By Jody Long
Think about your last three events. In particular, think about your attendance at each of them. Did you have a goal in mind for each event? Did you meet that goal? If not, here are some areas you may want think about before you start planning your next event. Sometimes just making one of these changes to your next gathering may make the difference of a packed room, versus a handful of attendees.
- Location: Was the event site easy to get to? Do you always hold it in the same area? Try branching out and reaching a new audience. Also consider the venue. Does your audience like something plain and simple, or an attractive event site that offers something more than a meeting spot?
- Time of year: Check calendars in your industry, were there other events going on? Were attendees given enough time to register? Depending on your industry, the magic number is typically six. Start registration six weeks before the event start date. But feel free to send teasers, and save the date information to get customers excited ahead of time.
- Price: Did you charge too much? Did you charge anything? Sometimes more people attend if there is a price, because they associate the price tag with there being value in the event. Consider charging at your next event.
- Topic: Has the topic you're covering already been covered?
- Speaker: Has this speaker already presented in your area?
- Reminders: Did some of your registrants not show up, simply because they forgot? Communication is key! Perhaps they forgot to add it to their calendar. Next time, make phone calls to all who registered, and if that is too many people, send a few reminder emails leading up to the event.
- Advertising and marketing: Who was your target audience? If you cast a big net just hoping to get anyone and everyone to sign up, you may want a different approach. Think about the focus of the event, and who your perfect attendee would be based on your event goals. This will help you decide on a more specific audience, and perhaps a different outcome with event attendance.
- Reputation: Have you seen a trend in your events and attendance ? If you think you've got a bad rap lately, it's time to make a big change. Start thinking outside of the box , perhaps by offering something you haven't offered to your customers.