Virtual attendees deserve VIP treatment.

The biggest lessons I’ve learned about virtual events after hosting 50,000+ attendees? Virtual attendees deserve VIP treatment.

In 2020, Logistics professionals had to adapt at lightning speed to find their place in the virtual world; a world devoid of venue bookings, travel or catering as we knew it. But, as my colleague Chi Siroko explained back in June here, virtual delegate management remains essential.

Here are some important lessons I learned in 2020 regarding looking after delegates at virtual or hybrid events that you should take into your event planning for 2021.

Virtual attendees deserve VIP treatment. A seamless user experience is vital to ensure the success of your virtual event. Having an experienced logistics team will keep your delegates’ best interests at heart at all times. VIP treatment is all about the details; personalising the experience, bespoke communications, making sure there are adequate breaks throughout the agenda and accounting for delegates in different time zones are all crucial details that add up to create memorable experiences for your attendees.

From the hotel lobby to the virtual lobby. Delegates may not be getting lost on the way to the bathroom, or looking for the buffet signage, but they still need our support in the virtual world. Clear communications ensure that attendees know when and how to access your event, how to navigate the chosen platform and where networking is taking place. Run by an experienced Logistics team, a virtual in-platform helpdesk will get delegates’ questions answered efficiently and provide extra human interaction at the same time. Without it, your delegates are far more likely to get frustrated and lose interest.

In virtual events, punctuality matters. There is little more frustrating for a delegate than logging on to an event and finding the “this event hasn’t started yet” screen. Consider branded waiting rooms or including a countdown timer, so even if delegates log in early, they will know when the content will go live and that they are in the right place. This is even more important if you are hosting a hybrid event, with both a virtual and live audience. It is all too easy for the on-site team to overlook the virtual audience logging on at 11am for a session, while your live group are still finishing their coffee break. What can you do to entertain them if there is a short overlap? A good delegate management team will have this covered.

There’s real value in managing your data properly. It would be easy to assume that the registration process for a virtual event doesn’t need much attention, but compliant and careful management of data will enhance the experience for all. Not only do you need to meet country specific guidelines when managing delegate data, their preferences also need to be presented back to them properly - there is no excuse for personalised emails with incorrect data. The insights you can gain from this data will also be crucial in proving the ROI of your event.

Saying ‘no’ can be helpful. There is a huge variety of event tech out there, in terms of platforms, registration and networking. Not all platforms can do everything, so establishing what you can’t do early on will help you make the right choices and avoid awkward conversations later. When choosing the right technology for your event, it is important that you have a stakeholder thinking about the logistics, as well as the content and technical elements.

We will meet again in person and we’re already making plans. If you’re looking to run an event in the second half of 2021, it’s time to get moving. We are increasingly seeing venue availability run out as the industry gears up for the return to live. Well thought-through logistics will be more crucial than ever when we return to live, incorporating health and safety, contact tracing and flawless event production.

So, while we’re all waiting to meet again in real life, remember that whatever format your event takes, it’s all about your delegates and the experience they take away with them. Treat all your delegates like VIPs and they will adjust to virtual, hybrid, or wherever the world takes us next. If you’d like to have a chat to me about Virtual or Live Event Logistics, please email hello@wrg.tceg.com and we’ll get a no-strings-attached 15 min chat booked in.