thinking of conferences and events as a community, not as stand-alone things that people go to,” she said. “How does it fit into the fabric of the overall industry that you sit in, and what other elements are there? How do you tether yourself to that? How do you make yourself valuable in a different way so that the event becomes a foundation of community, not just something that you go to?
“However, to get to that point, event planners need to scrap all the ways that their event has been done things in the past, and start fresh.
“This is an opportunity to really think about your approach differently from every single aspect,” said Margaret. “Think about exhibits as brand activation. Think about content as an exchange, versus drilling people with information. Be sure that there are peer-to-peer networking opportunities to learn and grow from each other. That’s the only way you’re going to differentiate from what the events were when they were in person before the pandemic, and what people have been going through for the last two years.”
Know Your Budget Up Front…and Use It Well
It’s no secret that event costs have been on the rise in recent years, and quick calculations can even show that event costs are up by 35% since the beginning of the pandemic. With prices continuing to climb—as well as inflation and supply chain issues—it’s more important than ever to use your budget wisely.
Because costs are much higher, many event venues are much less likely to negotiate, hold you to attrition, and service is astoundingly low. It’s a situation that Margaret notes will be around for a while “Take control, as much as you can, of your own spend, and don’t be pushed around when it comes to your food and beverage order, or wifi,” she said. “My sense is that is a very bullying situation right now, so push back and take control.”
And when it comes to hybrid—or blended—events, taking control of your budget is even more crucial to ensure you can cover everything you need. “The moment that you treat the virtual aspect as an add-on or don’t include it in the initial planning, it will definitely cost you more money. The mindset has to be holistic right from the outset,” Margaret noted.
Use Safety Protocol as a Marketing Tactic
While safety protocols have been waning across the U.S., and changing moment by moment and location by location, it still holds true that one way to make your attendees feel comfortable and safe is by being clear about your safety protocols. According to Ryan, the two biggest concerns when it comes to safety come down to whether or not people will show up, and if their own teams can remain safe.
“To the people thinking about safety, my heart is with you, because I think about it a lot too,” he said. “Everybody’s got their own audience they are trying to take care of, and as an organizer, I think duty of care is our responsibility.”
Fortunately, it’s not hard to integrate safety notices and processes into your event. In early event marketing, let attendees know what you’re doing to keep them safe. Be sure to include information about your safety protocols on your code of conduct website, and in all of your communications leading up to the event.
“That’s what makes it feel like a community,” Ryan said.
Don’t Forget Who Got You There
Sponsors and exhibitors are often forgotten when it comes to the conference experience, and in the past few years, many feel burned or overcharged for what was actually delivered in the virtual or early hybrid events. For Ryan, it’s a cautionary tale that event planners need to hear.
Don’t take your exhibitors for granted,” he said. “They are your lifeblood, and if treated well they can also be your expansion revenue.”
To do this, event planners need to—similarly—take a step back and explore what it is that these companies really need and want, which in many cases is to be acknowledged, well-positioned in the community, expect follow-up, and—most importantly—to interact with attendees and get leads.
In the end, Ryan noted that exhibitors want more than just scanning badges, which is why the focus should be on creating an exhibitor experience that brings both vendor and attendee closer together.
To watch the replay of Crafting the Event Experience Part 4: Reimagining the Conference, click here now. For more information on how Event Farm suite of tools can help you create attendee and exhibitor experiences at your next conference, download the brochure or request a demo now.