For some time, you have been organizing cyclic events: workshops, training courses or conferences. Everything seems to work like a well-oiled machine. You get the benefits of your previous hard work: You have built relations with service providers and have taken marketing activities. Some minor adjustments may be needed, but you know that basically, everything goes according to the plan you have set up. It has already worked well in previous events, hasn’t it? So why not to relax? The reason you can’t rest on your laurels is the whisper you probably hear in the back of your head “what if…”: What if the number of people interested in your events starts to decrease? What can you do to avoid wasting your previous effort?
Check if everything is working properly
Verify the number of your website visitors. If the traffic is high and the number of registrants does not increase, it means there is an error somewhere. Check if the links on your site are correct and lead to the event registration page. If you publish the registration form directly on your website, check if it works correctly. A common cause of errors is the incorrect use of HTML or javascript code.
Make registration process as simple as you can
If everything works as expected, check if you can make the registration process shorter. Remember that each additional step in the registration process creates a possibility for your potential participant to withdraw from it. Choose a registration system that doesn’t require signing in from the event participants. Have you known that the necessity to log in can effectively deter almost 1/4 of potential participants?
More and more people use smartphones, so choose a registration system that easily guides the mobile devices users through the registration process.
Check if your offer meets the attendees’ needs
Your event participants must receive value presented to them in the offer. In the case of cyclical events it also means the quality of offered service must be absolutely the same or higher. If you raise the price, make sure you offer some additional value. Verify your participants’ needs on an ongoing basis – what was attractive to them a few years ago now can be just an echo of the past. Stay vigilant.
Check what your competitors offer
Get information about your competition’s offer – check not only the price but also the value included in this amount. Compare it with your own offer. Did you miss anything? Perhaps potential participant of your event has considered the offer of competition as more relevant to his needs.
Be open to the new formats and ideas
The world is changing: the truth old like – nomen omen – the world. Your offer must keep changing the same way. Participants of cyclical events expect both, the same quality and the elements of refreshing novelty, elements of surprise and new proposals. You can consider organizing the next event edition in an unusual venue, you can also choose catering served in an unexpected form, or prepare a surprise, which will stay in the participants’ memory for a long time.
Build a relationship with your regular participants
It is worth building a relationship with the regular participants of your training courses, conferences or workshops. They can become real ambassadors of the event: they will recommend the event to their friends and acquaintances, they will positively talk about your conference series via social media, they will give a positive review. By showing interest and concern, you can build the loyalty of participants, which will pay off during subsequent editions.
Take into account the opinions of attendees taking a part in the previous editions
Collect feedback. It is a knowledge worth appreciating. Shortly after the event is over, send an e-mail to the participants thanking for their presence. Attach a questionnaire with questions about their satisfaction. We’ve written before about how to collect opinions and how to construct an ideal questionnaire. Do not forget to ask about such elements as: whether the registration process went smoothly or whether participants were satisfied with the venue (especially if you organized the event in an unconventional place). Pay more attention to the negative comments – these are the most important.
Be active in social media
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn as well as other social platforms are attractive tools for communicating with potential participants of your events. Learn about their capabilities and use them in your marketing activities, eg. in promoting the event. Remember – for social media users it is important that they can register for the event from that very place. Therefore, you also need to place the registration link directly on the social media platform.