2016 meeting trends have shown that people no longer want to sit in a stuffy conference hall and listen to a boring presentation. (But really, is this trending? Who has ever wanted this?)
According to the 2016 Successful Meetings annual poll, nearly two thirds of meetings planners said the “need to create a compelling meeting experience” for attendees was one of the most important trends to follow in order to create effective meetings in 2016. Take your meeting, product launch, or trade show to the next level by following these guidelines.[bctt tweet=”Creating a compelling meeting experience is one of the top trends among meeting planners.” username=”motivateme”]
Research
Take the time to understand your participant’s demographics, experiences and aspirations to ensure your strategies are meaningful to your target audience.
Objectives
Work to align your business goals with key performance metrics to ensure results your stakeholders expect.
Design
Incorporate your participant insights to build an impactful, relevant program. Some things to consider when putting together your program:
- Destination Selection
- Hotel/Venue Selection & Contract Negotiation
- Air & Ground Transportation
- Dining, Entertainment, Activities & Excursions
- Program Branding & Ongoing Communications
- Onsite Operations
- Engagement Metrics & ROI Analysis
- Interactive & Intuitive Technology
Once you’ve laid the groundwork by aligning your goals with a remarkable experience, creative communications becomes the key to success. A stellar communications strategy will:
- Capture Attention. The key to the entire program rests within the early stages of grabbing the attention of your target audience through communications targeted to engage the five generations that are in today’s workplace.
- Build Engagement. Each meeting you host, whether it’s for training or a new product launch, needs to be built around your participants. This means everything from the destination to the entertainment synchronize to create a highly anticipated experience that drives your business objectives forward.
- Maintain Focus. Ongoing communications keep your program top-of-mind, maintaining focus and keeping your audience actively engaged.
- Educate & Inform. Utilizing the latest technology, attendees should have easy access to all of the information they need before, during and after the event. Key metrics should be provided throughout the journey, providing owners with details on return on objective and KPIs that illustrate how your meeting is driving your bottom line.
It’s important to create a meaningful theme that is consistent with your brand and your goals. Reach your audience via a custom and interactive marketing mix that may include web, email, print, video, mobile and social media outreach.
Whether you’re embarking on a board meeting for 30 executives or an annual kick-off conference for 10,000, be sure to think of the details ahead of time to create an experience that surpasses all expectations. From arrival to departure, participants are eager to learn, engage, interact, and drive your business objectives forward.
At Motivation Excellence, we take a collaborative approach to design your experience. We know your industry; we work to know your business. Leverage our industry expertise and incorporate your valuable business and participant insights to craft truly memorable experiences.
Our expert staff will be onsite, as an extension of your team, company and brand, to ensure a flawlessly executed program. Rest assured that our dedicated professionals will handle everything, so you and your participants can focus on what really matters: your business!
