Creating A Customer-Centric Conference Strategy January 18, 2018 by Jeff Hurt Established, successful conferences have leadership that are usually adept at incrementally improving their event each year. They focus on securing better content and speakers. Or improving registration and marketing practices. Or creating unique receptions and parties. Or decreasing expenses and increasing revenue. One improvement tactic–curating conference programming that meets your customers’ needs–is foundational yet proving … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Experience Design Tagged With: , aspirations, conference strategy, Customer Centricity, customer-centered, customer-centric, customer-centric conference strategy, needs
The 21st Century Meeting Professional: Act Strategically, Think Both Functionally And Strategically April 6, 2017 by Jeff Hurt What’s the role of the 21st Century meeting and conference professional? In the past, the answer was easy. Perform very straight forward, transactional, functional tasks related to the logistics of conferences, meetings and events. S/He fulfilled the same types of tasks on a daily basis. When asked to make improvements, s/he focused on efficiency and … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , ambidextrous organization, conference organizer, conference strategy, meeting professional, strategic planning, strategic thinking, strategic value
Many Conferences Lack Connective Tissue May 26, 2016 by Jeff Hurt Your conference is lacking! Yes, it lacks the connective tissue to support it participants’ true business objectives for attending your event. Yes, it lacks the connective tissue of an obvious framework for the current and future needs of its stakeholders. Connective tissue is a material that supports the vital organs of your body. It provides … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , business case for events, business objectives, business objectives for conferences, conference best practices, conference connective tissue, conference strategy, connective tissue, target market
Business Improvement Conference Education Trends September 29, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Does your conference education drive attendees’ business performance? Or are your offerings more a roll of the dice, leaving it up to chance that they impact the attendees’ job performance. The most effective and successful conferences focus their learning opportunities on sustaining attendees’ critical strategic skills, building evolving organizational capabilities and linking conference education to … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , adult education, building organizational capacity, business improvement, business performance, capacity building, conference education, conference evaluation, conference strategy, institutional capabilities, learning metrics, organizational learning
More Dangerous Assumptions About Your Conference Education Part 2 July 24, 2015 by Jeff Hurt The research* shows that much of what we do in our conference education is actually counterproductive. (*See partial list of research and books at the end of Dangerous Assumptions Part 1 post.) We spend too much of our conference time on delivery of information. The web is a better information delivery model than our events. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult education, adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, brain friendly strategies, brain-friendly conferences, conference education, conference strategy, education best practices, learning myths
Dangerous Assumptions About Your Conference Education Part I July 23, 2015 by Jeff Hurt It’s a very dangerous assumption. We assume that if our speakers are talking, our attendees must be learning. We equate telling from the stage with audience education. Telling does not equal learning. We’ve placed a value on experts talking instead of a value on attendees’ learning. It’s backwards thinking and it’s one of our conference’s … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult education, adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, brain friendly strategies, brain-friendly conferences, conference education, conference strategy, education best practices, learning myths
Improving Your Conference Operational Effectiveness Is Not Strategic Positioning January 6, 2015 by Jeff Hurt It’s one of the biggest confusions in the meetings industry today. That improving your conference operations—registration, food and beverage counts, room capacities, room sets, project management, vendor practices, partnering, benchmarking, following industry best practices, conference management tools—improves your strategy. It doesn’t! Improving your conference operations is not strategic positioning! Sure improving your conference operations improves … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference experience, conference strategy, convention operations, operational effectiveness, strategic positioning
