We explore how to enhance your guest experience, with opinions from two experts, Sonya Cook, Co-Founder of The Guest Project, and Matthew Lamb, Director of This is EventoS.
Sonya Cook is the Co-Founder of The Guest Project, a business dedicated to improving delegate experience: “Surveys are probably the most common method that any guest facing business would use to measure their guest experience. While those are great and have their uses, they only really provide a small snapshot of the entire guest journey, as it really is just down
to those people who have the time or can be bothered to fill them out. They’ll focus on either the really good points or really bad points, but actually that won’t uncover what we like to call the ‘micro-moments’. Some of those micro- moments can be nearly invisible, but they’re actually pain points which could very easily be quick fixes to improve your guest experiences.
“Embrace the changes that are happening and be prepared for the new reality of a delegate experience.“
“The way to get a proper full picture is to carry out an in-depth review that covers every single micro- moment and touch point along the guest journey, which is what we do. That way we ensure that we unearth the more invisible micro-moments and provide solutions to those. It can also highlight the magic moments which make your guests really happy and can help keep your staff motivated.”
Matthew Lamb, Director of This is EventoS, a customer experience consultancy, explains what he thinks delegates would like from events: “The idea of ‘experience’ has changed significantly. In context of conferences, a change has happened. Delegates are no longer just looking at exhibition stands but the consideration of erected spaces, opportunities for networking and of course the coffee stations. Delegates still want and need four things: networking opportunities, free tea and coffee or snacks, speakers and
(to an extent) free stuff. The presentation of
these aspects has evolved and continue in evolvement.”
Feedback you receive from delegates is an extremely valuable resource when looking to improve their experience, as Matthew adds: “A delegate will feedback through social media, surveys and word of mouth about the experience that an event organiser constructs for them. You are choreographing an experience for them to meander through and need to create an inclusive environment that takes into account – them.
Not as a delegate but a person. Embrace the changes that are happening and be prepared for the new reality of a delegate experience.
“You can map out and control the guest experience right from registration to post-event. You should be thinking ahead to what everyone is going to need before they get there. The level of communication they need, the amount or signage so they can get straight into the queue and through quickly to make it stress free and pleasant experience.”