Event Launch Strategies

As event managers, we have gone through the extensive cycles of launching shows and parties a great number of times in the past. I have to admit I had a lot of inhibitions about it initially, as we turned towards online platforms for marketing. I knew there were areas which would benefit greatly, like automatic RSVPs and ticketing etc - but I had no idea how we would be able to pull the crowd in without spending too much time planning meticulously.

Interestingly enough, online marketing is closer to real-life situations and emotions than offline promotions. I will elaborate on different aspects of this observation in the next few posts.

It’s all about the relationships:

To launch events you have to build relationships with your market or audience first. Just like in real-life every interaction that you have with others is determined by your ability to build relationships - short or long term. Whether you are talking to a passenger sitting next to you in a train or dealing with close relatives, the power of these interactions depend on how well you can build and maintain relationships. This comes naturally to some people and is relatively difficult for introverts. Generally, if you are in the event management or planning field, then you are already a step closer to having these rapport building skills in you. Quite like real life, you have to build trust and credibility with the audiences online as well. These interactions have to be like real-life conversations - show genuine interest in them, find out their pain points, see how you can help them, make their input an important part of shaping the events.

You can’t simply, as an example, put tickets online and expect people to buy them. You have to slowly and gradually build strong relationships based on trust and credibility first. The stronger your relationships, the more it will benefit your events. So schedule special time aside for investing in building meaningful relationships with the people who matter the most: your audience, your customers, your clients, your attendees.

An example of a great relationship:

Just to stress my point, I am going to give you an example of how Tech Crunch leveraged their loyal followings in launching their events. They started a conference called Tech Crunch 20 in which they covered the top 20 tech startups live. Instead of just launching the event as is, they got the audiences involved way before the event. They kept adding information, sharing ideas, asking for direct input and kept everyone on the loop. The excitement led to more and more signing up to buy tickets. Within a year the community drove the event to an even larger scale and changed the name to Tech Crunch 40. This year they will be covering 50 top startups.

The reason I’m sharing this case with you is that these things don’t happen by fluke. Relationships, respect, authority and credibility play a significant role in the success of your events. The Tech Crunch conference would not have been successful if they hadn’t interacted directly with the people before, during and after the event launch. After the success of one, they can now relaunch by going through the entire prelaunch and launch phases every year.

More on relationships & trust from the blogging world around us;

5 Dysfunctions of a Customer Relationship
- When dealing with a “prospect” who has yet to become a “customer”, the biggest foundational barrier to progress is often “trust”. This common thread of trust is what got me thinking about this in the first place. …

High Value Relationships - Trust Points
- Trust Points are the customer interactions where the quality and outcome have greater implications than other points of contact. For example: the processing of someone’s bill is a trust point, whereas the handling of their luggage is a …

Leverage Your Relationships
- Another example of leveraging your relationships in on the internet. People will always want to buy off someone who they trust. If you have a relationship with someone who has a list of people who they email a newsletter to each week …

Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)

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