4 Ways Technology Will Help Improve Next Year’s Annual Conference
If you have managed an internal or external conference, the chances are that this won’t be a one-off event, and it is probably repeated on an annual basis. View this repetition as an opportunity! It’s a chance to use your experiences to understand your previous conference better, and use what you learn to improve future efforts.
If this seems like a daunting task, then help is at hand. Technology can be your best friend in creating a cutting-edge conference, fueling your desire for continuous improvement and allowing you to truly streamline your processes in the future. best places to visit We’ve outlined four ideas below that you could benefit from.
1)
The concept: Look at the readily available data
The tech: Integrated systems
Registrations, booking forms and payment processing – each of these elements create a wealth of data, and so to be truly effective, it’s important you take the time to really study the information. Potentially, this could be a lot of data to get your head around. Also, if the data is spread across a number of different platforms, you’re going to get confused pretty quickly . This whole process can be made a lot simpler if you use a system that integrates each element, creating one centralised point from which you can run all the reports you need.
2)
The concept: Source extra data
The tech: Online questionnaires and surveys
When event professionals say they are trying to improve their conference, this often means that they are aiming to improve the experience of those taking part, whatever their role. And what better way to do this than to actually ask them what they liked, and more importantly what they thought could be improved.
An efficient and cost-effective way of doing this is an online survey. This enables you to really understand what did and didn’t work for your conference. For example, you’ll find out if those attending found the registration process pain free, if attendees enjoyed the speaker’s content, and if people are likely to come back next year. If you don’t get the positive responses you expected, take it as a great opportunity to improve.
3)
The concept: Listen
The tech: Social media
Effective conferences make use of social media, both before and during the event. Where many conference organisers go wrong is that once the event is over, the social media focus also comes to an abrupt halt. This is not the right way forward. Keep checking your social media accounts as they are valuable sources of feedback. Even if people haven’t tweeted to you directly, keep an eye on those that are using your event hashtag. You will pick up some interesting insights that could help you shape next year’s event.
4)
The key concept: Learn and grow
The tech: Everything discussed
All of this data analysis is done for a very good reason, and that is to ensure your conference is better the next time round. This isn’t just about making sure delegates have a good time, it’s also to bring value to your stakeholders. The feedback from stakeholders will be invaluable, so make sure you take on board what they tell you and make them aware that they have a number of ways to give you their feedback, and that their feedback is important to you and will be acted upon.
Symphony is used by major organisations creating conferences. To find out how Symphony can help you with your conference. Please call our support team on 0114 279 4990, or schedule a free demo.