Sprintr, like the entire meetings and events industry, has felt the impact of the last few years and a lot has changed; from how we plan and organise events to the physicality of connecting with people and doing business. If you’re wondering what comes next, you’re not alone.
We can’t predict the future, but we do believe the question that we need to focus on now is: What are the changed buyer and event attendee behaviours that we need to anchor ourselves around?
There has been much discussion around post-pandemic consumer behaviour, and research to date has identified the following trends and insights:
- Events will continue. There is no other medium that provides the human connection, business relationship development and attention focusing of prospects.
- There will be pent-up demand to meet face-to-face. People need people (as the song goes), and there will be delight in going to events. However, one’s sense and value of time has shifted, e.g., we no longer have the 1-hour each way commute factored into our day – it seems strange that we would spend so much time travelling now.
- Events will be more focused on content. To drive physical attendance, potential delegates will need to be convinced of the value of the event which relies on the quality of content, storytelling and customer engagement and also the technological experiences.
- Commitment is a last-minute thing. Before the pandemic we saw event registrations coming in closer and closer to the event date. Since COVID, lockdowns, isolation requirements, border uncertainty and frequent rule changes have all impacted this further. More than ever, event buyers need to hold their nerve when it comes to watching delegate numbers.
- Procurement will want to keep the purse strings tight. After seeing that some business activities can be successfully conducted virtually, many companies have changed their procurement policies and will require staff to justify the cost of face-to-face attendance where virtual is an option.
- WFH is the new norm. It will be more common for people to work at least 2–3 days of a full-time job from home. Employees will demand this flexibility and family-friendly work environment, which also impacts face-to-face events and event attendance in general.
- Hybrid is here to stay. Companies and associations have engaged a larger national, and in some cases international, footprint and diversified revenue streams by servicing greater numbers. This will stay. On-demand content from events will also be more important to new revenue models.
- Sponsorship value needs to be explicit. On-demand services, and hybrid models can provide greater exposure and value for sponsors. However, demonstrating and quantifying sponsorship value following the shift from face-to-face events has been a great challenge faced by event organisers – this will be a hot topic.
- Delegates require different and evolved content. Everyone’s world has changed. From internal teams to association members, professional bodies, the public, government and the third sector, everyone’s need for consideration in the post-pandemic world will need to be addressed through new models of engagement delivery.
- Engagement, information and collaboration over events. Especially in the more traditional models of associations, communities need to be engaged to experience value for money and are wanting new models (which may include events and conferences) to get it.
Sprintr is here to provide your team with expert knowledge and an abundance of industry experience, we will match you to the right solution and get your event up and running… fast! Ask our team about the latest event technology and implementation processes.
