Tips for a positive visitor experience of your events are always welcome. After all, we are constantly looking for a balance between work and relaxation. As a result, we spoil ourselves with a city trip to London, visit a hip museum in Berlin and relax in the sauna because we have to rest from a great music festival that we really were ready for. Because there are endless choices of leisure activities, the consumer is becoming more and more critical. A report from ABN AMRO makes it clear that organizers of business events should take the visitor experience as a starting point when designing events. ABN AMRO conducted research into what drives visitors, what innovations are desired and what irritations detract from the experience of business events. We have translated this research into 10 tips that have a positive effect on the visitor experience of your events. This will create a strong bond between visitor and event.
10 tips for the visitor experience of your events
Registration form
Make an inventory of the visitor’s needs in a registration form, because no less than 43% of business visitors indicate that the biggest annoyance is an uninteresting program. The visitors find it positive when they can exert influence themselves in the realization of the program. They want to be able to choose in advance from a list of topics that will be discussed or not. Go one step further! In the first instance, only communicate the main themes and then ask the potential visitors what their challenges are with regard to the themes.
Tip 1: Map out the visitor’s expectations by including the question in the form: ‘When will the event be successful for you?’ This way you avoid disappointments.
Tip 2: Ask about the dietary requirements of your visitors. In this way, expectations are aligned and less food has to go in the trash. Positive for the visitor experience but also for the event budget.
Event website
Information provision is the basis of your event. More than 33% of the respondents find it annoying when little information is available prior to the event. Potential visitors cancel the event due to a lack of information on the event website. Only launch the event website when the added value of the program is clear and takes into account the needs of your target group.
Tip 3: Use extra teaching methods and stimulating activities and then promote them through image, sound and text on various media. Visitors want to learn in a creative and fun way. Clearly show on your website which activities you use and how they contribute to the program.
Tip 4: Also put the photos and the after movie of your previous edition on the website. This really puts your event in the spotlight. It gives a good insight in the event and creates a lot of atmosphere.
Interaction
More than 50% of business visitors find making new connections invaluable for a positive visitor experience.
Tip 5: Make use of storytelling. Good stories make an emotional connection with the audience. Link the story of the speakers and artists to the theme of the event and in this way provide the visitor with relevant context. Empathy connects the audience with your event.
Tip 6: Share facts and tips along the way to keep the audience interested. This is experienced as positive because the tension is built up and the story remains light.
Tip 7: Create sessions that are fully focused on the interaction where the participants brainstorm in small groups and present something at the end. When assembling a group, take the visitor profiles into account so that you get a complementary group.
Tip 8: Show how you as an organizer contribute to sustainability. 42% think this is an important development for events. Separate waste, replace plastic tableware with a disposable and biodegradable variant.
Evaluation
After the event it is time to evaluate. How did my visitor experience the event? What are pain points and what has the event improved on? Use the results from the survey to improve the next edition and communicate this to the visitor. This is very much appreciated because the visitors feels their opinions count. A win-win situation.
Tip 9: Don’t let marketing goals dominate. This is at the expense of the visitor experience. Evaluate whether the objectives have been achieved and measure them during and/or after the event.
Tip 10: Extend the visitor experience afterwards by sharing multimedia and continue to stimulate interaction by opening up the network. Make sure that the visitor is constantly retriggered to stimulate word-of-mouth advertising.
A summary of the tips for the visitor experience of your events
- Connect with your audience by considering their needs and expectations.
- Respond to new developments and keep in mind that we are already spoiled as consumers.
- Exceed expectations with surprising elements.
- Broaden your horizon and get inspired by getting new ideas outside the corporate event industry.
