You can dress your conference up and make it look amazing but without quality content and a top-notch program, delegates will not return.

Building a program full of exceptional content starts with a submission pool of quality abstracts to choose from.

Consider the following ideas to elevate your abstract submissions process and attract high-quality abstracts for your next conference program:

Provide Detailed Guidelines

Making the process of submission as simple and clear as possible will yield both a higher number and better quality of applicants. The harder you make an applicant work to complete the required information, the more opportunity there is to lose them in the process, so it makes sense to be as brief and clear as possible while still getting the information you need.

Association conferences can be a beast to plan and execute. There are many factors that determine delegate satisfaction but one of the prime considerations is surely the quality of the program content presented. Securing high-calibre presenters via a well-executed submission process, you’re ensuring content is engaging, thought-provoking and relevant and you’ll keep delegates coming back year after year.

Conference websites can be confusing and overwhelming for visitors, resulting in a less than stellar conversion rate

By implementing these three core principles you’ll be well on your way to boosting the number of delegate registrations at your next conference

Use these tips to boost delegate registrations

You spend a lot of time and money building a website to promote your conference and chances are, you want a return on that investment. After all, there’s no point in having a beautiful site if it doesn’t actually produce any paid delegates, right? 

There are really only three key considerations when the goal is maximum delegate registrations. You have to;

1. Get people interested fast. 
2. Ask them to take a simple action. 
3. Stay on their radar after they leave.

Ask For What You Want

You want more conference registrations from your website or you wouldn’t be reading this article. Good marketers know that a confused mind always says ‘no’ so giving visitors too much choice most often results in them leaving without taking any action.

To avoid this:

• Ask them to do just one thing and make it clear e.g. ‘Claim Your Early Bird Discount’. 
• Use compelling words to get the desired action, e.g. Claim, Download, Submit etc.
• Ask for as little information as possible up front. Remember, you’re planning on staying in touch after they leave.

Stay On Their Radar

There’s a well-known marketing quote by Jim Rohn that says “the fortune is in the follow-up”. Simply put, it means that if you aren’t staying in touch with your visitors after they leave, you aren’t getting as many registrations as you could be. 

The two most effective ways to stay in front of our audience are:

• Offer something of value, like an early-bird discount coupon or an entry into a prize draw, in exchange for an email address then stay in touch via an automated email series.
• Take advantage of the technology Facebook has developed (called a retargeting pixel), which allows you to show paid ads to people who have previously visited your website but may not have registered yet. 

With so many choices of what to include on your conference website, it can often end up confusing and overwhelming for visitors, resulting in a less than stellar conversion rate. By implementing these three core principles you’ll be well on your way to boosting the number of delegate registrations at your next conference.

Finding creative ways to use video for marketing your conference is unquestionably a good idea.

People remember things better when they are presented visually, they are more engaged and they are more inclined to share videos than other kinds of content.

Gather Social Proof

If you’re using post-event surveys to gather feedback from delegates, and we hope you are, then you’ve got an untapped supply of awesome content at your fingertips. All you need is a simple template created using a branded graphic with a text overlay of the words from the testimonials and you’re in business. Put several together to create a social proof broadcast.

Leverage Your Efforts

Producing great content is only half the story. You want to be able to creatively repurpose all that great visual content in as many ways as possible. 

A good distribution strategy is the key to making it all work and getting the best return on your investment of time and resources.

Try these ideas to get you started:

1. Split longer recordings into a series of 15-second clips for sharing on Instagram stories.
2. Share 60-second clips on your Instagram feed. 
3. Show highlights from last year’s conference on this year’s conference website to increase registration numbers.
4. Use real-life testimonials in a pre-event email sequence to build trust and increase registrations.
5. Create a conference-specific YouTube channel where you can share all the content that ‘s been created.
6. Ask sponsors, vendors and partners to share your content on their social channels for exposure to new audiences.
7. Repurpose session recordings from the conference as website/blog content throughout the next year.

There’s no question that creatively using video for marketing is not simply a fad. No matter which platform you’re using, from Facebook to YouTube, video gives you more reach, engagement and interaction with your audience than any other form of communication.  

Using video for marketing your conference will increase anticipation for delegates who’ve already registered and pique the interest of those who haven’t. 

The costs involved in video production are shrinking all the time so it’s never been easier to increase awareness, build anticipation and grow attendee numbers than it is right now.

Live broadcasting is often the most engaging content because it is the least polished and the most relatable.

Create Lasting Positive Change

By borrowing concepts from Corporate Social Responsibility and integrating them into your event planning and execution, you can create lasting positive change in the world and that’s a win/win for everyone. There are three main areas to focus on when thinking about how to create an impact that lasts well beyond the conference close.

Philanthropic Giving

Charitable acts of kindness spread quickly. By incorporating giving back into your event you create a ripple effect and build customer loyalty.

• Choose a charity that aligns with your organization and donate a portion of event ticket sales.
• Run an online flash fundraiser for the duration of the conference and encourage participation by asking delegates to vote on which charity receives the funds, offering a prize for the most money raised, related social media posts with the most reach, etc.
• Rather than traditional speaker gifts, opt for a donation to a charity of the speakers choice.

By incorporating giving back into your event you create a ripple effect and build customer loyalty.

Ethical Business Practices

Incorporating social responsibility into the way you do business demonstrates that you care about wider social issues than the bottom line.

• Choose vendors who use Fair Trade supplies and suppliers, so you know you’re supporting fair labour practices.

A socially conscious image isn’t just for profit-driven corporates; it’s important for anyone who wants to stand out in the marketplace. Consumers are voting with their dollars and choosing to support businesses and events that affect social change by the way they do business. If you want your delegates to return year after year,  make them remember you. Don’t just give them great learning and networking opportunities, make them feel good while they’re doing it! 

A socially conscious image isn’t just for profit-driven corporates; it’s important for anyone who wants to stand out in the marketplace.

Read More of Our Event Thoughts

Audience Engagement Strategies That Work

Successfully engaging an audience increases participation, improves learning and heightens satisfaction. Engaged audiences share their experience on social media. They become your brand ambassadors; creating buzz and building referrals and interest for future events. Read on for some great ideas on audience engagement how to’s:

Set the Scene

Assuming your event marketing is effective, registrations are ticking along nicely and attendee numbers are growing. Now’s the time to launch a clever pre-event engagement campaign to create interest and build anticipation for those attending the event. 

• Host an online community to connect delegates, speakers and exhibitors. You’ll be creating opportunities for pre-conference relationship building and find out what’s important to your audience. 
• Use email automations to deliver a content series answering questions about the conference, sharing stories from your speakers, or giving a behind-the-scenes peek at how the event is coming together. 
• Create a social media content strategy for the months leading up to the conference that reinforces and extends the email series. 

• Make it easy for people to share about the event on social media. Create a custom event hashtag and communicate about it often. Ask people to use it when posting on social media and offer creative ideas to get them started.

A clever pre-event engagement campaign creates interest and builds delegate anticipation

Keep Them Guessing

Engagement starts with choosing the right speakers and making sure the room is comfortable but it shouldn’t end there. Including the unexpected boosts interaction, participation and energy. 

• Instead of waiting for the traditional hand-held mic to be passed around the audience, use one of the new soft, throwable versions to move things along faster, get more people asking questions and add some fun. 
• Use live Q&A and polling to gather audience opinions and share in real-time. Making people feel valued and included in the discussion increases motivation to participate.
• Mobile event apps allow attendees to plan their own unique conference experience. Invest in a good one that can build agendas, find answers to FAQs, and send out session alerts.

Today’s conference delegates don’t just want to be educated and entertained; they want to feel important, be inspired and stirred emotionally. 

Audience engagement means something different to everyone but no matter the individual definition, one thing that’s certain is its importance in building a successful conference; one that keeps people coming back year after year.

8 presentation types for a more interactive conference

Don’t just settle for ordinary at your conference. Mix up your conference program with interactive sessions that optimises engagement, learning and networking opportunities. Here’s our top 8:

1. Fireside Chats

Fireside chats are a more intimate take on presentations being presented behind the traditional lectern. A moderator is seated on stage with a guest who is interviewed to allow the conversation to flow naturally. The stage is set informally usually with two armchairs to keep the atmosphere relaxed.  However, while informal, it’s important the moderator is prepared with their own research and with 2-3 questions to kick off the session in the right direction. You can invite audience interaction by allowing questions from the floor or through the use of technology.

       The Fireside Chat is ideal for:

• Speakers who have a great message but aren’t natural presenters
• Getting a different perspective from a popular speaker on the circuit
• Encouraging audience participation

We utilised the fireside chat format for our Autism in Education Conference to assist some of our speakers who were on the spectrum.  While the presenters had a powerful message, they were daunted at the thought of having to present for 20 minutes on stage.  Through the more relaxed format and a thorough briefing prior to their session, presenters felt more comfortable delivering their message resulting in a very compelling session.

2. Campfire Sessions

Campfire sessions are once again a more informal take on the traditional presentation. Its aim is to break down the barriers of the lectern.  While the session starts with a 15-20 minute presentation from a speaker, it then shifts to focusing on gaining key participation from the audience. The presenter turns facilitator allowing attendees to answer questions and provide comments. It allows attendees to drive their own learning, listen to different perspectives and share experiences.

Campfire Session is ideal for: 

• Breaking up the traditional presentation format
• Allowing delegates to drive the agenda
• Encouraging audience participation
• Opening up dialogue between large groups

4. Fishbowl

Fishbowl is another format ideal for creating participation and dialogue amongst groups. Four chairs are placed in a circle in the centre of the room, with other chairs around these chairs for the audience.  Three to four participants sitting in the centre circle are given a topic to discuss for the audience to listen to.  In an open fishbowl scenario, one chair is left empty for a member of the audience to sit down and join the conversation.  Participants can come and go.  At the end of the session, a moderator summarises the whole discussion.

Fish Bowls are ideal for: 

• Encouraging large group dialogue and a flow of ideas
• Opportunities for professional peer to peer connections
• Brainstorming issues and concepts

The Australian International Education Conference (AIEC) introduced fishbowl session in 2018 proving a hit with the delegates.  It allowed attendees to become active participants and learn from one another.  These sessions will continue in future AIEC conferences.

5. Pecha Kucha (or Ignite sessions)

Pecha Kucha is a fast-paced way to expose delegates to a range of topics and ideas in a short time frame. Speakers present up to 20 images discussing each for 20 seconds bringing the whole talk to just under 7 minutes. Images are required to slide automatically with speakers delivering only the pertinent points on the topic in synchronisation with the images.

Pecha Kucha is ideal for: 

• Processing large groups of speakers in a short time frame
• Presenting a broad range of ideas and concepts to delegates

6. Lightning Talks

Lighting talks is another method for processing a large number of presenters and topics. Presenters are provided 5 to 10 minutes to discuss their topic usually within a session with a number of presenters.  As presentations are brief, it requires for the speaker to stick to only the pertinent points and facts of their topics. Here presentations are usually grouped under a particular theme allowing delegates to select the most relevant presentations for them. 

Lightning Talks are ideal for:

• Allowing presenters to present a topic in quick but articulate manner
• Grouping presenters under relevant themes
• Processing a large group of speakers in a short time frame

At the Asia Pacific Autism Conference, lightning talks were used to enable speakers to present their key messages with a few illustrations.  These short and sharp presentations were packed with great take away value for delegates and were perfect for new, inexperienced presenters.

7. Birds of a Feather

Birds of a Feather is more of an informal gathering of people with a common professional link, interest or area of experience. Able to be scheduled in the program or in breaks, groups can gather to discuss set topics or alternatively just network.

Birds of a Feather is ideal for:

• Maximining networking opportunities for delegates
• Catering for the interests of a diverse delegate group
• Allows the session to create more of a conversation where all attendees participate

The top event technology to innovate your conference

Technology plays a significant role in the conference experience.  By getting your technology choices right you can innovate to build a conference of worth

Unsurprisingly, The Power of Event Data, a recent survey by Cvent and EventMarketer reported 88% of event attendees found technologies improved their onsite event experience.

The report highlights the changing expectation from delegates for a more interactive, digital conference experience.  Undoubtedly, today it’s a matter of necessity conference hosts integrate technology into both the planning and staging of their event.

We give you the low down on the technology that can boost your conference to the next level.

Onsite event technology for your conference

The technology that audiences interact with onsite is what makes the largest impact on delegate experience.

So, what are delegates specifically looking for?

Pre and Post Conference Technology

Of course, while onsite technology takes more centre stage, the technology used in the lead up to and post-event still has a large impact on conference experience.

People are so adept at navigating the digital world, they’ve clear expectations for all online interactions. Fail to meet this and you fail to build a best first impression.

A fast and easy conference introduction

For conferences, the first active event experiences are generally formed during the registration and call for submission stages. Both require technology that:

• is fast and easy to use and navigate
• can securely process payments and protect private information
• allow additional stage editing for users (i.e. second stage submissions or additional registration booking changes)

From a hosts perspective, it’s also important for both software to have full reporting capabilities. This means you will be able to tap into the data for planning and marketing purposes.

We recommend using technology that’s been specifically created for the event industry.

Easy, clear and regular communications

Okay, email is certainly not a new technology by any stretch of the imagination.  But with 94% of event attendees viewing emails as the prime source of information prior to the event – it sure is an important one.

Through smart, strategic email communications you can build the profile of your event and fulfil attendee expectations.

With email software, such as MailChimp or iConnect, you can easily tap into in-built templates, segment your communications and utilise the valuable data capabilities.

A working, well-planned website

Okay not another surprise, but at 77%, websites quickly follow emails as the next relevant source of information for attendees.

Just like emails, a modern, well planned and informative website forms part of the overall conference experience.  At a minimum your conference website should:

• be a modern, professional looking website that effectively represents your conference brand
• be fast, responsive and easy to navigate
• clearly communicate key event information such as key dates, location, program and FAWs
• be continually updated with relevant information
• ensure all relevant links work – such as registration and call for submissions

Post-event data

In addition to improving the delegate experience, the data analytics afforded from each of the above technologies is an invaluable tool for organisers.

Results can be used for planning future events, event evaluation, current and future marketing, sponsorship strategies and so on.

By seamlessly integrating technology into each stage of your conference, you’ll be boosting the conference experience for all involved.

7 top tips for keeping your conference fresh

Delivering an annual conference and keeping expectations high can be a challenge.
Our 7 top tips will keep your delegates and sponsors returning year after year.

When it comes to delivering annual conferences, it can be pretty tough to back it up successfully year after year. With the rise in success of a conference program, so too does the expectation levels of delegates and sponsors. When you fail to meet expectations, it’ll undoubtedly impact the numbers of impending events.

So how do you keep your conferences fresh? Here’s our top 7 tips to keeping the bar high on your annual events:

1. Ask and Listen

One of the biggest mistakes that can be made in conference planning is assuming to know what people want. Instead, take the time to ask and –most importantly – listen.

Take advantage of the onsite surveys undertaken from the previous conference. Get an understanding of what worked and what didn’t and then implement change accordingly.

But don’t just rely on the feedback from people who attended – speak to your key stakeholders – the sponsors, the program committee and the recognised leaders and influencers in the profession. Even take the time to engage people in discussions about other conferences they’ve attended and what made them memorable.

Evaluate the feedback and make concerted efforts to implement the changes the committee agrees will make a difference. Put measures in place to review how these changes fared and make recommendations for the next annual event.

It’s a good idea to communicate with your membership base any changes made to demonstrate you’ve listened, as well as, managing expectations for the following event.

One of the biggest mistakes that can be made in conference planning is assuming to know what people want.   Instead, take the time to ask and –most importantly – listen.

2. Set Your Goals

Planning a conference is a long-term game with organising an event often exceeding 12 months. Organising without clear direction or goals can make it difficult to actually plan a successful conference.

Set some objectives and measures to guide the organising committee into clear decision making. Objectives could be as simple as:

• Increase satisfaction level of delegate attendees by 10% from a previous conference (measured by surveys)
• Achieve an increase in participation from a particular sector of your membership
• Provide more opportunities for sponsors/exhibitors to interact and network with delegates

With a shared vision, it will be simpler to deliver a fresh conference that will get your delegates, speakers and sponsors talking – for the right reasons.

3. Shake It Up

Just because it’s the way that it’s always been done – doesn’t mean a conference program can’t change.

While we wouldn’t recommend completely altering a program that’s been in place for years, making tweaks or introducing innovative technology keeps people interested.

It could be as simple as changing presentation formats and introducing world café style sessions, or an interactive panel session with live polling to engage the audience. You can make plenaries similar to shorter TED style presentations or even take people offsite for experiential tours.

Conference apps are also a valuable tool in changing up programs, allowing delegates to interact and engage better during sessions.  For example, live polling can often create some controversy leading to lively debate amongst speakers and delegates.  Or allow delegates to ask questions online throughout the presentation so the presenter can tailor their content to what delegates are wanting to know.

5. Dress It Up

The way a conference is presented can have a positive impact on the perception and energy of the event.

Get a professionally designed conference logo and brand that is an attractive and fresh visual representation of the year’s theme.  You need a brand that will appeal to your target audience and set a level of excitement and expectation of what’s to come.

Ensure this brand is consistently rolled out through all marketing and at the event with signage, staging and merchandise.  It will really contribute to the perception of a high-quality event.

7. Improve the Little Things

When delegates attend the same conference year after year – they notice the little things, the differences and the things that just aren’t working.

So always ask “How can we make this conference experience better or easier for delegates?”

Ensure that the usual processes are seamless – from how a delegate can register and book accommodation to how clear the communication pre-event is and the responses they encounter when they make an enquiry. It all counts towards perceptions of an event.

So always ask: “How can we make this conference experience better or easier for delegates?” 

When the planning of your next annual conference approaches, be sure to take these seven tips into consideration to make it the best event yet. Until the next one that is.

Boost your conference sponsorship in 7 simple steps

Signing up sponsors to your event can be challenging and hard work.  We simplify the process through sharing our top simple seven steps to achieving your sponsorship goals.

Sponsorship is a crucial element for the vast majority of events.  The income sourced from sponsorships and the exhibition area can play an integral role in the creation of a successful event. While the exhibition can provide an educational element for attendees in the discovery of new products, services and players in the industry.

But let’s face it, obtaining sponsors and exhibitors year after year can be challenging.So, we’ve shared with you our seven simple steps to maximising your conference’s sponsorship:

1. Know Your Stuff

Before you create your sponsorship prospectus – get to know your industry, competitor conferences and your venue.

Make sure you investigate:

• If your industry has any regulations you need to adhere to and your sponsors need to. For example, the medical industry needs to consider the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturers Code of Conduct.
• If the venue can accommodate the packages your offering with viable space for booths, signage and networking spaces.
• If’ you’re comfortable with the entitlements you’re offering. For example, branding in key sessions, an opportunity for the sponsors to provide welcoming remarks at your dinner etc.
• What similar conferences within your industry are offering.  Are your sponsorship packages fulfilling market expectations?

Are your sponsorship packages fulfilling market expectations?

2. Know Your Audience

Potential sponsors will want to know your attendee demographics prior to investing in your conference.

By creating an overview of attendee demographics such as who attends, industry sectors, seniority of delegates and so on, companies can see if the conference aligns with their own target audience.

This is obviously easier to obtain if yours is a member organisation or the conference has a long history of data available.

It’s also beneficial to survey your delegates as to what types of companies, products and services they wish to hear and find out more about.

You can use the survey results to compile your sponsorship target list and as a business case when presenting to companies. For instance, it can be pretty compelling when a company hears 80% of your delegates are interested in learning more about their type of product.

4. Be Innovative

Companies want to invest in conferences that make them look good, enable them to stand out from the crowd and that optimises connection opportunities with their audience.

So, when creating your packages make efforts to break out of the mould of how’s it’s always been done.

Examples of innovation include:

• Maximise networking opportunities with interaction hubs throughout the exhibition.
• Add social activities such as receptions, dinners or even yoga sessions to maximise connection opportunities (for non-medical sponsorships).
• Provide exhibitors with the opportunity to hold education sessions.
• Use apps or social media platforms pre/post and during the event to help forge connections.
• Set up delegate/sponsor matchmaking sessions.
• Offer unique sponsorship offers – such as branded technology zones, touch screen advertisements, social media walls, reusable water bottles or even sponsored mobile recharge stations.

Don’t lose potential sponsors through silly errors in your approach. 

5. Create A Process

Don’t lose potential sponsors through silly errors in your approach. Breakdown the process into defined, achievable steps, such as follows:

• Develop and practice your pitch – they need to understand the benefits of participation.
• Find the right connection to approach. If there’s someone in your organisation, or on your committee, who has contact with a potential sponsor, ask for an introduction. It’s always more powerful to be connected through an already trusted source.
• Make initial contact to introduce the event and to ascertain interest. This is a good time to confirm their objectives.
• If the company expresses initial interest, send tailored invitation with relevant information – be clear in your request.
• Follow up your request either on the phone in person. Ask how it fits in with their objectives and budget and whether they wish to make any changes.  Be prepared to be flexible and know post discussion if you have room to negotiate.
• Once a company agrees to become a sponsor – make sure the process is smooth. This includes clear communication, easy invoicing and payment methods and ensuring you follow through with your promises/entitlements.
• At the conclusion of the conference give sponsors and exhibitors the opportunity to provide feedback on what worked and what didn’t. And listen.

If a company seems interested but doesn’t commit the first year, it may be worth offering them a free registration to the exhibition so they can obtain a better understanding of the value of the conference in person.

6. Tailor Your Offers

With competition high, you need to tailor your offers to each company accordingly – which if you’ve done your homework in steps 1 to 3, should be fairly easy.

For the companies you’ve identified as viable for larger investments – don’t send them the standard package and letter.   Tailor your request with a value proposition that appeals directly to their needs and objectives.

For those companies you’re unable to pinpoint objectives, it’s beneficial to create a shopping menu offering where they can pick and choose entitlements/packages that fit their own objectives.  These companies also need to receive a personalised, tailored letter.

When sending communications – make sure you spell the contact and company name’s correctly and be careful when cutting and pasting information as it’s easy to make mistakes. This is obvious advice. But easy to overlook and remember first impressions count.

7. Make it a Year Long Effort

If you’re relying on the same companies to return year after year, these relationships need to be nurtured over the long term.

There’s no use just getting back in contact as the next conference comes around – as company staff and strategies tend to change and your conference may have inadvertently been left out of planning.

By simply remaining in regular contact through telephone calls, surveys, the creation of social media groups, or even the occasional coffee catch up, your conference can remain top of mind.  You can also build loyalty through value adding to the relationship with invitations to networking events, the sharing of industry data or simply supporting their social media efforts.

By putting in the effort to build long-term relationship you’ll also get a better understanding of the company’s ongoing needs and objectives so you can continue to tailor offers to suit.

Overall, obtaining sponsors for your conference can be a long and arduous process, but by implementing correct and thorough processes it can deliver a valuable return on effort.

The 9 delegate touch points that make or break a conference

With the reputation of a conference largely impacted by the whole delegate experience, attention to detail is essential. Yet, these 9 invisible delegate touchpoints are often too largely ignored.

Delivering a conference sounds easy right? Book a venue, get the perfect speakers, sell tickets and turn up on the day. And voilà your conference is served.

And sure, you can probably get away with this slapdash approach for at least one year – but we can guarantee that the following year you’ll find it difficult to sell registrations. Why? Because the above process lacks any thought towards a quality delegate experience. With delegates interacting with the conference long before day one, ensuring every aspect is considered and well managed is essential.

Following is our top 9 essential tasks (outside of the conference program) to which you need to pay close attention, to build a high-quality
conference:

1. The conference look and feel

First impressions count and if the look and feel of your conference don’t appeal to the audience from the outset, engagement will be low. We recommend getting a professional designer to create a logo and look for your conference that promotes the theme and sets expectations for the quality of your event. Your conference brand also needs to be adhered to and enforced throughout planning including all marketing materials, signage, delegate merchandise and publications.

3. The registration process

Registration is essentially one of the first points of contact for a delegate so it’s an important experience to get right. When booking for events today, people, of course, expect an efficient, secure online process that is quick and easy to use. In addition, a dedicated person to professionally respond to enquiries and issues will go a long way in providing a quality registration process.

4. Call for submissions

Along with registrations, call for submissions is another avenue where people are getting their first taste of the conference experience. As a procedure where people are putting in an effort to submit a presentation, they have the expectation of a system that is straightforward and easy to use. Be sure to have an industry best program that doesn’t cause delays in uploading documents, communicates needs well and allows people to come back and edit or replace documents. The ease and efficiency of the online reviewing component also need to be considered as many of your members may volunteer to undertake this role.

5. Your accommodation offerings

Where you stay for the duration of your conference naturally creates a lasting impression on an attendee’s experience. You need to offer a range of accommodation options that suit a variety of budgets and needs, that is close to the conference venue and is easily accessible. The booking process and collection of deposits also needs to be smooth, filling delegates with confidence their check-in and check-out will be without hassle.

6. Conference communications

Any communication with your delegates can really set the tone and level of expectations with your delegates. You need to have processes in place where you can respond quickly and efficiently to any enquiries, ensure all written communications are professional, courteous and well written and verbal communications is well mannered, positive and proactive.

8. The onsite experience

From the moment your delegates steps onsite they have got expectations, they want to be met.  They need easy to see signs that tell
them where to go; a well-managed registration desk run by well-presented staff; an easy check-in process, program changes to
be well communicated; allocated rooms for presentations to be of suitable size; and audio-visual technology to be so seamless,
it’s invisible.

9. The catering conundrum

Now yes the catering may seem like a small decision overall but it does make a large impression on attendees. Your catering should
largely reflect registration costs. You should offer a variety of healthy options, be plentiful, suit a variety of dietary requirements and be
easily accessible. But on the other hand, you don’t want to waste resources (both financial and edible!) by over catering. Always make
sure you account for the ‘wash’ of delegates who don’t turn up.