One of the very first steps of planning an event should be to establish an estimated number of attendees, followed by predetermined registration goals. If your event is not garnering the attention you intended, or if registration numbers are dropping year after year, it’s time to take a step back and find out what’s going wrong. In this piece, Elevate Event Planning asks ten questions that are crucial to answer when your event is not performing as it should be.
1. How will paying for your event benefit attendees?
This may appear to be a no-brainer, but if you don’t have a clear explanation, your target audience will most likely be asking the same thing, especially if the service you’re offering can be taught elsewhere for free. Make sure your audience knows the benefits of attending your event- emphasizing that they will not be able to learn the same quality of knowledge anywhere else.
2. How long has it been since you surveyed past attendees?
This question is especially critical for annual conferences and recurring events. Your first instinct should be to turn to the data when your numbers are low. If you aren’t actively seeking targeted feedback, using exit polls, or otherwise motivating your audience to tell you what they like and don’t like, you should use your future events to collect this information. Being able to turn back to this data will help you improve for next time.
3. Do you have a strategy for multi-channel marketing?
How is your target audience learning about your conference? Are you published in print, online forums, trade magazines, or social media? What keywords do you use for SEO? What is the best way for potential attendees to learn about your event? Now’s the time to figure out why your current strategy isn’t resulting in direct registrations!
4. Who are your cheerleaders?
Who are your largest supporters? Who has been to previous conferences and had a great time? Who in your industry is enthusiastic about your vision and will share it with others? Reach out to those who believe in the information you’re promoting and ask them to assist in spreading the word. No one comes to mind? Bring in a panel of experts, explain your goals and objectives, and get some input.
5. Do you have industry leaders and specialists on your team?
You’re losing credibility if you’re organizing an industry-specific event and don’t have or aren’t properly publicizing the participation of industry leaders. Think of it this way, consider you’re promoting a premier food and wine event but don’t have the input and expertise of a well-known local chef or restaurant owner. Much of what you’re trying to tell will be told for you by the specialists and respected public figures you choose. When they’re not there, the focus changes away from the material you’re highlighting and toward why the people your target audience admire aren’t there to support your event.
6. Is it convenient to get to the site or host city?
Another small yet crucial detail is travel accommodations. The success of even the best-planned and most advertised conferences might be hampered by a host city that has multiple aircraft connections or is more expensive to reach. What story is your venue communicating if you don’t need to travel? Is it easy to find? Is it in an area with a lot of traffic? Is your audience going to have to travel a long distance to get there? What’s the status of parking and security? The more convenient things are, the more people are likely to show up.
7. Is the time and date suitable for your target audience?
People now place more emphasis on their family and personal time than ever before. If you’re targeting a business audience, make sure your conference or event isn’t scheduled during their out of office hours. On the other hand, if you’re planning an event that people will attend outside of work, make sure it won’t interfere with their regular work schedules. Look into other commitments you might be competing with if enrollment is dropping and the only change is the time of year/week/day.
8. Have you increased the amount of time and effort it takes to register?
Fun fact: The longer your registration form grows, the shorter your guest list will become. It is best to make sure your form has all of the necessary information and then delete the rest. No one wants to spend extra time filling out menial information that you won’t even look at. Just like long registration processes, requiring users to create an account to register tends to turn people away. Always make sure there is a “register as a guest” option to avoid this issue.
9. Is your mobile app up to date?
Most employees in the professional world were still using desktops for most work and walking about with Nokias, flip phones, and blackberries just ten years ago. Technology advances at a breakneck pace. Is it clear from your app and website that you’re up to date? These are topics you should review on a frequent basis, especially if part of your message is to be knowledgeable and imaginative.
10. Outside of your event, what value do you bring to your attendees?
In the eyes of your target audience, who are you? Would you compare yourself to an industry mentor who routinely delivers current and relevant information that benefits their work and personal lives? Or are you more like a long-lost coworker who only shows up when you need something? If you’re only reaching out to say “it’s time to register!” consider yourself as that long-lost employee. People who believe you have put money into them are considerably more willing to put money into you. It might be time to adopt a more long-term approach to your registration efforts.
Why You Should Choose Elevate to Plan Your Event
When you choose Elevate Event Planners (EEP) for your corporate event or gathering, you won’t be overwhelmed. EEP is a meeting management and corporate event planning company based in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Feel free to contact us for a no-obligation consultation to discover more about how we can help you make your next event a tremendous success.