Conference Metrics That Matter July 24, 2024 by Dave Lutz “What gets measured, gets managed,” is a phrase coined by management guru Peter Drucker. For annual conferences, this is best accomplished by identifying and adopting a combination of leading and lagging performance measures. Not all metrics can give you the insights you need right now. Lagging indicators look at the past — the end results … [Read more…] Filed Under: Association Insights, Business Model, Event Planning
Streamlining Internal Communications July 17, 2024 by Dave Lutz Here’s a simple project-management tool that can help streamline internal communications — and clarify accountability — for annual meetings. Some components of planning an association annual meeting involve multiple departments and competing priorities. Membership wants one thing; publications, marketing, and chapter relations, another. Having too many cooks in the kitchen — and no clear owner … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning
Know Thy Customer June 5, 2024 by Dave Lutz I’ve been a big fan of Customer Centricity, a book written by Wharton’s Peter Fader for quite some time. Fader advocates that “in the world of customer centricity, there are good customers … and then there is pretty much everybody else.” He recommends focusing and investing in retaining the former, while not ignoring the latter. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing
Time to Prune Your Sponsor Offerings February 1, 2024 by Dave Lutz A number of associations we work with have seen their annual convention exhibit space sales lag attendance, which has recovered since the pandemic. Conversely, sponsorship revenue is back to pre-pandemic levels and has upside potential. If your sponsorship menu and prospectus look similar to 2019, a refresh can help you seize this growth opportunity. Here’s … [Read more…] Filed Under: Sponsorship & Exhibits
Meeting the Needs of Lifelong Learners November 9, 2023 by Dave Lutz Our friends at Leading Learning/Tagoras are conducting a survey to help guide your association’s future learning strategy. We’re sharing this because Leading Learning has a great track record of doing high-quality research and sharing the insights with those participating in the survey. To contribute and learn about the trends that will have the most impact … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education
Two Tensions Keeping Senior Event Professionals Up at Night October 26, 2023 by Dave Lutz According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), the business-to-business exhibition industry is still in recovery mode. The bad news is that full year performance for 2023 participation and revenues is expected to be 9.5% below 2019. The good news is that 2024 is expected to eclipse 2019 results by 3.6%. (One can only … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning
Configurable Conference Journeys August 9, 2023 by Dave Lutz For many annual meetings, the Great Resignation has resulted in erosion of loyal, regular attendees and an increase in first-timers, whose experience can be improved with guidance on the best course for them to follow during your program. In his book, The Paradox of Choice, author Barry Schwartz writes: “Learning to choose is hard. Learning … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design
Key Vendor Service-Level Expectations May 25, 2023 by Dave Lutz Key vendors who service the events industry lost a great deal of experienced talent during the pandemic and they haven’t fully restaffed. Here’s how event organizers can ensure they are still getting the service they require. Catering and convention services managers, AV/production project managers/producers, general service contractors, and housing and registration service providers — these … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Event Technology
Putting Plan B into Play for Your Main Stage April 12, 2023 by Dave Lutz Last fall, two of our consulting clients were scheduled to have their annual conferences in Orlando. In late September, Hurricane Ian pummeled central Florida, triggering a significant number of flight cancellations. Group No. 1 had no choice but to cancel its in-person event. Fortunately, this association had already planned a digital version of the conference … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design
Anti-Discrimination Resources for Associations April 4, 2023 by Dave Lutz IStock Photo by Bulat Silvia Last year’s Supreme Court ruling that repealed Roe v. Wade, leading to some states legislating restrictive access to reproductive rights, are considered discriminatory practices to a growing number of professional associations. Some associations and meeting organizers are reevaluating their site-selection requirements for future meetings as well as how to mitigate … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association best practices, Conference site selection
