Gone are the days of just throwing together an event and hoping that the people who show up will be a good match for your exhibitors. Not only is such an approach not very cost-effective, but as exhibitors and attendees reevaluate those events in which they’re willing to invest, your concerted efforts to ensure that you’re putting together the right people will be more essential than ever. The following factors will be critical for event planning as we move forward.
Targeting Your Audience with Surgical Precision
Events will need to be effectively marketed to the correct target audience and prove to exhibitors that the investment they make will result in solid leads.
To do this, start with these three things:
Employ Technology that Enhances the Safety and Experience of Your Event
To make people comfortable attending your events, they need to know that their health and safety are taken into consideration. The same contactless technology that brought guests back to hotels can be used for event registration, allowing attendees to avoid crowded lines upon arrival. But technology can also be used to customize the experience for exhibitors and attendees in ways that make it more compelling to attend, including these audience engagement tools suggested by Eventbrite.
Attendee Experience Can Make or Break Your Event – Plan Wisely
Delivering the right experience to the intended audience will be the standard by which your event ROI is measured. Consider these tips:
1. Technology for the right reasons. Instead of planning an event steeped in technology just because it’s available, talk to your exhibitors about what technology is most useful for them. It could be something as simple as QR codes on attendee badges that they can scan with their smartphones to capture lead data; it could be as extravagant as the ability to provide a holographic keynote from the CEO to hybrid audiences around the world.
2. Cost conscientiousness matters. Demonstrate that you are taking steps to keep costs manageable for everyone. In this tighter economy, your efforts will be appreciated. You can offer tiered admissions, optional virtual content, and other inexpensive versions of the event to help your exhibitors reach more people.
3. Don’t skip sustainability. Everyone – to include corporations that must justify their ecological impact – as well as individual champions committed to saving the planet – is watching how sustainability is managed at the events they attend. BizBash offers several ideas for making events more sustainable.
Attendees and exhibitors are looking for event opportunities that deliver innovation, cost-effectiveness, and engagement. Anyone not considering these factors may struggle to attract the right audience. ExpoVention can help you make the most of all of your events, from evaluating your participation to ensuring your brand visibility. Get in touch.