HOW TO USE YOUR HOUSING DATA
TO DRIVE EVENT ATTENDANCE
TO DRIVE EVENT ATTENDANCE
Home Address: Where are your attendees coming from? Do they tend to be locals or are they coming in from out of town (or even outside of the country)? If your event draws a mainly local crowd, choosing a large enough host city that can supply your desired number of attendees is important. For events skewed towards out-of-towners, providing flight and accommodation packages, add-on excursions and travel information can help make it easier for them to say yes to your event.
Length of Stay: How long do out-of-town attendees stick around for? Do they arrive well in advance of the event or stay an extra day to do some sightseeing? Or do they arrive late and leave early in order to minimize time away from the office and avoid cutting into their weekend? By knowing how long attendees are staying for, you can tailor your messaging and service offering to suit their needs – whether that means providing discounts on city tours or better accommodating late check-ins / early check-outs into the event flow.
Hotel/Room Preference: Do your attendees have preferences when it comes to hotel chain, room type or price point? By looking at where they stayed in past years, you can identify where they are most likely to stay this year and send them a customized offer that takes into account their preferences.
Host City: How have previous host cities affected attendance? Some cities are more attractive destinations than others – either because of what they offer (e.g. climate, attractions, entertainment) or because they are close to other large population centres. Do your attendees prefer cities where they can stay and explore afterwards or do they just want one that’s easily accessible from their hometown? By choosing a host city that aligns with your attendees’ expectations, you can maximize attendance for your event.
Repeat Attendee: How many of your attendees come to your event year after year? Is there room to increase this number? If so, you could consider enticing last year’s attendees to register for this year’s event by giving them a special repeat attendee discount or by using their past preferences to send them targeted offers such as discounted rates at their preferred hotel or a deal on an extra night’s stay if you know that they like to stay and explore the city after the event.
Special Requests: Did an attendee make any special requests at last year’s event that may be relevant to this year’s event? Can you reference this special request when you invite him/her to this year’s event and show how you will be able to accommodate it again this year? This is a great opportunity to offer Ridiculously Remarkable support.
Sales Channel: Of all the sales channels you used to get people to come to your event, which ones were the most effective? You can calculate each channel’s performance by dividing event awareness (the number of clicks from the channel through to the registration page) by ticket sales (the number of conversions per channel). The lower the number, the more effective the channel is at attracting attendees.
By taking a closer look at the data you already have, you can learn a lot about your attendees and their preferences. You can then use that knowledge to tailor your offer, messaging and even your event to better meet attendees’ needs, which will lead to a more enjoyable event for attendees and better attended event for you.