How do you follow up with your event attendees and create loyal fans? This is a crucial question for any event planner who wants to grow their audience and reputation. In this article, you will learn some effective strategies to keep in touch with your attendees, get their feedback, and encourage them to come back for more.
Following up with your event attendees is not just a courtesy, it is a way to build trust and loyalty. By showing your appreciation, asking for their opinions, and offering them value, you can make them feel valued and respected. This can lead to positive word-of-mouth, referrals, and repeat business.
In my experience, some of my long-term clients came from a simple follow-up call. The follow-up has a few important components: 1. It shows that you honor your word. If you say you will do something, you must do it - so follow-up. Often times, they are glad to hear from you. 2. It gives you the opportunity to introduce another aspect of your service that the prospect may be interested in learning more. 3. It allows a prospect to give honest feedback without being swayed by a group. 4. It allows you another opportunity to see if the prospect is a good fit for your business. 5. If they like you, they will refer others. So, always follow-up within a short window. Until they say “no,” the opportunity remains open.
The first step in following up is to send a thank you message to your attendees. This can be an email, a text, a social media post, or a handwritten note. The key is to make it personal, sincere, and timely. Thank them for their time, attention, and participation. Highlight some of the best moments or outcomes of the event. And invite them to stay connected with you and your brand.
Timing is important. Thank your volunteers soon after the event while everything is fresh in their mind. Receiving a thank you card weeks or months after the fact sends the message that thanking them was not so much a priority as something you got around to clearing from your to do list.
The second step in following up is to get feedback from your attendees. This can help you improve your future events, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and understand your audience's needs and preferences. You can use surveys, polls, reviews, or testimonials to collect feedback. Make sure to ask specific, relevant, and clear questions. And offer some incentives or rewards for completing the feedback.
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The sooner, the better. You'll get fresher, more useful feedback if you make sure to give your attendees feedback forms before the end of the event and ask them to fill it out right away, leaving them on the table or with an assistant before leaving the room. Also keep in mind how many feedback forms your attendees will (hopefully) be filling out. Many nonprofit and university sponsored conferences require feedback forms from every keynote and breakout session, which can mean a lot of feedback forms. If you don't want your guests to suffer from feedback burnout, keep the questionnaires short and simple.
The third step in following up is to provide value to your attendees. This can be in the form of content, resources, offers, or opportunities. The goal is to keep them engaged, interested, and informed. You can use newsletters, blogs, podcasts, videos, or webinars to share valuable information. You can also use discounts, coupons, freebies, or contests to entice them to buy your products or services. Or you can use invitations, referrals, or collaborations to create new opportunities.
The fourth step in following up is to stay in touch with your attendees. This can help you maintain and strengthen your relationship, build your community, and increase your visibility. You can use social media, email, phone, or chat to communicate with your attendees. The key is to be consistent, relevant, and respectful. Don't spam them with too many messages, but don't ignore them either. Find the right balance and frequency for your audience.
The fifth step in following up is to measure your results. This can help you evaluate your effectiveness, track your progress, and optimize your strategies. You can use metrics, analytics, or reports to measure your results. Some of the indicators you can look at are open rates, click-through rates, response rates, conversion rates, retention rates, and satisfaction rates. Compare your results with your goals and benchmarks, and adjust your actions accordingly.