X-ray your event

My cat broke his toe.

Strange, in the past  13 years he never had any problems. He came to our household as a kitten with his sister. She turned out  a petite, sleek and shiny black number, slightly nervous, whereas he grew into a big (OK, maybe too big), relaxed, laid back, no-nonsense, black-and-white rock.  

He had been walking with a strange limp for a while and when we saw no improvement we took him to the vet. There was nothing to be seen with the naked eye, but an X-ray showed a fracture. So now he is walking around with a bright blue cast, trying to make sense of it all and coming to terms with 6 weeks of indoor entertainment. Oh dear.

Why am I getting into such detail about my cat?

Well, imagine that it is not my cat, but your event that is the main topic of this blogpost. It sort of gives you the same story. I am sure you’ve heard it many times before: “the event model is broken, it needs to be fixed”. So many big events are like rocks. How do you find out which (if any) parts are broken? And how would you fix them?

Be aware of change – Is your event still going smoothly? Really? Look at all aspects, all delegates movements, all sessions, all communications, all surveys. Small changes can have a big impact if you leave them unattended. One not-so-good session this year might affect attendance at your whole programme in the next event. Are all aspects of your meeting still flawlessly joined together?

Get a second opinion – Sure you are the one that has the only day-to-day knowledge of your event. But when it comes to fixing problems you might need a fresh pair of eyes form a specialist. Marketeers, technicians, researchers, business analysts, IT specialists – all have special skills that can help you see your event in an new light – and inspire innovation.

X-Ray your event – Do not take things at face value. Use surveys, focus meetings, qualitative research and ROI measurements to see what issues might be hidden below the surface. That smile on your delegate’s face might not tell the full story. Dig deep. Do you provide a  perfect customer journey from beginning to end? Being successful for years is no guarantee, after all. One crack in the road can make you trip…

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I guess that my cat Kareltje (Dutch for Charlie) could not care less about events and analogies.  His focus lies mainly in eating and being outdoors. Well, maybe he would like another post about the brilliant flexibility that cats have and events need…..as long as he gets to be in the centre of attention J

For your next event: break a leg!