Not long to go now

I remember as a kid counting down the days until Santa was due for his annual delivery service. The excitement was a quick builder from around the start of December and I doubt anything will ever match that magical feeling.

I’m not going to say the return of live events is comparable to that excitement, but now I’m a grown-up (plenty would argue otherwise) with a family and bills to pay, it has given me a ray of hope that things are slowly getting back to some kind of normality.

The events industry has had it hard because of this terrible virus.

Sure, some have pivoted to virtual events that have been an able substitute, but nothing beats the feeling of actually being at a venue, meeting new people, getting new ideas and doing business face-to-face. I’m sure the virtual events evangelists can put a twist on it, but live events will always be the “go to” in my opinion.

So… the 1st October 2020 is the start of the comeback here in the UK. It can’t come too soon for us.

Many events will be small at first but all of them will have to conform with the Covid-19 safety guidelines which make perfect sense. It can and will work.

The UK Government has a number of guidelines for the safe return of business events and conferences. The three we can help with are:

1. Attendees will need to pre-book and pre-register to attend events;

2. Contactless registration systems will be introduced at venues to reduce waiting times and limit contact between organisers and guests;

3. A digital first approach will be adopted to eliminate the need for physical badges and lanyards
.

How do we do it?

1. Attendees register online prior to the event - it’s even possible to keep registration open on the day so they can register on their mobiles if they’ve arrived without booking beforehand;

2. Mitingu automatically generates a PDF and Apple Wallet ticket/badge with a QR code that can be stored on a mobile device and scanned on entry;

3. The same ticket/badge can be used with a lead capture app (we can provide one that integrates with Mitingu) which scans the QR code and captures the individual’s contact details.

It’s quick and easy to set this up and takes away one of the biggest headaches for an event organiser so they can focus on what they do best. As an event prof said to me recently “event tech should just work”, ours does.

Now’s the time to start planning. Get in touch with us via the contact form on this site or email hello@mitingu.com. We’d love to chat and find out if we can help you.

5 Simple Steps to Creating a Great Event Website

The event website is your event’s shop window to the world.

If you haven’t sent a potential delegate an email promoting your event and the site, this could be the first impression they get of your event. You may have a lot of information that you need to get across which can often dissuade visitors. So what makes a great event website? These are our 5 simple steps;

1. Attractive, clean, clear event webpage

Web design trends are focused on the minimalistic look and feel, which is a long way from what event websites just a few years ago looked like. A number of event sites still follow the old-school event marketing techniques where everything on the page is fighting for attention. What ends up happening is nothing stands out. Creating a clean-looking webpage with all the key event details upfront, along with concise copy as to what the attendee can expect is essentially all that’s needed to give a great first impression.

2. Simple Navigation

With this being said about over-the-top content, content that relates to your audience and the event theme or topic is an asset that you should utilize, perhaps not on the main event page. Include simple navigation that either takes visitors to another page within your event site or links back to your main website where people can find out more about your brand. Just remember if you’re taking potential registrants away from your event website, to include a call to action at the end of your related content in order to get them back to your event website to register.

3. A strong proposition

So many events fail to provide a proposition that clearly lays out the purpose and value to the delegate without simply pushing your event key messaging out there. Planning a successful event starts way before you put the content on the website with your target delegate. Articulating why they should care about your event needs to come through loud and clear. You’ll find that with a strong proposition a delegate is more likely to buy into the event.

4. A clear call to action

The registration price (if applicable) shouldn't be hidden in copy or found on a separate page. Registration options and pricing should be accompanied by a clear call to action to register.

5. User-friendly registration form

Well done! You’re doing all the right things to get your website visitors to the registration page. If you’re noticing a drop-off from here, revisit your registration form.

• Does it take longer than 90 seconds to complete?

• Have you marked every field, even the ‘nice-to-know’ questions, as mandatory?

• Are you asking too much?

If you've answered yes to these questions, then it’s almost certainly your registration form discouraging visitors to register.

The only old-school technique (that was clearly ignored in previous years by some event websites) is KISS - “keep it simple,stupid” or “keep it short and simple” if you’d rather skip the insult!

Creating event websites can be a big task depending on whether you are creating your own template, attempting to personalise a pre-made template, or even instructing a designer. Our philosophy is to keep the things that need to be simple, simple.

A picture is worth a thousand words

A client that runs events for car dealers wanted to liven up showroom event registration forms and increase engagement.

The background is that as part of the registration process, they ask the registrant which make and model they are interested in prior to them arriving at the event. Previously they used basic checkboxes. We suggested keeping checkboxes but adding images to them just like the screenshot below.

Buying decisions are based on 80% emotion and 20% logic. Adding images stokes up those emotions prior to them arriving at the showroom.

Picture choice options are great for car events, they’re also great for events where you’re trying to stand out from the crowd and want the registration form to drive engagement whilst collecting valuable attendee data.

Perhaps you’re giving away complimentary food and drink at your event and finding out the most popular items will help you spend wisely and save on waste. It will also entice the attendee in as they visualise being at the event with a cocktail (for this example) in hand.

Using images relevant to the event will help increase engagement.

Live events may not return until later in the year or even into 2021, the competition to get noticed will be fierce, let the pictures help you stand out from the crowd.

Woah, zoom, I'd like to fly far away from here

Ok, so right now flying anywhere is a bit of a push and unless you’re a fan of The Commodores, the title to this post could be lost on you! Stick with us, all will be revealed.

The banning of gatherings of any sort has left the live events industry in pieces… for now. It will come back bigger and better because nothing beats actual, physical social interaction.

Unlike some of our fellow event tech software providers, we’re not pivoting to become a virtual events platform. However, we do recognise that any event going on at the moment will be up there in the ether so it’s important we cater for that.

The most popular platform of choice to hold virtual events on is Zoom. They’ve had their issues, but the imminent release of Zoom 5.0 looks to have eradicated those and help to restore users’ faith in them.

Zoom is great at what it does, but the built-in event promotion, registration and communications can look a bit basic. It’s a competitive market out there with so many virtual events going on, so yours need to stand out and get noticed.

Duplication of tasks is frustrating, time-consuming and can lead to errors.

The old, slower way was to set up your event in Zoom and then duplicate the task by setting it up in Mitingu.

The new, faster way is to create your event in Mitingu which simultaneously creates the event in Zoom.

The next issue was managing two sets of attendees, one in Mitingu and one in Zoom. What if someone cancelled or changed their registration details?

All registrations from Mitingu will now sync across to Zoom. If someone cancels their registration, they’ll automatically be removed from Zoom. If a registration is updated it will also update in Zoom.

Getting noticed is one thing, giving them a reason to attend and collecting the right information about your attendees are another. An event site complimented with scheduled, personalised emails helps promote your event, give and get the right information and keeps it fresh in the minds of your attendees.

Make the right first and lasting impression, save yourself a bundle of time and give your clients yet another reason why they love to work with you.

Want to utilise this winning combination? Get in touch here

Rebuilding a software business

Why am I writing this?

Because we (mainly me) have made a lot of mistakes in our journey so far and I hope by sharing this it might help other startups and existing businesses avoid making them. Plus it’s good for me to write it down and be honest about where we’ve gone wrong and how we are putting it right.

The journey begins here

It was February 2014 that we stopped talking and started doing.

We had the idea of creating an events platform for business events a few months before that and had been chewing the fat on how we’d do it and more importantly why we were doing it. Research and experience told us that this was a crowded marketplace, but we knew we could fill a gap that we’d spotted.

Our minimum viable product was launched in January 2015 and we started with some fantastic new business wins. We’d always bootstrapped so we didn’t have the vast sales, marketing and development budgets some of our competitors enjoyed.

Although we’d started off well, by mid 2015 we had to make a difficult decision. We all had young families to feed so we had to go and earn some money elsewhere and work on Mitingu in our spare time.

Then in December 2015 we had an enquiry from a global business that wanted a white label events platform to run their events across all locations. In a nutshell, it would be a game changer.

The first week of 2016 we got the fantastic news that we had won the business!!

We were on our way to riches! This was much easier than we thought!

A few months later we won another large account. Wow! We were truly on our way as we’d been regularly picking up and retaining new clients along the way.

WRONG!

We spent all of our time devoted to looking after a small number of large customers. Sure, they spent well but we ended up developing a platform specifically for them and lost sight of the bigger picture. We effectively became a software development business for a few large businesses.

That wasn’t their fault, it was ours.

2018

Fast forward to 2018 and with growth stagnating over the previous 12 months, we got the unsurprising news that our two largest clients were regrettably going elsewhere. We’d lost our way after such a great start and my motivation was at an all time low.

In autumn 2018 we had a decision to make. Do we carry on or do we call it a day?

We and I had recognised the mistakes we’d made, we knew we had the makings of a great business and decided we’d carry on, effectively from a clean slate and build the business.

2019

We started 2019 knowing it would be a year of planning and getting back on track. Personally, I was under no illusions how tough it would be, but as a team we were up for the challenge.

It started well with some quick wins and some longer term contracts signed. Cashflow was always going to be tight and because of it, I (not we) took on a one off project that I shouldn’t have. It took up 4 months of my time and at least 2 months of development time. It ended up being a very costly project both in terms of time, resource and money.

By late autumn (that time of year again) we had a decision to make again. We had an offer in to buy the business. I liked the company and people who had made the offer and it would have meant Mitingu becoming part of their business. The answer was yes all the way until the last minute when we (Mitingu is a team) decided we could build a great business and we wanted to do it alone.

We spoke together as a team and went through everything we wanted to achieve and whether we could achieve all of that as part of another business. We used the Christmas break to think long and hard about what we wanted to do.

2020

Happy New Year! Let’s do this

To cut a long story short, we decided that with a renewed focus, plan and help from friends and family that Mitingu would control its own destiny and we were going to make it happen.

We had a plan, a new structure that we were sticking to and a huge focus on the business’s key metrics to keep up on track and highly motivated.

January - we were over target, both revenue and new business wins

February - we were over target, again both revenue and new business wins

March - was all going great, new business won and then the reality of a virus called COVID 19 hit home.

I’m writing this is the middle of the worst global pandemic for 100 years. No one had prepared for it and the destruction, misery and loss it would cause to people’s lives. Business has been affected across many sectors including the live events industry which has been decimated. It will bounce back but right now the most important thing is staying healthy with your loved ones. Thank you NHS and all our key workers, you are amazing.

We have some amazing things planned for 2020 and when we come out of the current crisis, the business will be ready. Mitingu 2.0 is due for release in the summer. We can’t wait for that as it will be a game changer for us and our clients. I’ll share more details on that in the coming weeks.

What we did wrong

We made lots of mistakes, but I think that these were the biggest and main contributors to our struggles.

1. We lost sight of our goals and plan - we chased the money.

2. I got distracted - other opportunities and things going on outside work took my attention away from Mitingu.

3. We introduced far too many features to the platform without adequate planning and testing after agreeing unrealistic deadlines to keep the client happy (this was a huge mistake).

4. We overpromised and underdelivered. Despite our mantra of amazing customer service, we’d bitten off more than we could chew and we’d let if affect the one thing we were very good at.

5. Most of our revenue was coming from a small number of clients which left us incredibly vulnerable.

What we’re doing about it

I recognised that I am not superman or anything remotely close. It doesn’t matter how many hours I work if there is no clear plan and goals.

I decided to get help… to bring people in from the outside who could see the wood for the trees and help the team and I create good plans with clear goals that we could measure against. They keep me focused and more importantly, they bring accountability.

1. We have an updated business plan that the team has all had input into and agreed

2. We have organised our tasks in a clearer and structured way

3. We’ve building documented processes for the whole business

4. We’re adding to the team to strengthen

5. We view and review our key performance indicators daily to make sure we are on track

6. We don’t take on any custom development that will veer us off course - we have a plan and roadmap and we’re sticking to it

7. We’ve got a great team, that are all on the same page and all share the same goals for the business - this is key to success

A positive outlook

Despite what’s currently going on in the world, we remain positive that once the live events industry resumes we will have an even stronger proposition. Staying positive is absolutely key to building a successful business and life.

I’m going to add regular posts to this blog, giving updates on our particular rebuilding journey. It’s definitely good for me and I hope it can help others to avoid some of the mistakes we’ve made along the way.

Before you nod off...

… hear us out!

We’re talking security here, it’s important stuff.

Getting your Mitingu account hacked could be a bit of a disaster. It will most likely contain personal and sensitive data on your event attendees.

It’s already standard to login to our platform with a username and password. It’s also standard to set a number of days until the password expires and a change is forced. We’ve just taken it one step (or should we say two steps) further. Introducing multi-factor authentication.

What is multi-factor authentication?

“Multi-factor - also called two factor authentication (2FA) or two step verification1 - is an extra layer of security for online services. Asking users for another bit of evidence in addition to their password means attackers with a stolen password still can't access the online service. “ National Cyber Security Centre

We’ve all seen it in action. You’ve probably entered your login details into a piece of software, but before you get in it sends an SMS with a verification code that you need to enter as part of the login process. That is one example of two step verification.

We’re offering the following two step authentication methods:

1. SMS - works as described above

2. FIDO2 - This method uses physical devices as authenticators such as YubiKey. These devices contain a cryptographic key which you can use to authenticate to our service. This is the most secure method of authentication.

We’ll shortly be adding an article on our knowledge base on how it works in Mitingu.

Important stuff, we’re sure you’ll agree.

Bring back the good old days

Back in the day, filling stations had petrol pump attendants.

Never heard of them?

When your car needed petrol, you’d pull into a filling station and be greeted by an attendant who’d operate the pump for you.

Self-service filling stations became the norm and the much-loved pump attendant was consigned to history. Fast forward to the present day (well 2016 to be precise) and Shell introduced pump attendants to 300 filling stations in the UK.

Why?

Simple really, it’s great personal service, gives people a choice and makes them feel good.

Mitingu is primarily a self-service events platform. However, we understand that sometimes a busy event organiser doesn’t have the time to do everything. The event site is critical to the success of their event, so handing it over to someone to do it for them means it’s one less thing for them to worry about.

That’s why we decided to give Mitingu users that choice. Our managed service takes your content, images and brief and we turn it into an event site that helps you get the right people to your event.

"Interesting" chat down the pub

The first 15 minutes of chat whilst I’m down the local on a Friday night is the very short window of time when my friends and I talk sensible stuff.

The longer we’re in there, the more likely it is that the conversations will go just about everywhere and anywhere.

None of my mates work in the software industry, so it’s always a bit of a challenge how I explain what Mitingu is in as few words as possible without boring them onto the next pint.

Whilst they’re pretending to be interested they normally ask “What does Mitingu do?”

Basically, it creates event sites that allow people to say that they are going to an event. It then sends personalised emails like reminders or event updates. A bit like when they register to go to Glastonbury (the world famous music festival, not the town) for their tickets and then get reminder and update emails. The only difference being that Mitingu focuses purely on business events.

That’s normally where I leave it. Eyes are glazing over and there’s much more interest in the guest ale that’s on that week.

Let's talk about you

You wouldn’t drive around in a Mercedes with a Ford badge would you?

There’s a number of legitimate (and legal) reasons for not doing so, one of them being it’s really confusing to the outside world.

Ok, it’s a bit of a far fetched example, but hopefully you get my drift that the branding is important and keeping on brand makes a difference. We then get to the next question…

Why would you run an event registration page/site diluting your brand with someone else’s?

There are of course some valid reasons for doing so, such as if you’re running a joint event with a partner business. However, if it’s your company’s event then why wouldn’t you want the first event touch point be all about your branding? Not the software provider’s logo, URL or one of those nasty “powered by” tag lines. They are all about the software provider and not you.

Here’s the bit about why you should use white label event software to manage all of your company’s events! Like many event software start ups, we set out on a path to be the “go to” provider for event registration and comms. Reality and common sense prevailed and we decided to focus our efforts on providing a white label solution specifically for the business events sector.

It gives a great impression about your business both internally and externally if you are using your “own” events software. That’s what white label gives you, your own software, minus the cost and resource to develop, maintain and support it (that’s where we come in).

Your brand is at the centre of everything we do. Not a Mitingu logo or “powered by” in sight… your domain and branding aligned with your brand guidelines.

How much does it cost? At the risk of sounding like a politician unable to give a straight answer, we’d like to think it’s more a case of what it could generate in terms of increased brand awareness, event attendees aligned to your brand and ultimately more business for you as a result. But a more direct answer is the cost is aligned to your requirements, making it cost effective whatever the weather!

Find out more about our white label here and let’s start talking about you.

"If you build it, he will come" - Field of Dreams

In the film it rang true. However, in the world of tech startups, in my experience, this is a load of bollocks!

Unless you're either very lucky or you (your investors) have very deep pockets it's one hell of a hard slog.

You can build the best product with what you think has a great feature set and user experience and fool yourself into thinking the enquiries will come flooding in. Alas! This ain't gonna happen, all you’ll hear is the sound of silence.

For it to be a success, reality has to take a hold. Get the message out there, network, market and sell (that doesn’t mean shove your product down someone’s throat, it means ask the right questions that unearth their problem to which you may be able to offer a solution). Get out of your comfort zone (I have done writing this) and use platforms like LinkedIn for sound advice and ideas, speak with people you respect in business who have been there and done it, do whatever you need to do, but don’t do nothing.

We created Mitingu because we saw an opportunity to offer businesses a piece of software that made building great looking event sites and comms on brand without any technical knowledge required. It’s taken us over 4 years (some great, some bad) to get proper traction and we’ve only just begun. If I’d known then what I know now would I do it again? Who knows? Maybe not, but one thing I won’t do is give up.

Because everyone needs to be loved

I thought I’d share a recent customer service experience that I had and a separate one that my partner had.

I’m a member of a health club and regularly use the gym now I’m north of 40! My family are also members there so we pay a fair old chunk to them every month. I walked in recently and there were three members of staff talking amongst themselves in front of the reception desk. No problem there, it’s important to get along with your colleagues. However, not one of them said hi, all I got was a quick glance. It made me feel pretty insignificant and not really valued as a member. It also made me think that if there were another gym in the area to the same standard then I would have moved to it. However, there isn’t so I just have to lump it this time! They delivered disappointment.

My wife recently went into a well known global retailer and had the complete opposite experience. They qualified if she was just browsing or needed some assistance. When she told them she’d like some assistance they took her to one side, went through the range, bought her a glass of bubbly and helped with fitting and choosing the right items. She spent some well earned money in there and left feeling a million dollars! They delivered happiness.

It’s pretty simple, everyone needs to be loved. It’s not just about getting people’s money, it’s about giving them a great experience which delivers value for that money, recognition and happiness.

We want our customers to feel loved and we’ll make it our mission to achieve that.

Have a great day and go make someone happy!

Falling in line is good for your brand

Mothers’ Day was fast approaching so John decided to login to Moonpig (other custom card builders are available!) and get to work on creating a special card for his mum with the personal touch.

The colour palette in the tool allowed him to choose from a huge range of colours and he eventually went for a deep pink and lilac combo because his Mum likes them. He also had a large range of fonts to choose from and he went for Montserrat for the heading and good old Arial for the main body.

Needless to say, when John’s mum opened the card there were smiles all round. She felt good which made John feel good too.

Now that he was a graphic design guru, John decided to use his new talent at his day job as an event manager for ABC Consulting. He was responsible for putting together a registration web site, for a conference ABC was organising.

John logged into his account on his ABC’s event site building software and got to work. A few hours later he was done. He’d created a “masterpiece”. With a flourish of confidence, he pressed “go live” on the site and sat back.

He checked it an hour later to see how many had registered. No-one. 

He tried again an hour later. Still no-one.

The next morning, he rushed down to his laptop on the kitchen table as soon as he woke up. Still nothing. He felt a sense of mild panic. This wasn’t going to plan.

When he got to work that morning, he asked a couple of friends in confidence what they thought was going on. The penny dropped the moment his friend Jack asked:

“Whose event site is that?”

It hit him like a ton of bricks. He’d designed the site he thought looked great. He hadn’t built an ABC Consulting site. He hadn’t used any of the brand colours, styles of fonts that ABC uses. He had gone off piste and unleashed his new inner graphic designer.

It was a nice looking site, but it didn’t look anything like ABC Consulting. That confused site visitors who left rather than sign up.

John felt an idiot. He’s learned a simple lesson the hard way.

It’s your well-known brand that attracts your punters. Not your new design skills. Brands remain powerful by people being disciplined about their use. That’s what a company’s brand guidelines do. They are there for a reason.

At Mitingu we’re a bit obsessed about great looking event registration sites. We spend all our time trying to think of better ways to help you create awesome registration sites for your events. Unlike John, our tools will help you keep communications and style on brand, every time.

If you can bear to put your inner graphic designer to one side for a few minutes, come and have a look at our next generation event editor. It will help you build great looking branded event sites, so your events will sell out faster than an umbrella salesman at a wet festival.

Take a look at the new editor

6 New Ideas on How to Engage Attendees on Your Next Event

Event marketing is a seriously powerful tool for all marketers. Various reports estimate that Millennials will account for 75% of the UK workforce in ten years and that they will spend around half a million pounds on live events. As you can see, events are a quite a thing nowadays and they will only become more popular in future. But, what is a number one priority of events? Well, one of the most important aspects of events is the engagement. It’s really important to keep your attendees engaged. And people are always looking for new ways to keep the folks engaged at an event. So, let’s take a look at fresh 8 ideas that deal with engagement.

Social photo booths

Do you know what a social photo booth is? Well, have one at your event and you will see tons of photos appear online and they all ‘advertise’ your event. Social photo booths allow attendees to take photos, videos and even create GIFs. They can share those photos on their social media accounts. However, the stuff they share will be branded. And guess whose brand that will be?

Modernise everything

In the world of marketing, it’s all about standing out from the rest. One way to stand out is to do things differently than the competition. Forget the old ways and invest in event software. There is specialised software nowadays that will not only make life easier for you but it will also amaze your attendees. There are apps that provide you with most of the dull work such as sending out invites, messages and even providing analytics. You will look more professional and your attendees will see something they never saw before. In turn, that will make them want to see more. It combines beautiful and useful.

Comparison wall

By introducing comparison wall at your events, you will find out what your attendees deem to be important. These walls can be used for anything and everything. They can be used for your attendees to have fun so this could also count as a corporate event entertainment idea but you can also be a bit sly and elicit important info from the attendees. Say that you want to figure out what their event must-haves are. Just put messaging style clouds and start each one with ‘My ideal event must have…’ This is a great way to find out what your event lacks and what you might have even overlooked.

Campfire

Would you be open to the idea of starting a campfire at your event? Don’t worry, it’s not literally a campfire. Look, the times of speakers and rooms full of people listening to one person all the time have passed. You have to invest in new speaking formats to spice things up. For example, a campfire session is a good idea. These are led by a facilitator who runs the discussion with one or more experts. Each session should last somewhere around 30 minutes. These sessions feel more real and they are more engaging.

Live performance

Playing people’s favourite tunes over the speakers is okay. However, having a band fire things up brings your event to a whole another level. These live performances provide your attendees with a chance to jive to the music and enjoy the atmosphere. With live performances, the atmosphere is always great and more authentic. Especially when compared to YouTube over speakers and ads constantly interrupting playlists. When you get your attendees immersed in a throwback to their favourite songs, their energy will stay high and you will keep them engaged for longer periods of time.

Fun contests

People are competitive by nature. So, a little bit of friendly competition can light up the atmosphere quickly. Your event will be electrified if you introduce fun competitions like scavenger hunts or pub quizzes. Make the competition about your event’s theme. However, you have to make sure it isn’t boring. It isn’t all strictly business. Contest should be fun but you should also remember that the aim here is to promote your brand. On top of that, there are awesome apps out there that let attendees answer questions from their smart devices and they also get to see their answers on screen in real time. Impressive, right?

Conclusion

 You have to keep things fresh if you want to be better than the rest. Always look for innovative ways to boost your events. Remember that your rivals won’t sleep on all the novelties in the world of event marketing. Make sure that you don’t fall asleep too. So, go over these ideas once again and give them a go as soon as an opportunity arises. You won’t regret it and your attendees will appreciate your effort.

Reasons to white label

White label - Goods or services that are produced by one company, then purchased by another company to rebrand and sell as their own.

Mitingu is a white label event registration and communications platform. We think there are far more benefits to white labelling than going out there and developing your own software. Here are a few:

1. Get to market/implement quicker - the software is already developed, so it’s normally just a case of branding and basic configuration and it’s ready to launch;

2. Reduced costs - we cover the costs of development, all you’d ever need to cover is any specific customised features that you may require;

3. Less risk - development and testing is done prior to release to live, giving you peace of mind that the software works and you are are not being used as software testers;

4. Resellers and agencies can sell the software as their own knowing that we are there in the background to support them. This also creates another revenue stream and enables you to concentrate on business development rather than software development.

Mitingu gives our clients their own white label platform with their own admin and event page URL, web/email templates and the option to create customised reports per account or across the whole platform, giving event organisers the information they need in one place.

For corporates

• Your own branded interface and templates

• Your own admin interface and event URL

• Unlimited sub accounts for different departments, offices or event categories

• High level and event level reporting

• Different user levels

• Access to API to integrate with CRM, ERP systems etc

• Consistent themed event sites and emails available in multiple languages

For agencies/resellers

• Your own branded interface and templates

• Your own admin interface URL and separate event URLs for each client

• Unlimited sub accounts for different clients

• High level and account level reporting for each client

• Different user levels

• Access to API to integrate with CRM, ERP systems etc

• Themed event sites and emails for each client available in multiple languages

To find out more about the Mitingu white label please fill out the quick form here or contact us at hello@mitingu.com

12 Tips to Build Brand Loyalty at Your Event

Online and print marketing can both build up your fan base, but live events offer your audience a unique chance to experience your brand for themselves. By meeting you in person, they are more likely to forge a meaningful connection with your company, which in turn will translate to sales. Almost three-quarters (74%) of customers say that their impression of a business improves following an event.

Events that connect with an audience are referred to as “experiential marketing.” They can take the form of festivals, concerts, pop-up shops, conferences, lectures, and exhibitions – in fact, almost any kind of event can be used to engage with your market.

The most effective events cultivate a sense of loyalty in attendees. Here are a few practical ways you can grab your visitors’ attention and leave a positive impression:

1. Generate excitement before the event  

Announce your event at least a few weeks in advance. Tell followers across each of your platforms where and when it will take place, and when they will be able to purchase tickets. Giving people the opportunity to sign up for notifications is a good way to encourage them to join your mailing list.

 Tell your visitors why they should attend; what’s in it for them? For example, if you have invited any notable speakers or plan to run any exciting contests, highlight it in your marketing materials.

2. Give your visitors a sneak preview of upcoming products or services 

Reward visitors for turning up by staging some kind of “big reveal.” For example, if you are a clothing brand, showcase a few of your new designs for the upcoming season. When you make them feel special, attendees will come away with positive memories of your event, which in turn will foster brand loyalty.

3. Engage your visitors’ senses

Let your guests see, touch, hear, or taste your products. The more senses you can engage, the better. Set up as many interactive displays as possible.

4. Stage a competition

Giving away prizes serves two purposes. First, it provides a good excuse to collect visitors’ contact details, which will aid your marketing efforts in the future. Second, offering a desirable prize encourages visitors to think of your brand as generous and fun, two attributes which will increase their loyalty.

5. Be generous with your freebies

Even if they have paid to get in, attendees still tend to think of gifts and merchandise as a bonus or “added extra.” Branded items that they will want to keep, such as fun toys or useful items such as pens and notepads, will remind them of the event long after they get home.

6. Localize the experience

“Always ask yourself whether your event is catering to your local market,” advises the CEO of PickWriters. Do not assume that just because an event was well-received in one city that it will be met with a warm reception in another. This requires a thoughtful approach. For example, you may need to translate written content, including signs, be sensitive to cultural norms regarding dress codes and greetings, and avoid casual references to controversial issues during talks and demonstrations.   

7. Offer a touch of luxury

Make your visitors feel special, and they will look back on your event with fondness. For instance, you could offer a limited number of passes to a VIP area, or sell tickets to a Q&A session. They will tell their friends about the great time they had, which will further improve your brand’s reputation.

8. Showcase your brand alongside others that target your market

Inviting your competitors to an event would be counter-productive, but what about teaming up with a brand that appeals to a similar demographic? In doing so, you’ll attract a broader crowd who will get the opportunity to experience your brand along with well-established favourites.

9. Invite speakers from outside your company to share their knowledge

If you are running a B2B event for professionals, recruit speakers to run workshops or give demonstrations. These should give attendees actionable strategies they can use in their business. Your guests will feel as though their time at your event was well-spent, and will respect your brand for caring about issues that affect them.

Hiring external speakers also equates to free publicity, because they will probably let all their clients and social media contacts know that they are taking part in an event.

10. Recruit enthusiastic, knowledgeable staff  

If even staff are indifferent to your brand and bored by the event, your visitors will notice, and this won’t inspire their trust or loyalty. If possible, send company employees to oversee the event, rather than workers from a PR agency.

11. Make it easy for visitors to share their experiences

Set up a hashtag for your event, and encourage your visitors to use it. Hashtags let your guests share their photos and questions they may have for you. Make sure someone is responsible for responding to social media posts throughout the event; a quick, friendly reply or acknowledgement will generate goodwill. You can also use hashtags to organize contests. For instance, you may run a competition whereby the 100th person to upload a tagged photo of themselves at the event wins a prize.

12. Livestream your event

Reach out to those who can’t get to your event by livestreaming it. Set up a video feed that gives viewers a sense of the event atmosphere. Be sure to broadcast talks, demonstrations, and Q&A sessions. Your viewers will appreciate your efforts, feel engaged with the event, and may direct other people to your stream via social media. Encourage viewers to submit live feedback and questions.

Obtain, and analyze, visitor feedback

Always conduct a post-mortem after the event, using both qualitative and quantitive data. Ask yourself these questions: Did staff receive positive formal feedback during the event? Did visitors share their experience on social media? How many people attended? How many sign-ups or purchases did you get? Overall, did the event live up to your visitors’ expectations?

If you held a conference or B2B event, you could use brief follow-up surveys to encourage attendees to give formal feedback afterwards. Whatever your industry, remember that consumers want to be heard, so give them the chance to tell you what they really thought of your event.

Elisa Abbott is a freelancer whose passion lies in creative writing. She completed a degree in Computer Science and writes about ways to apply machine learning to deal with complex issues. Insights on education, helpful tools and valuable university experiences – she has got you covered ;)