 The
Conference Conundrum
By Ed Rigsbee, CSP
In difficult economic
times, the question of how to deliver value to conference attendees
while keeping the cost under control is truly a conundrum. Determining
what activities conference attendees see as valuable can be quite
elusive, as in your coercive effort to attract them.
What do today’s
conference attendees want? First, explore the basic types that attend
conferences, especially when travel is required. The old paradigm
conference attendee is a bit like the good ol’ boy—attending his
industry meeting regardless of the time of year, location or quality of
the meeting. He just wants to meet with his buddies, network a bit, golf
and drink. The conference is his well earned get-away.
Then there is the new
paradigm attendee, both men and women. They are younger, have families
and have the attitude that they will participate if they see the
capability for synergy. Golf and partying is not their motivation, but
rather the desire to obtain new strategies, tactics and the skills
necessary to improve their business. They only want to rendezvous with
value.
Of which group is your
association’s membership tilting? Has the ratio been changing over the
last few years? I bet it has been changing, but perhaps nobody noticed?
Then there is the paid verses volunteer leadership element with which
you must be attentive. This becomes crucial when a volunteer leader from
a small company follows one from a large company.
My observation in over
a decade of interviewing volunteer association leaders and speaking at
association meetings is that generally (but not always) a leader from a
large company tends to be more strategic in their thinking and those
from smaller companies tend to be more tactical. While both are
necessary, tactics without strategy is like traveling to a far-away land
without a map—who knows where you’ll end up?
One tactic for reducing
costs that a number of associations have recently engaged is that of
inviting suppliers to present educational sessions rather than hiring
experts, authors and /or professional speakers. Industry presenters
usually manage to wrap their presentation around a sales pitch for their
product. An important point that is rarely broached in the above
mentioned tactic is what effect does inviting one company to present
have on other supplier companies?
Since suppliers, or
allied members as they are sometimes called, generally pay a
disproportionately larger amount to attend a conference than other
members, they want value too. Forcing a number of suppliers to endure a
competitor’s veiled sales presentation can be considered cruel and
unusual punishment. And they never forget.
What does create value
for today’s conference attendees? Many attendees, especially those at
national meetings, are looking to be recharged. They need and want both
the motivation and tools for doing battle in the trenches for another
year. What percentage of motivation verses skills? Regardless of what I
have been told by meeting planners, over the years I have learned that
in both general sessions and concurrent sessions alike, the scales tilt
more toward motivation. This is something that a non-professional
speaker can rarely deliver.
For a meeting
organizer, the rendezvous with value challenge can be enormous. You say,
“How in the world can I deliver all the value my diverse group of
attendees demands and needs in a time of diminished registrations?”
Your answer is in numbers. Just how many of your attendees demand that
costly golf outing? Is it a large number or just a few that are quite
vocal in their personal demands? Must you have an open bar reception? If
so, cut the hours in half.
A great question to ask
oneself is that of memory—what will your attendees remember? Will they
remember their fourth free whiskey at the reception? Or, will they
remember that the speaker from XYZ Company spent the entire hour talking
about their own company’s capabilities? What will stick in your
attendees’ minds that will urge them to return to the conference the
next year? If they are old paradigm; they’ll just come again no matter
what. But, for the new paradigm attendees, you must help them to
rendezvous with value.
Currently, suppliers to
the meetings industry are offering generous discounts; including hotels,
resorts, airlines and also professional speakers. This is simply because
of supply and demand. If you truly want to deliver value to your
attendees, take advantage of the times and give them more than a free
whiskey by which to remember their conference. This may take an
additional effort in helping your volunteer leaders to understand the
value, and, they themselves may be the ones that need the inspiration
and motivation the most.
To
access helpful additional information from Ed Rigsbee at no charge,
please visit www.rigsbee.com/downloadaccess.htm.
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Ed
Rigsbee, CSP is the author of PartnerShift, Developing
Strategic Alliances and The Art of Partnering. Rigsbee has over 1,000 published articles
to his credit and is a regular keynote presenter at corporate and trade
association conferences across North America. He can be reached at
800-839-1520 or EdRigsbee@aol.com.
For a treasure trove of additional information and ideas, visit his
Partnering University Web Site at www.rigsbee.com.
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