T3 Expo, Chief Development Officer, Tim Heffernan, believes that 2020 should be the year that Associations remember to focus on the quality of their attendees and not the quantity.
He isn’t speaking out of school but based on survey data from T3 Expo’s second annual Executive Leadership Forum. The Annual Executive Leadership Forum, held in Washington, DC every fall, surveys more than 100 Association leaders and decision makers to ask them about the issues that are critical for success, growth and increasing revenue.
According to those surveyed, three quarters have held a position of director or above, while the remaining surveyed were CEOs. In addition, 64% identified their role as events management and 36% identified as Association leadership. The Association type that was surveyed was split between 501(c)3 at 56% and 501(c)6 at 44%. The majority of respondents had budgets under $10 million, with 45% having budgets under $5 million. Only 9% had budgets over $60 million.
That is a pretty decent sampling of the population!
According to those surveyed, attendance still equals success. Trade Association executives said that their board’s first priority when assessing measurement was the number of attendees at a show, followed closely by net square footage sold. By a factor of 3:1, respondents said overall attendance was more important than qualified attendance. The majority of respondents also stated that reinforcing and building existing relationships was more important than making new contacts and sharing best practices.
"Rather than just rallying a community at an annual meeting, associations should start ensuring they're attracting an engaged and qualified audience. For me, the success is in the quality over the quantity," said Heffernan.
Heffernan believes Association leaders should place more focus on retaining qualified attendees and less on the number of bodies in chairs. Long term, doing so will likely result in increased revenue.
“Most Associations will tell you that they plan for their events," says Heffernan. “They vet everything from venue and conference location to food and beverage and decor. But that's only a portion of the battle. One of the elements that we found most shocking [at the Leadership Forum] is that measuring a meeting's success seemed mostly to mean looking at overall attendance numbers and little else."
Many have guessed that the reason for the quality over quantity argument is that there is a push for Associations to try to make as much money as possible through their meeting's attendance.
“We understand the model and the urgency, but the shows are designed as resources for target communities," added Heffernan.
Heffernan outlined some questions to ask and recommended Associations set some Key Performance Indicators or KPIs for their event. These include:
• What is the desired outcome?
• Why does this outcome matter to the overall meeting?
• How will progress be measured?
• How can the outcome be influenced?
• Who is responsible for the outcome?
• How will you know when the outcome has been achieved?
• How often will progress be reviewed?
"Ask and answer the key questions upfront," says Heffernan. "Be honest about the answers to better define exactly how your team will monitor the growth or creation of each aspect."
If you are interested in learning more about metrics, government relations role at shows, and overall show margin, please request a copy of the report from T3 Expo here, https://www.t3expo.com/get-in-touch.
It is important for Association Executives and C-level leaders as we enter a new era of tradeshow and events, to continue this important conversation.
Link below! #T3expo #Shareablemoments http://ow.ly/bjer50xtPQq