Conference Organizer: Proceed With Caution! February 23, 2016 by Dave Lutz Danger, conference organizer! Danger! Did you ever watch the late-’60s sci-fi TV series Lost In Space? Yeah, most of you reading this are too young to know or remember it. Still you may have watched it in reruns or at a slumber party. It was known for its iconic robot that served as an early-tornado-type-siren. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , actionable metrics, conference best practices, conference evaluation, conference indicators, conference performance indicators, KPI, KPIs, metrics, shatterpoints, vanity metrics
Moneyball For Conferences: You Want Your Meeting to Mean Something October 15, 2015 by Jeff Hurt We just won twenty games in a row, said the fictitious Peter Brand, advance scout for Oakland A’s. And what’s the point? said Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane. We just got the record, said Brand. Man, I’ve been doing this for… listen, man. I’ve been in this game a long time. I’m not in … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference indicators, conference metrics, conference performance indicators, KPI, KPIs, lagging indicators, leading indicators, measurement, shatterpoints
Keys to Sponsorship Success October 14, 2015 by Dave Lutz Lots of conference organizers want a magic formula for pricing sponsorships. Sadly, there isn’t one. To grow this critical revenue line, sponsorship seekers must do the following: Earn a high concentration of participants who have influence on deal making or purchases. Involve leadership in the relationship building of primary investors or targets. Place attendees’ needs … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Sponsorship & Exhibits Tagged With: , conference sponsorship, sponsorship strategy
Seven Conference Early Shatterpoints To Measure Immediately August 31, 2015 by Jeff Hurt How financially sustainable is your conference? Too often the metrics we use for our conferences are lagging indicators—inputs and outputs. We measure our P&L, attendance, sponsorship, exhibitors and attendee satisfaction. But that is not enough! We need to measure leading indicators. The VCC team gets asked repeatedly how to know if a conference is successful … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference indicators, conference performance indicators, conference shatterpoints, KPI, KPIs, shatterpoints
Harness Your Conference Data To Produce Big Insights July 31, 2015 by Dave Lutz Appeasing conference stakeholders has become more complex and difficult in today’s fast changing business climate. Maintaining and growing share of wallet, attention and loyalty requires intentionality. To out maneuver the conference competition, we have to be nimble, decisive and in constant beta mode. To compete today requires identifying, selling and leading change. This is a … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Event Technology Tagged With: , analytics, big data, conference data collection, data mining, insights, Trade Show best practices, tradeshow, tradeshow best practices
These Factors Contribute To Your Exposition’s Health July 17, 2015 by Dave Lutz Tradeshows have just experienced the highest quarterly increase in eight years says the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR). The Q1 2015 CEIR Index report marks the 19th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth in the exhibitions arena. Revenue jumped 7.3 percent, net square feet grew 4.1 percent, exhibitor numbers increased 3.3 percent, and attendance grew … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Sponsorship & Exhibits Tagged With: , CEIR, exhibitions, exhibitors, exhibits, tradeshow
What Is Your Conference ROM? July 10, 2015 by Jeff Hurt You’ve probably heard of ROI-return on investment. You may have heard of ROE-return on equity (not return on event). Or you may have heard of ROA-return on assets. Successful businesses depend upon ROI, ROE and ROA. So have you heard of ROM-return on mission? It’s critical to moving the mission of your organization forward. So … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , attendee satisfaction, conference return on mission, conference ROM, conference survey, measurement, return on mission, ROM, transformational conferences
If Your Conference Metrics Feel Good, Use Discernment July 2, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Yahoo, our conference attendance is up 30% from last year. Whoa, don’t be fooled by that conference data! Too many organizations pat their leaders on the back for increased attendance, selling out the show floor or selling all of their sponsorship packages. We need to use discernment to look deeper into what that conference data … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference indicators, conference performance indicators, KPI, KPIs, lagging indicators, leading indicators, shatterpoints
Measuring Actionable Or Vanity Conference Metrics June 8, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Your conference needs a checkup! Just like you need an annual doctor’s appointment for routine health checkup, your conference needs a routine checkup. Sure, you may feel like your conference doesn’t need it, just like you feel you don’t need a medical checkup. Regardless of how you feel, it is important. You need to assess … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Event Planning Tagged With: , actionable metrics, conference best practices, conference evaluation, conference indicators, conference performance indicators, KPI, KPIs, metrics, shatterpoints, vanity metrics
Four Ways To Attract NextGen Conference Participants May 21, 2015 by Dave Lutz Attracting the next generation of participants is an urgent priority for most professional conference organizers. Too often we think that means injecting conference botox to give our event a more youthful, trendy hip vibe. Yet it is much more than giving our conference a face-lift. The Conference Demographic Bell Curve Recently, I was involved in … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing, Business Model Tagged With: , attracting millennials, conference best practices, conferences, generations, Millennial, next-generation conferences
