28 Mar The Guest Experience
When thinking about planning the event it is important that the whole experience from right from the point of the arrival. As soon as guests step inside you can set level expectation of what the rest of the event will entail. A professional, efficient and painless check-in process demonstrates the high level of service they will expect throughout the night. If this is at all confusing or demanding on the guest you risk the chance of your guest walking to your event with a negative mind set right from the get go.
As for the main ‘body’ of your event it is important to think how to keep people engaged as the more they enjoy themselves the more likely they are to stay longer at your event. One of the ways of doing this, is with food, splitting this into several servings’ makes the guests look forward to the next tasty morsel. You can also make sure the refreshments deliver on the experience creating a unique sense of fun or sensation at each stage. Depending on your concept you can use things such as popping candy desserts, dry ice cocktails and unique flavour or texture combinations to create an explosion of taste. Also when thinking about food it is crucial that there is a plentiful supply as hungry guests will always create disappointing feedback and will make a lasting memory of a bad experience.
Entertainment is also a great way to keep guests excited and guessing what is coming next. A good strategy to take is to build the level of entertainment throughout. Begin with roaming entertainment or background music to set the tone of the event. You can then add in things in such as speeches and warm-up acts building your way to a highlight act which should be high octane, leaving guests amazed creating a moment to remember.
Another factor to consider is the environment that your guests are in, of course the venue itself set the basis of the whole feel of the event. However, theming and production can transform the space with use of lighting, props and furnishings, creating a different ‘world’ for guests to explore and makes a feast for the eyes.
In today’s age it also worth thinking beyond the 4 walls of your venue and the experience that surrounds the event online, creating wider sense of excitement in your industry’s community. Such techniques as streaming can be used to promote a VIP speech or headline performance. However simpler and more affordable techniques can be used including creating hashtags and filters for your own event making a quick and easy way for you and your guests to share what’s happening on social networking sites. You can also become your own journalist and promote what is going on by using live video features on such sites as Instagram and Facebook which is a great to share an interactive snap shots of your highlights.
Lastly and easily forgotten is the departure of the event, this needs to be exemplary ensuring that every lasting memory is a positive one. The exit for your event needs to be simple, easy to get home from and if budget allows a goody bag, as this is a great way to extend the event experience just that little bit further.