→ Does your annual event have a good attendee retention rate? Post-pandemic, as the excitement of meeting again settles, this basic task—keeping attendees engaged with your event and registering to return—may have gotten trickier. To be sure, it isn’t hard to measure retention, or grasp the benefits. As Brent Taylor, president of Edmonton- based Timewise Event Management Inc. and producer of the event industry’s annual GO WEST event, says: “It takes less time, money and resources to keep a current customer than it does to go and find a new one.” So why do many event professionals feel a shift or find themselves working a little harder here with annual events? We asked Canadian event experts what they’re seeing, and for up-to-date strategies to boost attendee retention. WHAT GOOD RETENTION LOOKS LIKE AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Engaged attendees can bring positive word of mouth and help grow an event’s revenue and long-term success. Crucially, retaining current attendees also saves organizers considerable time and money. As Taylor underlines, “The cost to acquire a new customer, a new delegate or attendee is going to be higher [than retaining a current one].” As for gauging retention, Anh Nguyen, principal at Calgary’s Spark Event Management Inc., says, “The most basic measurement, I’d say, is just tracking how many first-timers you have at your event. Then the inverse of that obviously will give you a good sense of how many return attendees you have.” And if you’re wondering what qualifies as healthy attendee retention, Alistair Fernandes, marketing events manager with EventMobi in Toronto, says, “Our goal is to have 60% of your attendees already registered for the next event, six months out. That’s sort of the way we see success.” WHAT’S CHANGED FOR ATTENDEES POST-PANDEMIC? Even though attendees overall are excited about returning to meetings, experts say retaining attendees is still trickier today. Among the challenges: So many choices Fernandes says, “there’s a lot of noise, there are a lot of events going on.” It’s trickier, he says, to keep people engaged long-term with one event. More budgetary constraints Nguyen says many of her clients saw in-person numbers rebounding nicely in 2023, but that “this year we were having to work a little bit harder…I think people are a little bit more discerning about where they’re spending their dollars.” More emphasis on ROI In Toronto, Carrie Fischer, director of events and engagement for the Canadian Society of Association Executives, has seen interest in one-day events decrease, “whereas attendance at our multi-day annual offerings was way up and early on. We’re attributing that to wanting to get that ‘bang for your buck.’” Fischer says multi-day events also provide “that sense of community our members are often looking for.” Shifting values Many attendees today, says Taylor, place more value on non-work activities (for example, family, recreation) and feel, “If I’m going to travel, it’s got to be meaningful.” He adds, “When someone’s flying home on an airplane, they’re not thinking, ‘Oh, that was just the coolest activation we saw.’ They’re on that airplane going, ‘I can’t believe I’ve met this person from this organization who is going to help make my life easier. That’s what’s most important—relationships, and the education they walk away with.” OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE 60% OF YOUR ATTENDEES ALREADY REGISTERED FOR THE NEXT EVENT, SIX MONTHS OUT. THAT’S SORT OF THE WAY WE SEE SUCCESS.” “ Fall 2024 | Ignitemag.ca | 47
