Why We Changed Our User Conference to a Business Growth Summit

I’ve shared things in presentations and meetings that have gotten me odd looks over the years, but when I told my leadership team I wanted to change the format of our “user” conference and replace it with an executive leadership summit, I admittedly received some surprised looks.

Let’s be real, just about every company has a user conference. We certainly did; it was growing to exceed 2000+ attendees. We had bands, parties, swag, etc. The problem with user conferences are that they are really just about the company and their products, cushioned with some best practice sessions and a bit of a boondoggle.

It’s not a bad model. As an attendee, you get the latest product updates, you’re up sold on some future vaporware, and you hear about how great company XYZ really is. As a company, you get to hang out with customers, set yourself up to over promise and under deliver and sell some products you don’t yet have. It’s a win-win, right?

I'm not sure about that and I believe prospects and customers are beginning to get fed up.

User conferences rub me wrong for the following reasons:

1. Everybody does a conference. There are just too many, making it difficult to figure out what events are even worthwhile.
2. They are all the same. The events recycle the same speakers from other events and it often feels like you’re hearing from the same people again and again.
3. It’s pay-to-play. If you want to be a mainstage speaker, it has nothing to do with how qualified you are, but rather how much you’re willing to pay. If you have $100,000 to spend, you can be on the main platform with an ultra, platinum or title sponsorship that is billed as an “invite only” (or so they say).
4. It’s a cattle call. These gatherings, where the goal is to get as many people as possible to attend, often feel like a cattle stampede with expo hall sales reps pushing deals to get their money’s worth out of the hefty sponsorships their bosses have paid.
5. It’s too much. With all the pitching and demoing from the host company, the last thing you want to do be bombarded by sales pitches in an expo hall.

But here’s the hard truth: sponsors don’t always get the expected ROI from user conferences. Let’s face it: speaking in a random breakout session and having your signage on a photo booth and a (probably lame) follow up email to attendees after the event is not going to cut it. [click to continue reading...]