Attendees want shorter event sessions with options for personalisation and optimisation. Photo Credit: Adobe stock/ VERTEX SPACE
Knowing the expectations, learning styles and motivations for event
attendees can offer valuable insights for planners, venues and
destinations. Cvent recently teamed up with Hanover Research to survey
more than 1,000 conference attendees, within APAC, North America and
Europe, and across a range of sectors, including financial services,
life sciences, IT, non-profit and higher education.
The findings were revealed in a recent webinar, “What an Event
Attendee Wants”, hosted by John Hunter, senior manager, content
marketing at Cvent. 38% of those surveyed said they wanted more
information about an event prior to attending.
TikTok for pre-event communication - Kirstin
Sargent, team lead, meetings and events at Cvent said that platforms
such as TikTok have been a driver for the business’ pre-event comms. “We
have been filming some fun pre-event videos and it’s almost better to
over-communicate ahead of an event,” said Sargent. “The more comms, the
merrier.” This can add momentum, whether it is around a speaker or a
particular session.
Schedule and time it well - the top pain point
experience while attending an event in the last 12 months was that
activities were taking too long or overlapping with one another, with
30% of survey respondents stating this. Sargent suggested that planners
should consider offering online components at in-person events and
flexible scheduling, enabling individuals to prioritise those moments
that matter the most to them. “Make overall sessions shorter and provide
options for personalisation and optimisation,” she said.
Personalise experiences - digital technology such as
data and analytics are driving this change, and 57% of those surveyed
said they wanted summary information based on the activities they
attended at an event. “We need to give attendees a reason to miss work
and attend events,” said Sargent. “Personalisation also creates an
element of exclusivity. Accommodating different learning styles is
crucial too, from visual to auditory to kinaesthetic, or a combination
thereof. By accommodating these, you are promoting inclusivity.”
Extend an event’s impact is importance - of those
surveyed, 59% of attendees expect to receive information about future
events and 57% of attendees expect recaps of information shared at the
event.
Make post-event surveys count - the response rate
from post-event surveys can often be low, with responses limited to
one-off elements such as the food. So how can planners ensure they get
constructive feedback? “Typically, you’ll get more negative feedback
than positive but it’s still worthwhile sending a post-event survey,”
said Sargent. “Send it straight away, within 24 hours, while the event
is still fresh in attendees’ minds. Consider sending it directly after a
session so that it’s there to fill in even as attendees are walking to
the next session. If it pops up on my app, I am far more likely to do
it.”