Gerard Lennox has years of experience in events, marketing and IT. As part of the team at Xitagy that developed BookMeIn2.com, he is always looking at ways to improve the techniques used to market and manage events – in particular the registration, delegate handling and check-in process.
Data analytics is the study of how your digital advertising is working and who is registering. For most of us, this means using tools such as Google Analytics to see which email, advert, social media and direct mail shot campaigns are hitting home with delegates.
However, a data-driven delegate experience is quite different, because it helps us shape their impression of the event. The internet retail giant Amazon has perfected the art of responding with targeted engagement based on your purchasing habits. In the same way, by using the data we collect about the delegate, we can affect their experience before, during and after the event.
But how do we make sure we are not overstepping the ‘Big Brother’ line in these days of heightened privacy concerns? The answer is to make it easy for the delegate to see and change the data you have on them and tell them what you are planning to use it for. Transparency is key, as is giving them the option to opt out.
Delegate event data starts with the registration process – we have all seen the dreaded cards from exhibition organisers with a hundred fields determining what you might be interested in, how much budget you have and where in the buying decision tree you sit. This is all designed to create a marketing profile, great for selling on, but not really helping the delegate when they get to the event.
Perhaps now is the time to re-think our approach? If the delegate has been to a previous event, could we encourage them to visit similar exhibitors or sessions or offer them a face-to-face with a speaker they showed interest in? For VIP guests, we could prompt check-in staff to introduce them to a reception team, who can greet them with their favourite coffee, based on previous refreshment stand purchases.
As a delegate, especially at a large exhibition, I spend a lot of time wandering around trying to get a feel for who is offering what on the different stands. It would help me if I could be prompted about the stands I want to visit and have a sensible route map for doing so. I would be much happier filling in a profile if it was used to match my interests to exhibitors. If I could rank them in importance and see them on a map of the event, so much the better.
If we know where delegates are coming from and how they’re travelling, we can use location data to shape the event timetable so that the majority get the best of the sessions. For events in central London – many northern delegates will travel by train, but they may prefer to arrive after 10am and leave before 3pm to get reduced rail fares. So how about skipping lunch and concentrating the sessions between 10.30am and 2.30pm? Anyone who can get there earlier or stay later can visit the exhibitors.
If delegates are based far from the event, how about offering them a link to a recording of sessions they missed? In the same way, if they attended a session, they could be sent a link to a recording as a reminder of what they heard.
Data insights companies such Tamoco can provide very detailed information about your delegates during an event using biometric wristbands and mobile phones. If a delegate has pre-registered for a session, you could potentially send them an alert before it starts. At big events you could use location data to monitor bottlenecks for sessions or food lines and move staff around or change the timetable in real-time.
Particularly at consumer-targeted events, real time event data can be used to actively change the event as the audience responds. In 2014, Pepsi organised a dance party at SXSW festival, where dancers wore wristbands that measured body and ambient temperature, the volume of music and body movement. This information helped the DJ to choose what music to play and informed the volume, lighting and other effects.
The beauty of using delegate data is that with a little imagination, you can collect data that will benefit your marketing, while improving the delegate experience – a two-pronged approach to increasing the likelihood they will return.
