Focusing on Audience Experience at Events

Cogora: The Agency managed a total of 59 events between mid-April and the end of July this year. There are quiet weeks where we have one or two events per week, and others where we have as many as seven or eight. During these particularly busy times we continue to do our best to ensure that the delegate / audience experience remains at its best, and to the highest quality. It is imperative that our delegates enjoy their experience when attending our events, as we know that the strongest form of marketing is word of mouth. Being on registration so often I have personally heard delegates speaking about previous events they have attended, being very vocal about their negative experiences, and it always makes me cringe. We carry out the following when onsite to ensure that our delegates experience a professional, friendly and well-managed environment: Signage: Ample signage to ensure that our event space is easy to find. We often use venues that have various event spaces of all different sizes, so it is important that our signage stands out and that there is plenty of it, where necessary. Meet and greet and general helpfulness: We always wear our name badges to ensure that delegates, speakers and clients know who’s who. It is more personal and makes staff accountable – delegates can ask questions and know exactly who gave them the answer etc. Being friendly and cheerful in the morning always makes for a more pleasant welcome and this is a great way for delegates to be greeted at our meetings. Registration: This should be easy to find and well organised. The event staff always discuss in advance who will be responsible for which elements of the registration desk to ensure that delegates experience a smooth process. We allocate an assigned area for delegates who have registered late online and need to have badges made up on site. Here, they can provide us with their details, to ensure that this does not disturb the general flow of registration etc. Food, drinks and dietary requirements: Food is one of the biggest reasons as to why people complain at events. We encourage our venues to serve a variety of hot and cold food and drinks in order to keep our delegates well fed and watered throughout the day, and although we always ask our delegates for their dietary requirements in advance, we brief the venue and ensure that the chef is prepared to improvise on the day. We do our best to ensure that everyone is happy with the food and drinks provided. Inside the conference room: The conference room temperature is another element of events prone to complaints.  A room being too warm or too cold can have a huge impact on the experience of our guests and can affect their concentration levels too. We monitor this regularly throughout the day so that it is kept at a happy medium. The quality of the AV, having notepads and pens and access to water inside the conference room are also standard at our events. Networking: We try and ensure that our event attendees have plenty of time to network during our refreshment and lunch breaks. We understand that our guests want to meet each other and make new contacts, so we do our best to accommodate this. Facilities, WIFI, Parking etc.: Our delegates always have questions for us when on site so we do our best to have the answers well in advance of the meeting starting. Where are the toilets? What is the WIFI code? How can I validate my parking? All standard questions when on site at almost any event. Saying goodbye: It is just as important to give a cheery goodbye as it is to give a warm welcome. We want delegates to leave our event with positive views of the management of our event, the content and also our team. We were nicknamed ‘the happiest registration team’ by a few of our delegates at one of our events in London earlier this year and we definitely intend on maintaining and improving that reputation.