Actual article date: Aug 25, 2014

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Every event organiser wants their attendees to have a great experience and impression of their event, which creates a strong presence and grandeur that attracts more people and reels in sponsorships. While events usually turn out more or less favourable, what can event organisers do to really give that extra oomph to make an event go from ‘good’ to ‘WOW’? What are the underlying X-factors that makes an event so successful that it entices attendees to return for more?

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The Unsung Heroes

Who are the stakeholders that come to mind after a successful exhibition? The exhibitors? The buyers? Whenever we think of the people that contribute to its success, we usually give credit to these parties. However, there is another group that works relentlessly and runs the show behind-the-scenes to ensure that we have the best experience, but we hardly take notice of them. When was the last time you noticed the name of the volunteer that gave you directions or simply greeted you when you arrived?

The volunteers at events are every event’s unsung heroes. Having volunteers with high morale and the right mindset can mean the difference between a well-executed event and a poorly managed one. It is important to not just involve volunteers, but also to engage them frequently.

Event organisers can kickstart this simple process by making an effort to speak to volunteers informally, ask for feedback periodically and embark on a recognition scheme to thank all the volunteers at your event. This two-way communication gives event organisers better insights into the sentiments felt on the ground. Showing that you value their feedback is also likely to boost their morale, bringing about greater drive to perform their best at your event.

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Personal Engagement

Providing a grand venue, tasty food, having quality exhibitors and inviting keen buyers are just some of the contributing factors to a successful exhibition. However, event organisers may at times overlook the equally important factor of communicating frequently with their attendees, to make them feel like important guests.

Making it easy and convenient for attendees to connect with event organisers is a great way to improve their experience. Besides the usual practice of contacting attendees via email and phone, the quality of customer service can be drastically improved by tapping on the prevalence of communication via social media channels. Facebook and LinkedIn for instance have now evolved to being more than just a marketing tool as they are also used increasingly to manage customer feedback.

Next, having sufficient volunteers on the event ground ensures that a helping hand is always available when attendees have queries. A simple act of remembering your delegate’s name can make a huge difference. Imagine if you had a personal concierge, ever ready to assist you with any queries you might have. Going to an exhibition would be effortless and engaging!

Also, having great customer service whereby queries are answered promptly makes attendees feel that addressing their needs is prioritised and that they are highly valued. Remember, even though all the stakeholders in the event planning cycle are important, there cannot be an event without attendees!

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Face-to-Face Meetings

As mentioned in one of our previous posts titled “The Ecosystem of the Events Industry”, the true purpose of an event is to create connections between and among event stakeholders, such as attendees, exhibitors and sponsors. These linkages are created at the event, where industry players can discover opportunities and most importantly meet face-to-face with relevant others.

To create an event with that extra oomph, attendees need to be able to search for and reach out to these relevant parties before they even attend the event. This is where business matchmaking comes in. Users can look through a curated list according to what they’re looking for and find the names and information about people they would like to meet. This way, attendees’ time at the event can be put to good use as the networking process is streamlined.

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Event Technology

As attendees at an event, cool technology like gesture-based kiosks blows us away and it is capturing the attention of the event industry. An example of how technology can boost the quality of an event is the capability of hosting quality speakers who are unable to make a trip to the venue. For instance, the use of Skype and other video conferencing tools has allowed invited speakers to communicate from thousands of miles away to other industry professionals at a seminar or conference. Some event organisers also use Near-Field-Communication (NFC) technology embedded in smart wristbands and digital badges for entry management, while others use it as a voting and rating tool. This not just greatly enhances convenience for event organisers and attendees, but also hypes things up, making it a killer event!

You too can ramp up the hype of your event by developing these top-notch X-factors, keeping your attendees waiting eagerly for the next one!

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