Is it an online conference? Why is it so expensive then?

You are organizing it online! There must be no cost involved! Why is it so expensive then?

Let me just start off by saying this... If something is free, more often than not, you are the product.

A few years ago, when I started working in sales selling conferences, I initially found it hard to comprehend that companies would invest several thousand Euros on conference tickets; and more additionally - expenses for hotel, travel, overtime pay and the cost of time away from the office for its employees to participate in conferences.?

Then I spoke to the customer. Then I sold my first conference ticket. This was well before the pandemic, days when cold calls were still a thing.

Speaking to my customers, I saw how important it was for decision-makers to have a dialogue with their peers from the same industry.

There is no denying the importance of keeping your finger on your industry’s pulse.

Fast forward, the pandemic struck, in-person conferences were suspended indefinitely. We moved into virtual conferences almost immediately. However, the market was not ready for it yet. Perhaps, people felt that the pandemic will blow over in a few months and that business conferences as we knew it would return.

Then there was the skepticism about the effectiveness of the virtual medium for conferences.

Can professionals exchange knowledge, network and perhaps do business just online?

The extended restriction on travel due to the pandemic proved that most things that are done by knowledge workers can indeed be done online.

Now as virtual events became the new norm, the bandwagon of virtual events started- webinars, trade fairs, big conferences, small conferences.,

What kind of virtual events should one attend?

This really depends on the reason you want to attend an event, the nature of your business, the industry, and your role within the organisation.

Do you want to learn? do you want to network? do you want to sell? do you want to benchmark best practices with your peers?

Virtual trade fairs/exhibitions would work for you if your intention is to be seen by a large number of potential customers. Webinars would work for you if you want to learn something new (and you will be sold something in the end; trust me on this)

How about if you want to have a dialogue with your peers in the same industry?

That is what we do at Prospero Events.

We specialize in events for the European Energy Industry. We keep our group sizes small and aim to provide the maximum interaction time for delegates to discuss specific topics among themselves and with our speaker panel.

We know that our events are not cheap. But you get what you pay for.

We understand that our audience is senior professionals, that they have busy schedules and that they don’t need to be lectured. What they are looking for is quality interaction and dialogue with their peers; learn how different companies in the energy industry address the same problem and perhaps see a couple of innovative solutions ( from vendors) that can help solve their challenges.

That time for dialogue with peers is what our delegates pay for.

Now compare this with a virtual conference attended by a hundred or more people. You would probably spend less to attend such an event. The speaker panel might be impressive. However, if you have a question, you can put it up in the chat, and it may or may not get picked up by the moderators. You would be lucky if you get a response. If you want to spend less and are okay with this one-way- communication, there is still value in events with such a format.

With a smaller group size, it becomes possible for every attendee to engage in fruitful discussions, hear each other's perspectives on the same topic, share challenges and solutions. You might have specific challenges that you face in your role, who better to discuss it with than someone who does the same role at a different organization.

You get what you pay for.

It takes considerable time, effort to put together a quality conference agenda and a panel of experts on an industry-specific topic. If you have been working in any capacity, irrespective of the industry at least for a few months, you must know that there are no free lunches. A balanced panel of experts handpicked from leaders within an industry requires an in-depth understanding of the industry, and it is a professional’s job.

An open dialogue

What I love about our events is how helpful and collaborative our delegates are when it comes to sharing best practices. I am sure nothing of competitive advantage gets shared. However, as a professional, it’s the different perspectives to the same challenges we need. Such open, in-depth analyses and discussions are possible only because of the smaller group sizes and the rich professional experience of our attendees.

Post-pandemic: The future of virtual conferences

I believe that virtual conferences are here to stay. You don't have to catch flights or even leave your desk at all, you still get to hear different perspectives from your peers and learn about new solutions in the market. Organisations will make massive savings on travel and accommodation costs, and loss of productivity from the time out of office. At a boardroom level, these gains will be too big to ignore. Not to mention all that saved emissions from avoided flights.

I do realise that virtual conversations can be tiring, and that actually meeting and speaking in person is completely different from the online experience. However, the last two years have demonstrated that we can all still do business with online tools : )

Now with this knowledge, do we need to stick to the older, less efficient way?

What actually will happen, only time will tell. Once travel restrictions ease and professionals are once again free to travel at will, what will they choose - in-person conferences or virtual conferences? It doesn't also have to be one or the other- a bit of both will just be fine.

There are people who still love the feel of printed books; as for me, I choose the convenience of e-books.

PS: If you work in the energy industry and are interested in a dialogue with your peers in Europe, you should definitely check out our conferences. They will never be cheap, but you will get what you pay for :)