By RealiseMe CEO, David Preston We’re bombarded by predictions. Instead, what I like to offer you are wishes… three wishes to strengthen every event organiser’s success this year. Number 1: Always start with the end in mind. Yes, as an event organiser, we all create events for a specific purpose – often many purposes. Then we start working through our checklist of what needs to be done. My view is that the single most important action is to map every decision to your end goal. I offer you a formula we use at @Realise – Data + Context = Actionable insights. D + C = Ai.
- Decide which data you need to collect before, during, and after your event. Event technology makes it easier and easier to amass information but, you can overwhelm yourself trying to collect every piece of information that MIGHT be useful in proving the value of your event. Peel away the layers of the onion to find the data you really need and discard anything that doesn’t directly relate to your end-goal.
- The right data – when connected – provides valuable context. For example, when you know an attendee joined three sessions (and left one of them after five minutes), saw a demo, and downloaded a white paper afterwards, you can hand your sales team insights that help them present new, relevant ideas to a prospect or an existing client. The behavioral insights you collect also help determine what parts of your event to repeat or expand or get rid of next time.
On to wish Number 2. Be welcoming. Please, please, please ditch the ‘registration’ desk and the giant sign behind it. I’m talking about business events here. Your attendees are already registered! You know who is coming. It is such an opportunity because now your energy – lobby space, signage, use of technology and staff – can be 100% focused on making each person feel expected and WELCOME. And my wish Number 3 for event organisers is STOP, yes stop using the term ‘hybrid’. Your audience wants to consume your content as they choose. Your choice of event technology and how you deliver content should make it easy and enable your attendees to get what they need – in person, online, interacting with speakers, exhibitors, and with other attendees, when and where they want. Here is the way my Realise co-founder @Richard John puts it: “We need to understand just as there is no ‘alternative medicine’ – there is only ‘medicine’; and there is no ‘digital marketing’, merely ‘marketing’; so there aren’t ’virtual’, ‘hybrid’ and ‘physical events;’ there are merely ‘events’, designed in a way that meets the diverse needs of customers.” In summary, you can enable the best possible result for your company, and you don’t need a genie or magic lamp to do it. You have the data. You can connect the dots to create relevant context for sales leads, for each event, for your entire schedule. You can make each attendee feel welcome and valued by how you use the data they provide, what you collect, and how you make content available. Start today and let’s turn your 2024 wishes into your treasure. You can contact David Preston here Or visit Realise here
