Many of my publisher clients offering events have found that one of the main hurdles they face when launching an event is the challenge of converting customers – often accustomed to free content – into paying conference attendees. You may have also have this problem as a non-publisher if you are trying to upgrade expo visitors to conference delegates.
How is it possible to get freebies to pay?
Getting people to pay for something that once was free is always a challenge. But it’s possible if you follow the right plan. My prescription for making it happen is:
Get to know them
When connected digitally with clients, it’s usually a one-way conversation. To earn your revenue- growing chops requires getting to know the prospective spenders. That means picking up the phone or getting on the plane and visiting. What do you have in your event that offers value for which it is worth paying? It might be an event where they can mingle with like-minded people is enough to get them to come, or it might be specific information they need to know delivered by experts. But be clear as to what problem your content is targeted to solve and focus on those for whom that is an issue.
Know Your Target Personas and Personalize Your Messaging
Do you know your prospective customers and what they want? How are you going to start the awareness stream that shows your event has value and motivates those people to register? Make sure that you’ve built customer archetypes (known as “target personas”) and that you are segmenting and personalizing your messaging in ways that communicate like you are having a one-to-one conversation every time consistently with an expert ‘voice’, not an intern who doesn’t know what they are talking about…
Have a one-page value sheet
If you’ve done all the above work, it should be easy to build a one-page value sheet, specific to each target persona, and ensure that it’s easily available to those targets. That tool is what will help them convince their bosses to attend. Make sure it’s easily found and communicated.
Build exclusivity
Everyone wants to feel special and believe that they are getting something that their peers cannot get. Build this into your offer and reward people for the behavior you want to encourage (e.g. registering early.) That means offering discounts, private meetings with key speakers, tchotchkes, etc. If you’ve done your homework, you’ll know the likely targets and what these offers should be.
Getting freebies to pay requires both thought and a commitment to a make it happen. But it’s very doable. So, get it done!