Preparing for 2024 – Simplify your conference planning with this checklist.
It’s that time of the year again, when we start looking forward to the next year and what we can do differently to have more success in the year ahead.
For conference organizers, meeting or event planners, that means increasing attendance and revenue at next year’s events.
To accomplish those goals, you need to secure the best speakers, bring in exciting new industry suppliers, and attract attendees for engaging networking opportunities.
Start planning your next event with the right technology solutions to streamline the conference planning journey, create unforgettable experiences for your attendees, and increase ROI. Let’s dive into how you can take your events to the next level in 2024.
Establish: 18 – 24 months out
Once you’ve selected your dates and venue, there are many steps on the way to creating your conference. Here’s how you can use event technology solutions to make the journey easier!
Develop: 12 – 18 months out
Conference Management software:
- Enter milestones in conference management software
- Create a conference budget
- Determine attendee ticket price range
- Assign your team to roles
- Create educational content requirement forms
- Start list of vendor needs
Tip: Attendee Interactive makes it easy to set up your conference educational sessions for success!
Exhibitor Management software:
- Determine exhibitor & sponsor opportunities
- Develop contracts for sponsorships
- Create exhibit hall plan
- Exhibit hall floorplan layout
- Partner with an onsite exhibitor service company
Tip: With Expo Logic, you can create interactive floor plans, manage booth space, sell sponsorship opportunities, communicate with exhibitors, and provide lead retrieval services. Read this blog to learn more: Exhibition Planning Tips for a Seamless Event.
Event mobile app:
- Create packages for mobile app sponsorships
- Title sponsor package
- Enhanced Listing
- Video package
- Product spotlight
- Featured brand
- Sponsored push notifications
- Gamification sponsorship
- Digital Ads
Tip: Core-Apps offers a plethora of sponsorship opportunities that will more than cover the cost of your mobile app, while providing your sponsors with the ROI they need to participate at your event.
5 – 18 months
Conference Management software:
- Create event agenda
- Call for speakers
- Educational content submission & review
- Choose sessions and speakers
- Vendor setup & management
- Collect and manage session room requirements (a/v, seating)
- Credentialing management
- Ensure credentialing license is current
- Assign CE credits to sessions
Tip: Use Attendee Interactive to simplify your process and deliver a strong educational content strategy. Make your next call for speakers, sessions, or abstracts the best yet!
Exhibitor Management software:
- Solicit exhibitor & sponsors with the new prospectus
- Add sponsors & exhibitors to website
Attendee Registration software:
- Create attendee ticket tiers and event tickets
- Send ticket confirmation emails with a QR code for easy contactless check-in onsite
- Connect CRM or AMS with the registration for easy access to attendee information
Tip: Expo Logic is the leading solution for an excellent exhibitor experience with GoExpo. Allow exhibitors to self-purchase booth space and view a virtual map. Drive revenue, save staff time and stay on track like never before! Set up attendee-tiered registration and pre-event survey questions.
Promote: 10 – 12 months out
- Launch date!
- Announce registration open!
- Continue to build your agenda
- Continue selling sponsorships and exhibit booths
Manage
Conference Management software:
- Create and share staff schedules
- Finalize session room setup
- Assign session rooms with capacity tracking and real-time conflict notifications
- Track room seating, tables, food/beverage, electric, and A/V needs
- Communicate needs with venue, and vendors
- Prepare speakers
- Set up rehearsals with speakers and entertainment
Tip: Centralize all your conference management responsibilities with Attendee Interactive.
Exhibitor Management and Lead Retrieval:
- Design attendee and sponsor badges
- Keep floorplan and sponsor webpage up to date
- Follow-up with exhibitors on lead retrieval
- Communicate important deadlines and reminders to exhibitors
Onsite Event Badge software:
- Design attendee and sponsor badges
Tip: Expo Logic’s event tech experts work with you to design the badge of your dreams. You can even add extra QR codes and symbols to increase onsite engagement and cut down on onsite FAQs. This blog has more on Different Badge Design Types and Why It Matters.
Event mobile app:
- Setup your event mobile app
- Work with the app provider to create all the resources your attendees will need onsite
- Use tactics to promote successful networking
- Load all sold mobile app sponsorships
- Upload all scheduled push notifications
Tip: Core-Apps integrates with Attendee Interactive and Expo Logic to pull in data on your attendees, speakers, sessions, exhibitors and more so you don’t have to do double the work to populate your mobile event app.
Onsite
Conference Management software:
- Manage onsite session room setup from requirements in conference management software
- Collect speaker and session evaluations
- Track attendees that are entering an exiting your sessions by scanning their badge
Exhibitor Management software:
- Setup exhibitors and sponsors with lead retrieval
Onsite Check-in & On-Demand Badges software:
- Have attendees self-check-in by using a QR or by typing their name to print their badge
- Host an online registration station to collect attendee contact information for your next event
Tip: Expo Logic event tech experts can be onsite to help your team manage registration. No more wasted badges with Expo Logic’s Badge[On]Demand; attendees can make contact information changes before they print. Expo Logic’s EventReg system can collect inquiries for your next event onsite. With Expo Logic’s TrackPod, you can accept or deny attendees for sessions with capacity limits or paid entry.
Event mobile app:
- Update any last minute schedule or speaker changes, as needed
- Send any urgent push notifications
- Attendees will use for navigating conference, networking, session rating, gamification, to build their schedule, favorite sponsors and more!
- Sponsors and exhibitors can use match making to set up meetings
Tip: Core-Apps can be accessed even with poor Wi-Fi because it is a native app. Also, there is a web version available to your attendees who don’t want to download the app.
Post event
Conference Management software:
- Attendees access their portal to collect their Continuing Education Credits
- Review session and speaker surveys
- Review session tracking to discover the most popular sessions
Tip: Attendee Interactive has everything you need to make Continuing Education issuance a breeze!
Onsite Check-in & Registration software:
- See how many attendees registered versus who picked up their event badge
- Review attendee survey questions
Exhibitor Management software:
- Ensure exhibitors have their leads
Tip: Expo Logic’s LeadPod Pro app allows exhibitors to instantly download their leads.
Event mobile app:
- Provide sponsors with statistics and leads
- Download event, session and speaker surveys
- Download event engagement analytics
Tip: Core-Apps’ Analytics Portal helps you make better decisions and accurately measure your event’s success with insights from reports on site visits, views, downloads and easily share with sponsors and exhibitors.
Repeat for next year!
With Attendee Interactive, Core-Apps, and Expo Logic, you can make data-driven decisions on your next conference plan. Have all your data ready to update for the next one!
