In today’s busy and crowded world, it can be challenging to get people’s attention and have your event remembered. With endless options for how to spend their time, you want your guests to feel something more than just attending another cookie-cutter gathering.
That’s why personalization and customization are so important when planning any event – whether it’s a conference, workshop, party, or other occasion. With some creative thinking and unique twists, you can craft an experience people will actually want to attend and remember for a long time.
In this article, we’ll share our top tips for personalizing every aspect of your gathering.
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What Is Event Personalization?
The event industry was one of the hardest hit sectors due to the pandemic in 2020, with revenues decreasing significantly as in-person gatherings were halted.
However, the industry has proven to be resilient and has already made an impressive comeback. It was valued at approximately $800 billion before the pandemic struck, and projections indicate it will continue expanding rapidly.
By 2028, the event industry market is expected to attain a compound annual growth rate of 13.5%. Corporate events are primarily fueling this growth, with music concerts and festivals also showing strong recovery trajectories.
The event industry market encompasses various stakeholders that work together to plan and execute successful events. Event organizers initiate the process. Event planners handle the logistics. Event technology providers offer audiovisual and technical support, while venue operators provide event spaces.
Additionally, suppliers offer necessary goods and services, and sponsors and exhibitors promote their brands. Attendees are also a core component as the target participants that events aim to engage.
As the event industry rebounds from the impacts of the pandemic, event personalization is gaining increased importance. Personalizing the event experience allows organizers to tailor engagements, content, and activations based on different attendee profiles.
There are three main dimensions along which personalization can be achieved – by the contact, persona, or account. Personalizing for the contact refers to customizing based on a specific role or job title.
Personalizing for the persona means differentiating experiences according to industries or areas of expertise. Personalizing involves considering the unique characteristics and needs of whole organizations. These personalization approaches create opportunities to deliver seamless, memorable experiences for all attendees.
Importance of Event Personalization
Recent research shows that around three in four people now want companies to provide a more tailored experience in return for sharing personal details.
Specifically, 73% of global consumers anticipate more personalized interactions as technology improves. Similarly, 64% expect customizable offerings to match their individual needs and preferences when spending more.
This growing demand for personalization is fueling significant investment in related tools and strategies. For example, the worldwide customer experience personalization software market is projected to be worth over $9.5 billion by 2024.
While budgets differ by company, many businesses allocate over half their marketing funds to personalization initiatives today. This reflects how crucial it has become to understand each customer as an individual and engage with them accordingly.
As customer expectations for customized and engaging experiences continue rising, event marketers must evolve to meet this demand.
With executive endorsement and budget allocation growing for personalization strategies, event marketers must now refine their approach beyond tactical logistics.
As the value of events remains clear, event marketers are progressing their focus from driving registrations alone to delivering quality attendee experiences that foster true engagement. This evolution stems from the combined power of personalization strategies and account-based marketing and events.
Personalization, at its core, entails crafting unique experiences for each attendee through consideration of their profiles and preferences. Meanwhile, account-based approaches center on understanding organizations and sectors comprehensively.
IBM’s VP of Global Conferences and Events, Colleen Bisconti, emphasizes that personalization is key. Concentrating on 30,000 distinct experiences rather than a single blanket experience improves the quality of engagements dramatically.
This attendee-centric mindset enabled by robust data insights allows event marketers to make optimum decisions aligning with diverse needs. Together, personalization and an account-based lens provide a clear pathway for marketers to achieve tangible business outcomes through their events.
4 Advanced Strategies for Event Personalization Success
Here are four advanced strategies for event personalization success:
Leveraging Technology for Tailored Event Experiences
Event applications offer a compelling opportunity to provide attendees with a customized experience from start to finish. With the right design and implementation, apps can streamline access to essential details while an individual is on-site.
Attendees benefit from having control to craft personalized agendas, readily network amongst their peers, and conveniently provide feedback. Taking personalization further through an app’s features can significantly augment user engagement.
Two effective strategies for enhancing personalization within an event app include content suggestions and targeted communications. Drawing from profiles and stated interests, the app can recommend relevant sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities that are most fitting for each attendee.
Similarly, the platform allows for sending individualized messages and alerts about an attendee’s activities or topics of interest during the event. Whether informing about schedule changes or new interactions, in-app messaging keeps engagement personalized in real time.
Personalize Dining Experience
Creating a personalized dining experience for events begins with understanding the client’s vision and unique needs. Take time to thoroughly comprehend their preferences, dietary restrictions, and overall goals for the event. This foundation allows customizing each touchpoint to align with their desires.
Enhancing experiences through smooth bookings and individualized services elevates customer satisfaction. Excellent service also plays a pivotal role through greetings, welcomes, and attentive staff throughout the meal.
Premier Table Linens suggests that caterers can bring further personalization through menu curation and attention to aesthetics. Tailoring menu items and customizing the table setting with decor provides special touches. For example, digital printing enables precise reproduction of brand logos or designs on napkins in various vibrant colors and fonts.
Custom logo napkins for weddings and business events are a popular option, allowing companies and couples to incorporate their branding (or emotions) subtly yet impactfully. Moreover, incorporating global cuisine caters to international palates by offering tastes of different cultures.
Most importantly, truly knowing the guests sets the stage for memorable interactions. Discover who will be in attendance, along with their individual proclivities. This comprehensive understanding facilitates anticipation of wants and needs, delivering an inherently customized experience from start to finish. Intentional personalization at every level amplifies engagement for all those involved in the event dining experience.
Customizing Event Elements
A truly personalized event goes beyond just content and messaging by also focusing on tweaking the overall structure and experiences offered. Providing a diverse range of options will help cater to different attendee preferences, helping everyone to feel included and engaged.
Offering a mix of session styles, such as panel discussions, workshops, and presentations, gives participants choices that align with their varied learning approaches. This switching up of formats can aid in maintaining attendee engagement throughout the event.
Incorporating interactive components such as live question periods, polls, or gamification aims to spur attendee participation and foster a sense of community. Live participation helps bring discussions to life. Networking represents another pivotal part of any event. Tailoring these networking opportunities may significantly impact attendee experiences.
Consider structuring various networking sessions like: introvert-friendly speed networking to comfortably make connections, topic-focused roundtables to link attendees sharing similar interests, and beyond-business peer learning networking to facilitate knowledge-sharing.
Switching up structures and adding interactive elements can help attendees enjoy customized experiences catering to different preferences, styles, and interests.
This personalized approach aims to make everyone feel included and optimizes engagement. A diverse range of session formats, interactive elements, and tailored networking opportunities can help create a truly personalized event.
Building Connections After the Event
A successful event should not end when the last attendee leaves. Following up with guests in a personalized manner is key to creating lasting relationships. Segment attendees based on characteristics like interests, job roles, or other factors. This allows for tailored follow-up content and outreach.
Send thank you messages after the event. Include specific details about an individual’s participation to make the note personal. For example, mention sessions they attended or questions asked.
Provide customized additional resources like articles, webinars, or eBooks related to their interests or needs discovered during the event. Connecting on social media platforms can also help build ongoing connections beyond a single interaction.
The goal is to turn event guests into long-term customers or partners. Personalized follow-up shows attendees their time was valued and helps foster stronger relationships. It provides an opportunity to continue conversations on topics relevant to the attendees. This follow-through can increase the chances of attendees participating in future events and eventually doing business together.
In summary, personalization is key to creating truly memorable and impactful events. By leveraging technology, insightful data, and creative touches, event planners can deliver tailored experiences that resonate on an individual level.
A personalized approach considers each attendee’s unique profile, allowing organizers to anticipate needs, drive engagement, and foster meaningful connections.
Most importantly, event personalization transforms passive participants into active customers and advocates. It turns single interactions into lasting relationships that extend far beyond the event itself.