ales,Marketing and indeed Customers are all chomping at the bit to experience some semblance of ‘normality’. Part of that normality is attending events - to sell, market and identify products and services.
We are apparently hurtling towards a growth boom as businesses and people exit lockdowns. However, caution still abounds and understandably so. Our research and anecdotal feedback indicates that though there is attendee caution to travel, it is the restrictions imposed by delegates’ businesses that are the main forces holding people and events back, and unsurprisingly, bigger organisations are tending to be more cautious than smaller.
Everyone seems poised to act – most don’t want to be the first, but all don’t want to be the last. Everyone is in the blocks but the gun isn’t going.
‘Hybrid’ is lauded as the future, but it is also the reason for the current lack of action.
And here lies the crux of the problem – people still think ‘Hybrid’ means ‘2019Hybrid’ and it doesn’t. ‘2019 Hybrid’ saw live/in-person events executed alongside their digital-broadcasted-same-event. In some cases, an in-person event with a live video-link feed* to someone presenting who wasn’t there (oooh!– aaah!). *tech allowing in the olden days. What we have learned over the last year and a half is that ‘2021 Hybrid’ is more than that, and is better,AND happens to give us a way out of this current uncertainty.
There are of course two-parts to hybrid; Virtual and In-person delegates/speakers.
- Virtual is perfect for teaching/learning; well-produced, high-quality and relevant content that has utility for customers and gives marketers reach, engagement and conversions
- In-person needs to be networky, interactive, experiential and in small groups of senior buying influencers, giving sales people shared experiences and relationship-building opportunities
All we need to do is reframe what Hybrid is and understand that what we want to do and are able to do is live NOW.
You can have it all. The virtual agenda needs to start months before the In-person –Virtual needs to organise and filter the audience by providing content in the way that it is required by customers. This Virtual is content – with people in it, because people make it more engaging and higher-quality. It should be usable, informative, engaging and catered for the different parts of the decision - making unit. The initial and traditional role of Virtual (content) is to enable the decision-makers to achieve buying consensus around your brand and services.
You then plan your content to begin with brand and Awareness, also provideInteresting topics relevant to individuals’ roles and objectives, these people will influence the Decision-making and lead to Actions.
Then, the In-person provides an opportunity to create a shared experience with a few select prospects (up to 30 people currently) and your salespeople so they can build relationships. Again, the good news is that we can already do all of this right now.
We have bags of ideas and experience of matching events and engaging content to the customer journey. Drop us a line to discuss how we can get you match-fits straight off the bat.
