Confront the Vital Question-Why will my target audience come?

As an IT company, with a range of cloud-based solutions, you are anxious about the need to expand your sales funnel. This quarter is going fine, but for the next quarter, things look quite hazy. There are thus visible worry lines on your brow!

Enter-Agency X: You decide it’s time to reach out to your target audience pan India through a series of events. You choose Agency X for this purpose and give them a brief on the profile of audience you require and the numbers and tell them to get started.

You are now hoping to get the right audience in a hall and get your ace speakers or partners to expound on the great features of your products. After that leads will follow and this will get you your expected revenues. So far so good. But as they say the best-laid plans of men and mice…!

In the heated frenzy to get started and log in more business, even the agency doesn’t confront the vital questions which are:

Why would people attend my event?

Like my solutions, does my event have a USP?

The Event Differentiator: Consider this in a scenario where this same audience gets invited by so many companies all the time. And this includes most market leaders.

Let’s face it-with traffic hazards and the need for family time, any such activity is seen as an infringement on private space. Serious audiences have had enough of cocktails, dinners, and freebies to be excited by such reasons.

The nightmare of empty seats or paying five-star rates for irrelevant people could be staring at you!

Confront and get the answers: To avoid this expensive learning, its best to keep this why-will-people-come question uppermost in mind and also commend the agency which insists on a satisfactory response.

What is the newness in my topics? Do I have content to offer which goes beyond a sales pitch? Do my speakers carry credibility? Is the perceived pull for my event being communicated effectively? And the clincher. Does my event have a digital backbone?

Do my events carry a brick and mortar image or does my software manage registrations, feedback, networking, and polling?

The Jigsaw Fits Now: Answers to these questions and more that will come up when you deal with the right agency, will ensure that all vital links that go to ensure a successful event from database to invitation process to registration to event management to leads – are sorted.

The right questions, as they say, are as important as the answers!

We are moving towards a better Customer Experience ! (Or are we?)

My FIVE personal examples that debunk the myth

1.      A market leader in hotel booking

Three years back I booked a hotel in Dublin for a holiday through their site. Till today they inundate me with mailers offering special hotel deals in Dublin. The surmise seems to be that I am a person who would only like to go to Dublin for a holiday! Recently I used them to book a hotel in Vegas. Now the deluge of mailers for Vegas has begun.

2.      A leading ERP software company

We bought their cloud-based ERP software and gave up after two years of struggle –the package just didn’t cater to our needs. We still continue to receive updates as if we are customers even though we terminated our agreement four years ago! Would have expected a company with their technology edge to be smarter!

3.      A market leader in Satellite TV (DTH) in India

Navigating their IVR is a harrowing experience. I asked for a particular package and was given a cost after a 10-minute wait. Paid the amount as asked. Soon got a call saying the amount was less. Was the second time this had happened. Asked to be connected to a supervisor and was promised a revert. As usual, no one called..

4.      A Leading Private Bank

I have made three futile trips to the branch I deal with to collect a document. There’s only one person authorized to sign that document in that branch and she continues to extend her leave. Of course, the concept of calling and informing about the extended leave doesn’t exist!

5.      A Leading E-Commerce company

I have stopped dealing with them because of their utter disregard for the carbon footprint. Order a paperback and it comes in a carton big enough for a large oven. Order a pen set and it will also be delivered in a mammoth carton. All with endless amount of plastic stuffing.

Amidst all the increased consciousness about improving Customer Experience, enriching the Customer Journey, Personalisation, and with all the investments on expensive CRM software, a lot has been achieved but something serious is still amiss and needs to be addressed.

6 REASONS TO USE A MOBILE APP AT YOUR NEXT EVENT

Using an event app is a must while managing events in these days

That this is the age of digital transformation is something we have all heard and seen.

Happening at an unprecedented pace, this transformation has not left the event industry untouched. A witness to this is the upsurge of event apps in the market.

Here are some reasons why you should consider using a mobile app at your next event.

  1. Save time and money on printing and mailing

If marketing guides and event brochures are littering your venue floor, an event app is all you need. Economise your time and money spent on designing and editing along with avoiding the environmental waste budgets for your paper products!

  1. Showcase agenda on the go

Event apps allow you to display the agenda in a well-organised way so that all participants can plan and personalise their schedules. On a mobile app like MyEventGateway, you have the advantage of sharing speaker profiles, photos, videos or collaterals before, during and even after the event.

  1. Be relevant and timely

No need to worry about any session changes or if a new speaker is joining the list! With instant notifications, you can ensure your participants stay updated. Send messages to all/select registrants via 3 modes: email, push notification and SMS with MyEventGateway.

  1. Manage attendees with CRM

How many back-and-forth emails will you have to send and receive? Is the spreadsheet you were working on yesterday still on your mind? With registration and feedback facilities available on event apps, attendee data management becomes easy.

  1. Automate on-site check-in

If manual check-in lists are the order at your events, it’s time to deploy an event app! With a mobile app that allows check-ins through QR codes, forget the usual snake queues for participants, especially in large-scale events.

  1. Not just mobile, apps are ways to connect

Event apps can actually let your attendees be true participants. Having an activity feed allows attendees to engage with each other during the event and afterwards. A tool for organic conversations to happen which otherwise are not so much possible during conferences!

With mobile technology evolving continually, it only makes sense that your events follow suit. So before you begin executing the plans for your next event, make sure you have decided on the event app you want to use in it.