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7 Innovative Ways to Enhance Guest Experience at Events

Whether you’re hosting a charity event, networking conference or product launch, it’s important to understand your attendees’ key needs before planning. Having quantifiable goals can help your team focus on meeting these goals and creating an exceptional experience.

Hire brand lovers who are excited about your event and can communicate their authentic zeal to attendees. Their excitement will make your event a true success.

1. Personalized Experiences

Whether it’s a greeting with the guest’s name, remembering their past purchases or browsing history, or providing recommendations based on their interests, personalization is one of the most effective ways to make your customers feel valued. As a result, they are more likely to stay loyal and recommend your brand to others.

Event personalization is a key strategy for delivering the right content and experience for each attendee, before, during and after the event. By using data signals from each attendee’s journey with your brand, you can customize the event agenda to fit their specific goals and interests. You can avail of Special Events Photo Booths if you need personalized experiences for your guests.

A personalized experience can start from the moment your attendees arrive at your venue. A smooth check-in process, a branded lanyard, and entrance into the venue is an important way to set the tone for the event. Using a centralized event management platform like Certain, you can use event-specific URLs to build personalized agendas that allow attendees to select sessions and speakers that are most relevant to them.

With the right technology, it’s easier than ever to provide a personalized event experience. For instance, you can build a profile of each attendee by flagging their engagement across multiple channels—from sessions they attended to appointments made and social media posts they’ve posted—to deliver more relevant content for them in the lead-up to the event.

2. Personalized Communication

Kiana is a true believer that great customer service and personalized experiences lead to higher retention, greater profits, and a positive brand reputation. In the hotel and events industry, personalization is one of the best ways to differentiate your business from competitors.

Start with pre-event engagement. When attendees are sent customized, engaging content that aligns with their goals and interests, they feel like you understand them and that your event is designed for them.

Use the information you collect during registration to deliver personalized experience before, during and after your event. Whether that’s using a dynamic event website, automating email communication with session recommendations or app-based reminders, you can use the information you have to ensure that your attendees are getting value from their time at your event.

Using a self-check-in system at your event will also help with the attendee experience, as it will save them time and ensure that their badge is correct, which will be especially important for multi-day events. Lastly, don’t forget to keep the excitement going after your event is over by sending attendees a post-event video compilation of images that were shared on social or taken at the event – this will make them feel like they got exactly what they came for and will have them looking forward to your next event.

3. Personalized Entertainment

The entertainment industry is a perfect place to utilize personalized marketing. Movies, TV shows, and video games are all examples of entertainment that can be tailored to an individual’s interests and preferences. Using predictive analytics, entertainment businesses can create targeted campaigns that speak directly to viewers. This allows them to drive engagement and increase revenue.

Personalized entertainment can also be used at events to enhance the experience. For example, a mobile event app can allow attendees to customize their schedule by choosing the sessions they want to attend. This can help them avoid distractions and focus on what is most important to them. It can also be used to provide personalized content such as presentations and additional resources.

Personalized event experiences can go beyond simple things like using an attendees name in email greetings or giving them personalized swag bags. By combining event personalization with an account-based marketing strategy, businesses can deliver high-quality experiences that are more relevant to their attendees and create a lasting impact.

4. Automated Check-In

Check-in automation reduces staffing needs and improves efficiency by enabling guests to self-serve and minimizes the need for lengthy paperwork. It also allows guests to stay informed, reducing the number of questions or issues that need to be addressed by staff members.

Effective communication is crucial for building trust with guests. Providing training on active listening, empathetic responses, and resolving problems promptly enhances guest satisfaction and loyalty. Using mobile communication apps for staff allows them to share important updates and respond to requests quickly, even when they are not at their workstation.

Clearly stating check-in/check-out times and reservation details in the reservation confirmation helps avoid confusion and ensures guests are prepared for their arrival. Many PMS platforms have multilingual capabilities that help staff communicate with international and non-native English-speaking guests.

Integrated self-service kiosks with full functionality like payments, key cutters and digital signature cards eliminate the need for a lengthy check-in queue, allowing guests to bypass the line and proceed to their room. By providing a variety of add-on upgrades in the guest portal, hotels can boost revenue while enhancing the guest experience. Additionally, onsite badge printing solutions allow for fast and efficient check-in for attendees by letting them skip the line and get straight into the event!

5. Personalized Food

Consumers want products and services that feel tailored to them, rather than a mass-produced version of something that is available for everyone. A great example is the personalized nutrition service, DNAnudge, which examines a customer’s genes and their associated nutritional health characteristics to suggest meals that will help them achieve their goals.

Likewise, personalized catering and dining is an effective way to make your guests feel valued at your event. This includes catering to dietary preferences, likes and dislikes, as well as personal information, such as birthdays or anniversaries. It can also include special features, such as a customized menu and unique culinary experiences, to elevate your event and create lasting memories for your guests.

To deliver the highest-quality guest experience, you need to empower your team members with tools that allow them to easily access insights about their customers and business. Too often, this data is spread across multiple systems and is difficult for your team to understand and use. Eliminate this frustration by providing restaurants with one integrated platform optimised to collect, analyse and present guest data quickly and easily to your entire restaurant team. This allows you to focus on what makes your brand stand out – providing memorable, one-of-a-kind experiences that keep your guests coming back.

6. Personalized Attendee Lists

Personalized attendee lists are a great way to enhance guest experience by providing attendees with a list of sessions, events, and exhibitors they should visit. The ability to deliver a personal agenda that meets their specific interests will help build engagement and increase the likelihood of repeat attendance.

To create a personalized attendee list, event organizers can leverage their existing data. They can source data from email marketing tools that allow them to collect information like company name and occupation, as well as data gathered onsite through session tracking and attendee tracking tools. Using this information, they can create custom lists of participants and only allow attendees from that company or title to see them.

This type of personalization can also be achieved during check-in. By taking a cue from newscasters who struggle to pronounce the names of world leaders, event organizers can include a phonetic spelling in an attendee’s information so their name is easy for attendees to read during the social tables or other check-in areas. This will make guests feel valued and will further reinforce their connection to the event brand. This is especially important in an era where people are increasingly expecting a personalized experience.

7. Personalized Feedback

Personalized feedback is a great way to gather insights about the event that can help improve future events. Using digital tools, event organizers can distribute surveys to attendees, track responses in real-time and analyze data to make informed decisions.

The best method for collecting personalized feedback will vary depending on the event and the goals of the organizers. Some options include online surveys, live feedback sessions, and social media hashtags. The most effective survey methods are those that are designed to collect feedback as close to the event as possible. This ensures that attendees’ memories are still fresh and makes it easier for them to remember what they loved (or didn’t love) about the event.

Keeping the survey short, simple, and easy to complete will also increase response rates. Providing an incentive like a discount or entry into a prize draw can encourage participation as well. Providing an option to remain anonymous will also help build trust and boost attendee engagement. Finally, demonstrating that you care about the feedback and are taking action to improve upon it will further inspire trust and loyalty among your attendees.