5 Things to Remember to Provide a Great Conference and Event Experience
Sunday, November 06, 2016
As
an event organizer, producer and manager, I know that the challenge is to
provide a superb conference experience to the corporate clients, association
clients, sponsors, speakers and delegates.
After
all, events are all about having a great experience.
So
here are my top 5 things to remember to provide a great conference experience
to all stakeholders.
1.
Achieve the Realistic
Objectives
I
always have in my hand a list of objectives that are expressed by the clients.
As the process of implementing the event nears, I always look at this list and
tick all the items that are accomplished.
I
know that in the end, I will be accountable to the clients and report to them
if I have achieved the objectives they have set and is expecting that my team
delivered it as promised during the beginning of our partnership.
2.
Provide Excellent Service to
the Speakers and VIPs
The
speakers are the one that will lead your events to where it must go, to a place
where delegates will get new found knowledge and inspiration to take action to
their careers and organization.
It
is only fitting that we provide a detailed care to all our speakers. Our care
and hospitality to the speakers, in my experience, translate to their great
performance on stage.
In
addition, never forget the clients that are responsible for having you handled
the wonderful and challenging project, in every step of the way be mindful in
addressing their needs during the actual event.
Regardless,
if your clients are difficult, they selected you to handle the job, make the
feel like a diamond. Give them the VIP treatment.
In
my experience, difficult clients become loyal clients once you satisfy their
needs.
3.
Interactive Events
Conference,
Exhibition, Trade Mission and other business events – my specialization, you
should always design this keeping in mind that people love to interact with
each other.
It
is with this reason that I rack my brains finding the best ways to create the
best platform to make the events interactive.
I
use technology to aid me in making the event interactive. At the same time, I
never forget that social interaction like business networking is crucial in
making the event memorable.
So
give ample time on how to achieve this in the most memorable and effective
manner – no hard and fast rule, but when you deliver the goods in this area, the
great reaction of all the event stakeholders is more than enough reward to
your hard work and sleepless nights.
4.
Selecting the Right Venue
No
matter how great is your execution it can be hampered if your venue is not
right.
Imagine,
you have great speakers, but the delegates are cramped in their seats because
the venue space is so small for your event.
How
about, designing a great program with a lot of wow to really make your
conference or event something to remember, but the air conditioning system of
the venue is not working. You look around everybody is perspiring and irritated
because of the heat.
Indeed,
the right venue is critical. May I also add, even the venue is right if you
failed to do a site inspection, you might miss a critical detail that may spell
disaster or cause your event to fail.
Therefore,
never forget this favorite dictum of mine, “ God is in the Details”.
5.
Happy and Professional Staff
I
am torn between this one and the audio and visual needs of the conference or
event.
But
we are in the business of providing excellent service your staff is the first
touch point that the event stakeholders encounter. Your staff will provide the
first impression of your event. So train and equip them.
In
my country, the Philippines, we are not first in technology when it comes to
event execution. However, we are able to create wonderful events and
conferences because we have a staff with the heart to provide excellent
service. They go the extra mile to satisfy clients and event stakeholders, and
they deliver this with a smile.
So
here I am sixteen years in the business event industry, I say this is my top 5
in providing a great event experience to the clients and other event
stakeholders.
Besides
being an event organizer, manager and creator, I love going to events, and these
five things are also the reasons why I can that the event I attended is a Wow or something to forget and a waste of my time.
In
summary, there are a lot of ways to create a great event experience, but if you
will focus on these 5 things you can never go wrong. They are 1. Achieve the
Realistic Objectives, 2. Provide Excellent Service to the Speakers and VIPs, 3.
Interactive Events, 4. Selecting the Right Venue, and 5. Happy and Professional
Staff.
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