Ten things to do to make a conference better.
Ray Shaw, AMM, AMEA, FPRIA, AJA is Australia’s longest serving Accredited Meeting Manager. He is chairman of Australia’s most awarded meeting and event management company - Event Planners Australia www.eventplanners.com.au which has offices in all major states. Here are his ten tips which he points out are just the tip of the iceberg. “There is a great difference between making a meeting simply work and one that is truly exceptional”.
Too many meetings simply repeat what was done the last time without really thinking about the needs of the various stakeholders – delegates, guests, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and the host body. Start with a blank slate, throw out all the old baggage and have a close look at what all parties need to achieve and build a better event. Do a bit of brainstorming, determine your key performance indicators and goals and decide if the standard format is still the best. Once you have done this write all your findings down and refer to it as you would a blueprint for a building – don’t keep changing your mind as it only leads to more costs.
Too many meetings lose money because they don’t prepare a comprehensive budget before they start spending. Create an Excel spread sheet, list all possible cost items and do a little research into the major costs like venue, marketing, speakers program, food and beverage, audiovisual etc. This will help you to predict what will happen if you get more, or less, delegates or sponsors etc.
- Find the right venue – early
Many popular venues are booked years in advance so start early and be flexible with dates. Venue sales staff have the job of maximising the sales of their meeting space. Prepare a simple meeting “table” that shows hour by hour, day by day what sessions will be held noting delegate seating requirements. This will allow you to get a much more tailored quote from a venue.
Champagne taste on a lemonade budget is the surest way to make a loss. It is very nice to use four and five star hotels but if all you need is clean, functional meeting space then look at more cost effective suburban hotels, schools, universities and community halls. Similarly if the delegates can’t afford to stay, let alone park at the venue, then don’t go there – seek out a level of accommodation they can afford.
Most meetings require some form of sponsorship to pay for speakers, better arrangements or professional help. Most people hate asking for money and leave this to the last minute. Do it early, prepare a prospectus (what you are offering), go and see potentials sponsors and see if you can turn the relationship into a partnership to deliver a return on investment for the sponsor as well as yourself.
- Never skimp on the program
Research shows that 80% of people who attend do so because they want to learn something that they can use in their work. So concentrate on finding the best speakers, the best topics and presenting them in an interesting way. Use interesting ways to present information like interviews by professional MCs, panel sessions, debates, hypotheticals, workshops, working lunches, special interest groups – anything to avoid speakers droning on behind a lectern and death by PowerPoint.
Research shows that 20% of people who attend do so because they want to make contacts and keep up with the rest of the industry. You can help facilitate networking by profiling what delegates do, or are interested in, and introducing them to others with like interests. First time attendees may be encouraged by being paired off with seasoned industry professionals – buddy or mentor systems are popular.
- Risk management is critical
In this increasingly litigious society organisers are more liable to be sued for all sorts of issues including a poorly organised event that does not deliver what it promises. There are dozens of common risks that need to be assessed ranging from venue issues, social and cultural mores, external issues like terrorism, epidemics and transport strikes etc. Give serious though to all the issues and how to manage or avoid them. All meetings now need specially extended public liability insurance (not just PL insurance) – up to $20M in order to use larger venues like convention centres.
- Food, beverage and entertainment should be incidental
Conferences are generally tax deductible to delegates so long as the dominant purpose is education. To meet this criterion you need to meet for at least 4 hours per day (exclusive of breaks) and make sure any food and beverage is relevant to the meeting, not the dominant purpose. Welcome Receptions and Dinners are fine so long as entertainment is not over the top. Delegates will long remember the meeting if the food was lousy or the drink was not cold – it is better to spend more on quality in this area.
- Never underestimate the scope of the job
Industry statistics show that around 3 hours per delegate will be consumed in organising the meeting. Don’t rely on well meaning and ill equipped amateurs if the for any meeting over 150 persons. You should seriously consider employing an accredited meeting manager (AMM) who is a member of Meeting and Events Australia. They have all the systems and infrastructure in place to make this a more successful meeting, not just an average one.
If you want to significantly improve and grow your meeting or event contact me – you won’t be disappointed. rays@eventplanners.com.au.
