登录查看更多内容

6 Ways to Maximize an In-Person Tech Conference in 2022

Bonnie Duncan Tinder

Founder & CEO of Raven Intelligence. Amplifying the Voice of the Customer in Enterprise Software. Named Top 100 Influencer by HR Executive Magazine (2024, 2023, 2022)

发布日期: 2022年8月26日

We are back to a full line-up of in-person industry events and software customer conferences coming quickly this fall—but events have changed since 2019. If you're considering a digital transformation project in 2023 or want to optimize your current tech stack--these conferences can be useful not only to efficiently meet and view multiple vendor or partner demos at once, but more importantly to network with peers, get insider information and hear about their experiences. As someone who has spent the last 2 decades attending and presenting at these things, below are some tips to help maximize the time you spend 'out of the office'.

What’s changed?

Events will likely be smaller in attendance—budgets for corporate travel and events have been reduced across the board (from vendors to customers.)?Travel, hotel and event costs have risen dramatically in the past 12 months, which has left many organizations rethinking participation and attendance (and opting to attend remotely). Many vendors are intentionally capping events off with a maximum number of attendees to ensure they are able to effectively manage crowds given issues with travel / hotel and their own event planning staff. Don't be surprised if you see more vendors than you do actual customers.
The Great Resignation has impacted the travel & hospitality industry big time—staff from airports to hotels to events planning are stretched thin. As you know if you've traveled on a plane this summer--don’t be surprised to have your flight delayed or cancelled last minute (or members of the team to experience the same.)
No-shows.?It used to be that a speaker or colleague who’d cancel at the very last minute because of illness meant that they were on their ‘last legs’. Not anymore—one COVID exposure and some of the most anticipated speakers might be presenting on Zoom to a filled conference room.
Hybrid options. So much more content is offered via hybrid—so you can tune-in online for specific messages without having to attend a whole conference that doesn’t fit your needs (and skip the airport). The downside here is missing the important 1:1 interactions with other customers in the hallways & at meals (some of the best networking and informational interview opportunities.)

How to maximize your attendance at a show if you are attending as a customer or vendor.

Do your homework ahead of time.?Who are the people you want to meet??What vendors’ products do you want to make sure to see a demonstration of? If possible, connect ahead of the conference & get your 1:1s scheduled
What's on your bucket list? ?Make sure to have the ‘must haves’ covered. Chances are you are not going to be able to get to everything due to things being scheduled simultaneously. Prioritize your top topics and map things out from there.
Talk to strangers.?Some of your best advice / learnings will be from your fellow-attendees, so don’t be shy.?What was something they were challenged with that they overcame in the past year??What advice on projects / partners would they have for you??Mealtimes and hallway time can be super interesting & informative.
What do you want to report back to your team??How can you scale your learnings for others within your organization??How can you document so you can easily share with others upon your return (instead of scrambling on the following Monday morning upon your return only to have forgotten half of what you wanted to tell others.)
Get social—as in social media. Every event has a #hashtag. Follow-it to see what’s hot, as well contribute and share your input and learning with others. Don’t be afraid to snap photos of slides that you love. Sometimes it’s easier than waiting for the presentation to be sent out or scrambling to write it all down. Find your peers or influencers who live-tweet during the event and follow their streams. It makes for a much more interesting session when you can watch what others are live-streaming their comments in real-time.
Show up early. Doing so allows you to meet people ahead of sessions and set up your stakeout.
Get your curiosity mojo back. No more Zoom—yay.?Ask questions. Does a speaker or vendor rely on certain assumptions that might be off track? What's the real value-add? Now is your chance to get clarity on solutions, so revel in it. Look for vendors who love answering your questions.
Go easy on the giveaways and late-night parties.?Everything in moderation.?You have to bring all of that junk back with you in your suitcase—and likely get up early. Look at your attendance as a marathon--not a sprint. ??
Have fun. Think about to just 2 short years ago when we couldn't go anywhere--or last year when you had to wear a mask 8 hours a day. Even a long, tiresome week of travel and getting to fully interact with others is an improvement. Enjoy your time away and opportunity to make new acquaintances (and maybe even friends!)
Say hello! I will be attending many of these events--and would love to say hello in person if you'll be there!