All of us enjoy experiences that are customized to match our needs and requirements. Attendees are no different. They love to be recognized by event organizers as individuals and respond with enthusiasm when provided with technology features that help them achieve their objectives from attending the event.

Here are some tips on how your event management team can leverage technology to engage attendees by drastically reducing the time and effort they have to put in planning for the show.  Needless to say, a fully engaged attendee is bound to bring immense energy and collaborative spirit to your face-to-face event!

• Collect detailed demographics data when attendees register for the event. Encourage them to use a unique email address so that all future communications reach their inbox directly.

• Include secure login links in all subsequent email communications to give them instant access to their profile and personalized data.

• Cut down on the time attendees spend in building their personalized expo and session schedules. Give them a head start by using their demographics data to provide them with personalized lists of matched exhibitors and educational sessions.

• Enable attendees to reach out to exhibitors via email, and to schedule meetings before and during the event. The more information they get in advance to plan their time at the event, the more invested they will be in your brand.

• Similarly, enable exhibitors to connect with attendees who add them to their personalized plans and/or contact them via email.

• Provide an online chat and email support options so that attendees can reach out to you if they have any questions about their participation or if they need support with a technology they are using for the first time.

• Ensure that each attendee can easily sync their personalized data seamlessly across multiple devices and operating systems using one single profile. Filling out multiple sign up forms and having to remember multiple passwords will not please any attendee in this day and age.

• Encourage attendees to follow you on popular social media and also opt to receive text messages from your organization so that you can keep them updated on key deadlines and last minute changes to schedules.

• Build a digital survey form to collect post-show feedback from attendees. Recognize your biggest fans by giving them a public shout out. Also reach out to the not-so-satisfied attendees to acknowledge their concerns, and work with them to see how your team can provide them better services in the future.

• Extend the life of your event by keeping the online portal live post-show to enable attendees and exhibitors to carry on the conversation. If they build long-term, constructive business relationships, your event participants will be more than happy to invest time and money in your brand again.