The annual meeting is a given. But unfortunately, the economy isn’t. Some members are struggling with the fiscal fallout and its effects on their own organizations, which may or may not elect to subsidize association membership and travel costs. For their part, meeting planners are challenged with trimmed-down staff and marketing and meeting budgets. How, in the midst of this unprecedented economic downturn, do they successfully develop first-time attendance, and continue to rouse the loyal ranks into returning year after year to the annual meeting?

For some answers, we asked the following association meeting planning veterans to share their tried and true methods of growing annual meetings.

“No question, planning an annual meeting is more challenging than ever, so it’s up to me to take my most basic data and analyze what’s going on at my annual meeting,” said Teri Elliott Jarvie, director of meeting services for the Lombard, IL-based Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), which has more than 8,500 members worldwide. Jarvie’s team manages about 20 global meetings ranging from small regional seminars to an annual meeting with more than 3,000 attendees.

“It used to be enough to develop great content and put the word out there,” said Jarvie, “but now members need more than one compelling reason to attend a conference. My job is to uncover those reasons.”

Mining Surveys For Solutions

Jarvie begins by digging into the data. “I wish I would’ve learned sooner how important attendee feedback is to creating a meeting experience and increasing attendance. Someone who understands the logistics of the meeting planning has to take ownership, and that’s me. Instead of putting those post-meeting surveys in the drawer and ignoring them, I made it my job to dig deep into the answers, find trends and attack those dissatisfiers.”

According to “The Invisible Attendee: What Your Attendees Are Thinking (And Why You Should Care),” a white paper co-sponsored by The Expo Group and MAYA, a design consultancy and technology research lab, attendees form an impression of an annual meeting based on the number and quality of exhibitors and

The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ Annual Global Conference attracted 3,300 attendees from 42 countries. The Colorado Convention Center in Denver hosted this breakfast prior to the General Session. Photo courtesy of CSCMP

other attendees, the “buzz” around the event, and whether at the end of their experience they’ve achieved their goals and gained enough value for their investment of time and money.

“It’s important to realize that if the event does not meet expectations, for whatever reason, you’ve lost that attendee,” said Jarvie. “This might sound like fundamental marketing, but until you listen, analyze and identify what is behind their comments, your attendance will stall.”

From educational sessions to hotel selection, Jarvie organizes all comments into a statistical report. All these details are then presented to the appropriate departments for evaluation. Jarvie said, “Quite simply, we examine the trends and put our heads together to see where we might need improvement and, just as importantly, what are our strengths.”

When comments are too general, such as the “room is too cold” or “I didn’t like the food,” Jarvie recommends re-evaluating the questions. “Create questions that encourage the attendee to provide detailed comments. Remember, you are the one that has to analyze those answers, so the more information you encourage your attendees to provide, the easier the analysis will be.”

For example, for the “room temperature” comment, make sure the question also includes a space for attendee comments. The common denominator could be as simple as nearly all attendees mentioned that XYZ ballroom was uncomfortable on Tuesday, and that’s a specific concern that the hotel could address. Conversely, if the common denominator was that no one enjoyed the food at the opening reception, well, then perhaps your team needs to consider other menu or hotel options.

“Closely examine your meeting data and demographics,” added Jarvie. “The answers to begin growing your annual meeting are within those surveys.”

Attracting a full house at annual meetings is especially challenging during rugged economic periods. The Radiological Society of North America’s 94th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting had no difficulty filling up the Grand Concourse at Chicago’s McCormick Place. Nearly 60,000 professionals, guests and exhibitors attended. Left photo courtesy of Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority; Right photo copyright © RSNA, 2008/courtesy of Oscar Einzig

The Kiss Of Death

David J. Lutz, who has spent 22 years managing meetings for two major third-party companies, currently is managing director of Aurora, OH-based Velvet Chainsaw Consulting, specializing in the meeting and convention markets. Lutz said, “If an event does not meet the attendees’ expectations, for whatever reason, attendees won’t return, and worse, they will also share their experience (or lack thereof) with others in their industry. For association meetings, that’s the kiss of death.”

One of Lutz’s clients was Jarvie’s previous association employer.

Lutz described the situation: “The annual meeting reported healthy numbers each year, but they were getting a low percentage of members to attend. An analyst, Jarvie and I really dissected the overwhelming data to measure the health of the annual meeting. What it boiled down to was dividing and conquering the numbers into two areas: retention and attraction.”

The economy will make it more difficult to attract new registrants and exhibitors, according to Lutz. He recommends focusing instead on retaining those who have previously attended and exhibited at events. The lifetime value of customers is at risk if they take a year off. A strong base of loyal followers will serve as a magnet for new visitors and exhibitors.

Understanding Attendees’ Expectations

“Associations may measure their industry’s trends, but they forget about measuring the success of their meetings,” Lutz said. “We found that although shows do a lot of measuring, they do not work hard enough to understand the goals and motivations of attendees and recalibrate their shows to ensure that it’s meeting all attendees’ needs.”

Lutz has consistently found these commonalities in attendees’ responses: They value their meeting experience; seek a return on their “investment” (and remember, it is an investment); and seek other like-minded members through networking and educational experiences.

“The meeting experience is not limited to one aspect,” Lutz said. “Association attendees are, for the most part, ‘ignoring’ their day-to-day work to devote attention to your annual meeting. It’s the result of how the attendee is engaged throughout the meeting.”

From the initial welcome to the educational sessions to the hotel room to networking, association attendees are looking for an immersive environment and arrive at the annual meeting with a set of expectations for their investment of time and money.

Lutz recommends uncovering those nuggets of information by regularly talking to a cross-section of attendees, before, during and after the meeting.

“Association planners have access to a database of information, from demographics to geography — use it!” said Lutz. “It’s often as simple as asking attendees what they want, to understand their motivations and goals.”

Most attendees are looking to connect with someone or meet someone. Some attendees have already created bonds with other members through previous meetings. Others enjoy picking the brains of experts and speakers. Still others simply crave the social aspect of networking. In all cases, Lutz said that those personal connections are part of an attendee’s meeting experience, and the planner’s job is to support those needs.

“Yes, it is all about the networking,” said Lutz. “After the dust settles on the educational sessions, the association attendee is there to seek out peers to exchange information about problems and solutions within

ASAE & The Center’s 2008 Annual Meeting Opening Reception at San Diego’s Embarcadero Park on beautiful San Diego Bay. The four-day meeting drew more than 6,000 participants. Photo courtesy of ASAE & The Center

their industry.

“Attendee retention and attraction go beyond engaging the brain,” Lutz explained. “When a member feels like he is a part of something special, then you’ve engaged their heart.”

For example, it can be as simple as member recognition. Lutz recalled how one meeting planner met the challenge of making 22,000 attendees feel appreciated at a 2007 Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Meeting. Lisa Block, SHRM’s director of meetings and conferences randomly gave away low- or no-cost gifts throughout the event, in a cleverly designed program called “Random Offers of Conference Kindness” (ROCK). To make them feel welcome, lucky recipients were given gifts such as VIP tickets to sit in a reserved front row at the keynote presentation, gift cards, room upgrades, special mugs with the association’s new logo, free cab rides from the airport and more.

Or it can be as engaging as the Professional Convention Management Association’s (PCMA) socially responsible program at their annual general meeting in New Orleans in January. PCMA’s Hospitality Helping Hands program offered attendees the opportunity to volunteer for community service projects. (See related story on page 22.)

Accessible and Affordable = Successful

“In an environment of budget cuts, the bottom line is the cost,” said Lutz. “Brainstorm with your board and make it a point to create innovative ways to attract more attendees to your meeting.”

Lutz participated in a brainstorming session during PCMA’s 2008 annual meeting that produced these ideas for retaining and attracting attendees:

Consider bundling annual meeting attendance with other member benefits.

Offer discounts for groups, such as buy five, get one free or 20 percent off all registrations.

Give repeat attendees first dibs on early registration and housing.

Consider creating a VIP club for loyal customers to give them an early preview of your upcoming conference.

Consider entering all early-bird registrants into a drawing for hotel upgrade or other benefit.

Social Media

Harnessing the power of the Internet to build and keep attendance has become an essential strategy. Web 2.0 interaction, collaboration and influence is increasing exponentially through social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and the blogosphere.

“A planner who isn’t aware of the impact of social media is missing an opportunity to grow their annual meeting,” said Amy Ledoux, vice president of meetings and expositions for ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership. “If you think a preliminary print brochure will drive your attendance, you’re in for some disappointing numbers.”

ASAE (American Society of Association Executives) is the membership organization of more than 22,000 association CEOs, staff professionals and industry partners representing more than 11,000 organizations with a combined membership of 287 million. The Center for Association Leadership is the premier provider of learning, knowledge and research.

Ledoux and her team of nine coordinate approximately 45 face-to-face meetings and now also have created and planned several online meetings. She is also a proponent of the data generated by evaluations and surveys.

“Associations should not be guessing what your audience wants in a meeting — you should be asking them,” Ledoux said. “Members want to give feedback. They want their association membership to work for them, and we need to speak to our audience the way they want to be spoken to.”

That’s why this year, Ledoux’s team incorporated social media into their marketing program in an effort to engage new audiences. “Whether planners are ready for it or not, the statistics and our members have spoken. They want immediate and interactive communication from us.”

For a recent technology conference, the marketing plan was broken down by date, days and weeks. The method of communication, which included preliminary postcard, Twitter stream, blog, e-mail and reminder postcards, was targeted to their membership demographics.

“Certainly, some of our membership still prefer the old-fashioned print postcards,” explained Ledoux. “However, since this was a technology conference, many of those potential attendees are more in sync with social media. We really had to spread our communication wings and target those that were more online savvy.”

ASAE’s social media team created blogs and Twitter streams. Out of more than 1,000 attendees, more than 200 followed the conference Twitter. ASAE added videos to YouTube, sharing the pre-convention excitement through scheduled speakers and then sharing that excitement during the convention with recaps of sessions. ASAE also sponsored a video competition for members.

Ledoux reported, “The result was that many met online prior to the meeting, establishing bonds that extended to the face-to-face meeting. The attendee experience then continued beyond the meeting, as their social interactions continued online.

“Through social media avenues,” Ledoux continued, “our communication wasn’t just us talking to them. This viral marketing became member speaking to member, and just another way to create excitement and communicate with our membership.

Making It Personal

“Social media is just one aspect,” Ledoux said. “If you don’t carry that momentum forward and create exceptional onsite meeting experiences and educational content, you are still going to sink.

“We still have to make it personal once attendees arrive,” she emphasized. “Did we feed them, direct them, keep them comfortable, answer their questions, and help them stay connected with people during the meeting? If I answered yes to those questions, then the entire meeting experience is memorable.”

Ledoux said once planners know the demographics of their group, they need to incorporate that data during the conference. “Use the data from the registration forms (age, occupation, association size) to structure educational content to match generational needs or job functions. Create diversity in your selected speakers, and don’t forget to ask your membership for input on content, too.”

Associations often already have onsite personal experiences in place. ASAE has an entire onsite team in charge of implementing personal touches. Signs clearly show where the sessions are. Directional people are strategically placed throughout the conference to physically point people in the right direction. A concierge team answers questions about the conference and destination.

“Our human element is in place and members know who they are,” explained Ledoux. “Our staff may not love wearing uniforms or matching shirts, but since they have, our evaluation of staff friendliness and helpfulness has completely gone off the chart.”

“Don’t discount the power of a personal invitation” is the advice offered by Deborah Hall-Kayler, founder and president of Hall & Associates Ltd., a leading hospitality executive search firm, and chair of the National Association of Executive Recruiters (NAER).

Since assuming chair duties in 2007, Hall-Kayler has led several national initiatives within its strategic plan, including coordinating and facilitating the 2007 and 2008 Executive Recruiter Conferences. She helped NAER’s conference become the premier forum for mentoring, educating and informing niche recruiters. Her efforts helped produce a significant increase in membership, boosting attendance in the 2007 and 2008 Executive Recruiter Conference 50 percent over previous years’ events.

“In today’s economic uncertainty, if you don’t take the time to reach out with a personal message, your potential new attendee won’t have a reason to put your annual meeting on the top of their must-attend list,” Hall-Kayler said.

“When budgets are tight and time is even tighter, the first line item crossed off the list might be attendance to an association’s annual meeting,” Hall-Kayler said. “Besides creating relevant content, NAER strives to connect individually with current and potential members. This personal touch definitely takes time, but it’s worth it to see a new face at your annual meeting.”

It can be as simple as creating a marketing e-mail strategy and personalizing the greeting, added Hall-Kayler. “Then begin with an impactful message, something that person can use immediately, something relevant and timely to be used immediately to improve their business. That tip, no matter how simple, will let them know the organization has something valuable and may be a worthwhile investment.”    ACF