Treat them like people.

Unconventional Strategies for Crafting a “Best-in-Kind” Attendee experience.

Tired of the same old event advice? Are you ready to challenge convention and revolutionize your attendee experience? Let me walk you through 5 uncommon but highly impactful ways to influence a conference attendee’s experience to build loyalty and ultimately pipeline. Spoiler - it’s about treating people the way you’d want to be treated.

Meet their basic needs

They can’t bring everything with them on their plane ride. What might they need? I.e. Provide swag that actually meets a need - sunscreen, hats and sunglasses in sunny areas. Or work with your exhibiting vendors to make sure they are designing experiential designs that make sense within the needs of the attendees. e.g. special coffee station at their booth to supplement what your F&B team is offering.

Why? Meeting people’s unmet needs will make them feel seen - like you know them!

Result. Happy, impressed attendees.

Quiet time

Select venues that provide abundant nooks for taking a break and decompressing. I.e. a minimum of a beautiful lobby space, outdoor seating areas, easy access to nature.

Why? People work from home and have the ability to have balance in their lives and quiet moments to themselves. Heading to a conference completely up ends this and even extroverts need more opportunities for some “me-time”

Result: People attend functions feeling engaged, refreshed, and intangibly happier.

Privacy

Data privacy is becoming increasingly important online, but IRL events have so many opportunities to potentially disappoint their attendees and leave them feeling used. Attendees do understand that some of their data will be used by event organizers, but there are limits to what you should do. At my event, I didn’t let sponsors buy the full contact lists, ever. Their booth would have to draw attention and they’d need to convert those conversations into usable contact information.

Why? Event organizers should be building trust and loyalty with their attendees, and using their data in ways they didn’t expect will degrade that experience.

Result: Feeling like they have reasonable control over their privacy leads to better experiences and reviews.

Networking

Here’s my take: Build your schedule around breaks, not content. This looks like 45 minute breaks between session blocks rather than the 5 minutes to run between rooms.

Why? The post-pandemic digital transformation of on demand content availability means that IRL events can focus more on human connections and networking.

Result: Rave reviews. If you do this correctly, people leave with a full roladex LinkedIn connections.

Invisible Accommodations

Make small accommodations accessible, before people ask. I.e. a Help desk with ear plugs, sensory toys, menstruation products, pronouns on badges, a request for sharps containers on registration forms, lactation spaces, an on-staff paramedic, and food allergy plans.

Why? Conferences are overwhelming. The first conference I attended after the lockdown was a 3,000 person event with a giant stage, strobe lights, and audio that shook the convention hall. My anxiety skyrocketed… and there was nothing available.

Result: When I implemented a help desk with items I listed above at my most recent event - the help desk employees reported that nearly everyone that walked up was super grateful.