Yet again, we're seeing how associations are using questions and engagement as a way to drive revenue and engage members with a personalized experience.
As a reminder, the way we engage constituents is this philosophy of "intelligent engagement". We ask questions, primarily via email, and automated workflows utilize "actions" to present the respondent with information specific to how they answered. We ask something about them or their opinion, and leading them down a path based on their needs or interests, we know how to present them with something that's highly relevant to them. And we do this several times over the course of their member journey.
Watch our "splainer video" to see what we do.
There are 3 ways we see associations embracing "Intelligent Engagement" as part of their Virtual Conference member experience:
1. Pre-event Registration Drive
2. Event Registrant Engagement
3. Post Event Membership Drive and Cross-selling
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PRE-EVENT REGISTRATION DRIVE:
A couple weeks ago in a blog post, I showed you how International Technology Law is taking non-member webinar registrants and putting them into a PropFuel Intelligent Engagement Campaign to drive them to membership. GREAT use of PropFuel.
Similarly, we have another client using "intelligent engagement" to drive registrants to their Virtual Conference. This is very much a marketing campaign designed to drive conference registrations.
So in the case of this virtual event, our client is sending our a handful of questions over a 3 week period leading up to the event asking questions related to the topics at the conference. Depending on how the person answers, they will see more information about this topic along with other compelling content and a promotion code enticing them to register for the upcoming event.
Here's how - It's simple:
1. Target a segment with a specific goal in mind: Increase Conference Registration
2. Ask them a question to ID what's important to them: Which of the following topics is most important to you in your profession?
3. Present them with a compelling solution based on how they answered the question leading them to the conference registration.
This is an approach to driving conference revenue. It's not a silver bullet and it's not meant to replace your other marketing campaigns. It's another approach to improve the numbers, and one of many ways to drive revenue with "intelligent engagement".
EVENT REGISTRANT ENGAGEMENT:
Utilizing "Intelligent Engagement", conference registrants will receive questions the 2 or 3 weeks leading up to the event. Each email has 1 question they answer right in the email. These campaigns tend to drive about 50% response rates and can offer insight for the conference organizers as well as provide recommended sessions for conference registrants based on how they answer questions.
Then the day after the event, some associations ask a one question evaluation, while others use a survey tool or their conference platform for the evaluations. Using "intelligent engagement", the evaluations could trigger automated requests for testimonials, or they may send an alert internally if someone had a horrible experience and needs a personal follow-up.
Finally, a week or a month later, some associations send out an "effectiveness" question to gauge the impact the conference had on the attendee's day to day operations, and also leading to other products and services the organization or sponsors offer.
POST EVENT REGISTRANT DRIVE AND CROSS-SELL:
So your event has come to a close. Now is the time to convert any attendees that are not yet members. Let's get them on-board. Or perhaps there's an opportunity to offer additional credentials, volunteer opportunities or courses to your attendees. By sending out a series of targeted questions, we can identify which resources or opportunities are most likely to draw our attendees even deeper into the organization.
BONUS: SPONSOR BENEFITS
In addition to the "intelligent engagement", your sponsors can gain additional exposure through email ad space, dedicated sponsor questions or sponsor oriented landing pages.
If you like "intelligent engagement" and you're interested in applying it to your conference, in person or virtual, let us know.
