With in-person events not happening with their maximum capacity yet, more businesses keep looking for the best video tools for virtual events, allying this with safer ways to connect people face-to-face in major summits and conferences via chip-based solutions. Let’s see how contactless events will be the way of going forward.
1. Need for contactless interactions
It’s a well-known fact that events and exhibitions always looked for new technologies to effectively improve attendee experience & engagement. In fact, technology has enabled event organizers to equip exhibitors and attendees with event apps and smart badges to amplify event personalization. Plus, switching to contactless technologies – such as QR Codes and NFC – can help enhance the overall event experience further without compromising on safety. All this coupled with the fact that sustainable events have contactless & paperless interactions.
As a result, event organizers have switched to electronic check-ins and capacity management solutions, wayfinding, and even live video streaming for events. Also, technologies such as QR Codes and NFC, in conjunction with other solutions to operate live events in a safe environment have become a paramount requirement.
Moreover, if you think about it, planning events in a technological space has made it possible to overcome common issues in large-scale events and conferences – attendees are now more capable of enjoying their fullest, preventing them from feeling disconnected. Because now we have data that can be analyzed and tracked to learn more about visitor preferences and dislikes, and help in offering them the best event experience.
2. Audience expectation of digital tools
The way event attendees consume content has changed radically. With hybrid events thriving in the events industry, there’s now a much greater choice of audio-visual content available on many different platforms and multiple devices. People are increasingly watching and listening to content at any time and in any place (remote audiences can even multitask in a way they can’t during on-site visits). Thus, attendees became more demanding not only about their virtual-viewing experiences, but also about the safety requirements they expect to find at an in-person event.
Managing distributed audiences (virtual plus in-person) also implies assuming that there’s a need to produce content that’s suitable for the medium where your product is going to be consumed. Be aware that hybrid audiences will have a completely different behavior depending on the medium they’re going to experience your event. At the very least, because virtual attendees are going to consume content outside the usual control offered by a venue. So, keep seeking to adapt and deliver an omnichannel content strategy in a consistent way, and adopt technological tools to digitize processes and face-to-face interactions. If you don’t know where to start, read this article on how digital tools can help event organizers in 2021.
3. Fast & quick lead management
Event lead management is an effective way for capturing, processing and nurturing leads from trade shows or other events. And having a single event platform to manage your event will create efficiency gains as one software controls the major aspects of your sales actions, from lead capture to the moment they become closed deals. This can also help you avoid the most common lead capture mistakes that many businesses make.
Data-driven events can be great for fueling your ROI, but only if you have a great lead generation process in place. It’s crucial that you not only attract people to your booths, but digitally acquire their personal data once they decide to connect with you.
Indeed, technology is the key to better lead management, eliminating inefficient processes, manual data entries, and the lack of communication and data accessibility. With the beamian event app and digital contact forms, you’ll be able to gather data that will be automatically synced within your event management software. The best part is that sales reps can actually use customer intake forms to support and create relevance for their follow-up actions.
4. Effortless check-in processes
Introduce electronic check-ins in place of physical ones that make use of paper tickets. Opt for smart wristbands instead, for example. NFC technology can be embedded onto different entry points – such as badges or wristbands – so attendees can simply tap the surface and get a quick admission to the event. That way, you’ll avoid long queues and unnecessary crowding.
Learn more: Quick Guide for Event Check-In & Occupancy Control
5. Hybrid events bring new challenges for lead capture and retrieval
Event lead capture has always been one of the biggest challenges for event organizers and for marketing. Fortunately, virtual and hybrid events (and, of course, the digital tools that sustain them) can mitigate some of these challenges. In addition to providing security in face-to-face gatherings, hosting events supported on event technology is increasingly easing the event planning process, improving its results and meeting attendee expectations.
If you want to move forward and return effectively as an industry leader, you should start now considering new high-level strategies that can help you pivot back to in-person events in 2021, while keeping the benefits of the virtual ones.
The good news? beamian serves 100% virtual audiences with its own video conferencing, live streaming, chat and networking solutions, offering the right content to the right person, at the right time. And, no matter what, our solution always contains a strong digital component – meaning that 100% in-person events will see their interactions digitized and their capacity under control.
If you’re ready to be challenged, we suggest you to reflect on these particular questions:
- Is your venue ready to host hybrid events? Think paperless, give priority to ROI and have in place all, must needed, safety measures.
- Will your audience be willing to attend your event in-person? What percentage is available to travel and participate in-person?
- Do you have proper insurance that covers all event scenarios?
- Do you have the right event partners and budget for both virtual and in-person audiences?
- Which elements should be virtual versus in-person? How will you fuse them?
Always remember – an event won’t be successful unless you have good return on investment and successfully engage with your audiences (who may be attending your event in an omnichannel way).
