Association Q&A: Event Marketing

How do you convert event attendees to association members?

How do you convert an association event attendee to become an association member? If a non-member shows up at your event, you are already 50% of the way there! Here are three proven association recruitment strategies for converting your association event attendee to an association member: Raise your association event pricing for non-members. If you provide enough […]

How do we know if we have a strong association value proposition?

Many associations are beginning to wonder if they have a strong value proposition. Not too many years ago, associations assumed that they did have an outstanding value proposition: membership was growing, recruitment was easy, retention was simple, and times were good.  Then the economy hit a bumpy stretch, and membership declined.  More concerning, the economy improved, but […]

When should our association send our event registration brochure?

The correct timing for sending your association’s event registration brochure depends on the answers to these questions: 1) How far in advance does your target audience tend to schedule meetings, vacations, etc.? 2) How much information has been made available to your target audience prior to the registration brochure? The question of how your association’s target […]

What should we name our association’s event?

Choosing a name for your association’s event falls into two camps. Either it’s easy because you will use the name of your association, along with a word such as “convention” or “expo”, or it is a major undertaking because your association has to come up with a new, exciting, dynamic name. If your association falls […]

How should our association deal with our event’s competition?

If your association has a competitor that offers a similar event to a similar target audience, you have three options: 1) Ignore them. 2) Work with them. 3) Compete with them. Your association’s decision to ignore, work with or compete with your event’s competition is critical. If your association makes the wrong decision, it could […]

What data should our association evaluate after each event?

When evaluating how well your association convention performed, total attendance is obviously a good place to start. However, beyond the top-line total attendance number, your association should be asking: – What type of attendees registered for your association convention? How did the association perform with each of those types versus year ago? Do you see […]

How can our association optimize our event marketing media plan?

An association’s media plan consists of several elements such as the association’s target audience, its goals for reach (how many people) and frequency (how many times), target CPM analysis (what is the cost per impression of reaching the target audience with different vehicles such as direct mail, print ads, web banners, etc.), and timing (spreading […]

Should our association event marketing mention our competitor’s event?

It wasn’t too long ago that most associations seemed to have the only relevant show for certain industries. But it is more common today to have significant competition for your association’s event from other associations or for-profit organizations. Given this competitive environment, whether or not to mention your association’s competition for purposes of comparison is […]

Should our association offer an early registration discount?

Having a pre-registration discount period, often called an “early bird” registration, has several advantages for your association meeting or conference. Among them are: – It provides an incentive for attendees to register early for your association’s event, giving you a better feel for the registration trends and required on-site resources. This early trend information can […]

How can we maximize revenue from our association meeting attendees?

Your most profitable customers are often those who have purchased from you before. However, in the case of association convention and meeting attendees, the association often stops selling the moment their registrations are complete.Here are a few ideas that may help you maximize revenues from these customers:– While they are registering for your association event, […]