The success of any event hinges on the customer journey and experience, making it a pivotal factor to your event. It’s a decisive moment that can either make or break the occasion. Anticipating what attendees will experience before the event unfolds is a challenge. By adopting the perspective of a customer, you can quickly identify the issues that need addressing.
While we’ve touched on the significance of empathising with delegates in our previous blogs, it’s essential to delve deeper into what this truly entails. What exactly should be considered when stepping into their shoes? The answer lies in understanding the ‘customer journey’—the path customers traverse from the beginning to the end of the event.
What will they see, discover, feel, hear, smell, and taste?
Most of us have been attendees at some point, and as event organisers, we become discerning critics. That was your customer journey. Having experienced it first hand, it’s now crucial to envision your delegate experience in advance.
Reflect on your feelings as an attendee at previous events. Focus on the emotions, thoughts, and feelings you encountered, using them as the foundation for your event planning. Moreover, when attending future events, be internally critical. Consider how you would enhance the experience and make notes. The initial thoughts and feelings are the ones not to be forgotten.
Now, let’s turn our attention to your event. Let’s explore a typical customer journey during the initial stages of attending an event.
Initially, attendees receive pre-event Joining Instructions, then they arrive at the venue, register, drop their bags, and head to catering before joining the keynote.
When visualising the customer journey, step back and detach yourself from the organiser’s perspective. While challenging, seeing everything from an event manager’s viewpoint might lead to focusing on insignificant details.
Here are some considerations for the early stages of the event:
Pre-event Joining Instructions: When and how will attendees receive them? What will they look like? What details will they contain? Can attendees pre-register? How will you display directions? Have you tested these directions during site visits?
Venue Arrival: Is the venue visible? Where is the entrance? Is there clear signage and branding opportunities? What is the first impression upon entering?
Registration: What documents do attendees need to present? How can this process be more convenient? What questions will be asked, and what system will be used? How is registration organised? Is there clear signage, e.g., indicating organisation by surname? What does the lanyard look like, and how big is the badge? What if replacements are needed? What is the process for unregistered attendees, and how do those staying overnight know when/how to check in?
Bag Drop: Where is the bag drop location? What are the operating hours? Is it visible, and can attendees access their bags during the day?
Catering: Is there clear signage for catering? Are dietary requirements labelled? Is there a variety of options? How many service stations are available to reduce wait times? What beverages are offered? What if attendees arrive late and find no catering? Are there tables for eating, and is there background music?
Keynote Transition: How is the transition announced? Is it sufficient? Is there a seating plan, and what about latecomers? Are seats reserved?
The key is to ask yourself questions – as many as you can think of to do with each section of the event. Ask yourself all the “what if’s” and the “what, when, why and how’s”.
Each element, no matter how small, prompts numerous questions. When visualising the experience, these considerations should come to mind automatically. Taking a moment to shift your perspective from that of an organiser to a customer is crucial, as organisers experience a vastly different event journey.
We recommend mapping out this journey in your mind and then physically walking through it during a site visit. This allows you to pin your thoughts to the actual venue, potentially discovering new opportunities, solutions, or alternative ways to achieve the same outcome. The more you plan and visualise, the better the overall customer experience.
ll-deserved drink after a successful event
Hippo offer Event Project Management and Global Venue Finding services. Contact us today on 01372 460 100 or events@hippoevents.co.uk to see how we can assist.