Walking in their shoes: diary of a conference delegate

In today's consumer-led world, it is crucial for organisations to deliver the best possible customer experience both to leave people wanting more and to avoid the numerous pitfalls of doing it badly, which can quickly escalate to reputational damage as news - both good and bad - spreads like wildfire on social media. In conferencing this is true as both conference organisers and their delegates approach events with their consumer - as well as their business - hats on. We are all consumers at the end of the day.

We regularly review what we do in our conference venues to provide a great customer experience and drive continual improvements to enhance it, from a full customer feedback programme to reviewing all of our customer touch points on a regular basis and investment in our venues.

Having worked in the industry for years, in my earlier days as a Marketing Manager organising events in London and around Europe, to more recently working at the ICC and Vox, I understand what an organiser and an exhibitor needs as well as what a venue does.

However, admittedly, it's been a long time since I've been a fully-fledged delegate, which is exactly what I was at the ICCA World Congress in November. This is an association conference for the conference industry, an interesting situation and one which I'm sure puts the host venue and organisers under immense pressure! It certainly made me think about how valuable it is to walk in the delegate's shoes and gave me plenty of food for thought. The following may seem like stating the obvious, but I felt it was worth reflecting on.

Planning - in the lead up to the event, as well as organising the all-important logistics of flights, accommodation and transfers, delegates need to prepare themselves for the conference content, ideally by setting their objectives for attending as well as considering what interests them on the programme. For new attendees or new content, it's useful to signpost this clearly for delegates to ensure they don't miss any important sign up dates. It's hard to know what's essential and what's 'good-to-know' so this signposting is helpful. Also, be specific on the dress code. It's not great to be wondering what on earth to pack. I was going with colleagues so we had a planning meeting to discuss all of this and how best to attack the conference programme to get the most out of it collectively.

Arrival - unless it's been a feature of the pre-event communications, delegates won't have a clue if they've booked into a sensible hotel until they get there! This can be a source of anxiety unless you're going with someone who knows what they're doing.  Location maps and a bit of blurb on the benefits of each of the options is useful so delegates can see it at a glance rather than having to find time to do their own research.

Conference Programme - the mix of plenary sessions, networking and breakout sessions can be overwhelming and most delegates know to download the app and/or print off the programme to plan what to attend and be prepared. In my case I did both as I wanted the phone reminders and something to scribble on. I wasn't alone in this - a lot of people were using both - so don't ditch the paper version just yet! It's also worth thinking about which parts of the app are accessible without Wi-Fi so your delegates don't spend time getting frustrated with their 'wheel of doom' waiting for the app to reload.

First timer session - this was a fantastic session and one I'd wholly recommend putting in place if your organisation's annual conference is trying to appeal to new members. It may have started at 9am on a Sunday morning and been a little cheesy around the edges but it was a masterclass in how to make people feel welcome and get them in the networking zone. Using seasoned Congress attendees as mentors, there were icebreaking activities and some great signposting in terms of sessions not to miss and where to find information. Plus the people you meet are the ones you say hello to during the rest of the conference so it's impossible to feel like Billy-no-mates!

Breaks - if you're trying to learn, network and keep up with what's going on at the office while you're away, taking advantage of the breaks is crucial. There is often very little gap between the end of the conference day and the evening activities so it's advisable to plan breaks so delegates can meet their various needs.

Breakout sessions - it's hard to know which are the best breakouts to attend, and it's inevitable that you're not going to choose the right one every time. You tend to know within the first 5 minutes if it's not relevant to you and you'd be better putting your time somewhere else. But it can be too intimidating to get up and walk out, so organisers may want to put delegates at ease by telling them this isn't the end of the world, but perhaps not to do it every time!

Another way to avoid this is by avoiding ambiguous session titles on the programme so it's clear what the session is about. We know that it’s often a case of the speaker not committing the detail to the organiser, but it really does help the delegate experience when this is clear.

It's also tricky when a session is full and you have FOMO! Help your delegates overcome this by having an overflow list and getting session materials sent on to them, or even looking a rerunning a session if logistics permit or doing a follow-up webinar if not.

Food - they say you are what you eat and I certainly feel worse after one too many bread rolls! Conference food is important and by day two I was actively seeking out the Connect: Mind/Body area for their healthy refreshment smoothies. Some people will still want standard coffee, OJ and biscuits, but more are in search of a healthier alternative and it pays to offer them during breaks as well as lunch.

Evening Programme - with something different on every night, it's useful to give delegates plenty of information about what to expect, in terms of location, food, drink, dress code and expected timings so that again, they can plan everything from their conference call with the office to calls home, a trip to the hotel gym or a walk to get some fresh air and explore the destination. The windows of opportunity to do much outside of the conference are narrow –unless you have an extra day to play with at the beginning or the end of the conference – which no-one I met did.

This is clearly focused on association conferences, but some of these points equally apply to corporate events in terms of helping your delegates get the most out of the event and leave feeling that they have learned plenty and aren't completely exhausted by the time they arrive home.