I was ruminating about the three levels of success in the conference/trade show business. They are in order:
1) an event which attracts a quality audience of the right quantity;
2) an event does the above and makes a profit;
3) an event which does all of the above and people(sponsors, attendees, visitors, press) want to attend.
In my mind, the third category is the 95th percentile of events, and very hard to keep up over even the medium term given the variables of market shifts, audience preferences, competition and other factors. How can you do it?
- By being ‘part’ of the market place not just serving a market place
- By anticipating the needs of the market
- By being a place where people connect, not just events where people show up, see some things and go back home
- By having smart, caring, committed customer oriented staff who can do all of the above
- By understanding the value of your event and effectively monetizing it(and making the value easy to understand)
- By being ‘in touch’ with all of your stakeholders in the manner, frequency and time frame that they desire
I have been fortunate to have been the caretaker of such events(meaning that most of the above was already created before my arrival, I just needed to keep it going) and also to have created such events even on a small scale.
My challenge to you? Can you metamorphosize your existing events to the top 5% and do you have the commitment to do what it takes to keep them there?