It has been said time is the most valuable resource that you have, we all have to choose how we spend it. Time is a pressured element because there seems to be so much to do and not enough time to do it all. If someone chooses to come to your event it has to offer value above their usual tasks. The event needs something that captivates them enough to choose: “I’m going to use my time attending this event instead of doing my usual activities”. So, let’s look at how to make value central to your event success.
The concept of value is fundamental to getting people to attend your events, no matter what the event format is. Effectively, your potential attendees are spending their precious time to be at your event. The value of that event is what you/we (as organisers/producers/hosts) are offering them in return.
Making value central to your event
Two questions that will be running through the mind of any potential attendees is:
- Is it worth my investment of time (remember time is a valuable commodity)
- What value will this event add to my work day?
Thinking this way shifts the emphasis from doing what you’ve always done to really thinking through what is the value to your invitees. Now you can start to frame and structure your event around giving value, making it central rather than a bolt on extra.
Types of value
- Knowledge – What can you convey that will enable your audience to do their job more effectively, quicker or with better outcomes? Will they learn something they can use?
- Inspiration – You may able to position yourselves as thought leaders, blazing a new trail. You can bring something fresh and insightful to the conversation, but what about your audience? Inspiring content, new information and usable insights can equip your attendees and enable them to move forward.
- Connections and conversations – How will your event enable connections that will inspire and solve problems. How will the event help the grow their professional networks? We wrote about connection and ending loneliness through events earlier this year and you can read about it here.
- Sales – Is there a financial reward with a direct path to new business by attending your event?
- Making people feel valued and thanked – People have worked hard and a group thank-you email often doesn’t cut through. Making dedicated time to celebrate the wins, learn from the losses and to generate feelings of belonging is vital and will boost engagement and productivity.
All of these are an exchange of value, their time and attention for the benefits you are offering. It’s worth evaluating your events in light of their value.
No-one wants to go to another meeting – but to spend some time gaining value, feeling involved, learning something useful, to be inspired – those are the things we’re glad we invested our time in!
Have you thought about how you can make value central to your event success? You could plan some new events that incorporate value you may not have considered yet. We’re always here to help and our free 30 minute chat can help you take your first steps. Email us, call or drop us a message.
