Alexander is a Senior lecturer and Academic Subject Lead in hospitality, events & Tourism and a Business Consultant focusing on new products and new concept development.
A recent article on Millennials and the Experience Economy outlined three strategies for event and hotel operators to stand out in a highly competitive, tech-savvy environment where experiences are a key element of customer demand. The opinion article focuses on three key areas for organisations to address: customer reviews, breaking down the customer journey, and personalisation (Net Hospitality, 2018). For event management enthusiasts and operators, these are, and will continue to be, critical areas to focus on as the sector rebounds significantly post-pandemic.
Customer engagement
The article emphasises the need to practically engage with customers by addressing reviews and feedback in a responsive way that can be measured by event operators. This relates to a key consumer demand for fast, responsive problem-solving of specific issues, requests, or goals across the customer journey. Furthermore, the need for effective, data-driven performance metrics to ensure key customer objectives and user experience requirements are met will remain a priority for event operators. Creating unforgettable experiences requires event operators to truly understand the needs of their customers and identify the best approach to communicate and achieve those aims.
Therefore, the core elements of project management are essential in almost every aspect of event planning, highlighting the need for graduates to continue their learning journeys and seek opportunities for growth as they embark on careers in the event industry.
A focus on the customer journey during the event means that operations concentrate on the overall customer experience rather than isolated issues (Rolfe, 2020). By identifying recurring breakdowns in the customer journey, operators are far better equipped to address challenges and deliver a memorable experience based on their accumulated insights. Personalising various touchpoints of the experience can create truly unique interactions across areas such as the venue, ticketing, stage design, food and beverage, and programme schedule.
Truly memorable events are often staged around the concept of "escaping." As Pine et al. (1998) suggest, this reflects the idea that people seek experiences as a way to escape from their everyday routines and realities, as illustrated in Figure 1.0.
Customer journey and personalisation
Based on research and data trends, there is a need for multisensory engagement and an understanding of the role events can play in building connections and relationships, both among individuals and between consumers and brands. As Leachman and Scheibenreif (2023) state, great customer experience is 90% getting the basics right and 10% creating special moments. Event design must be a skilled, creative endeavour that incorporates an element of artistic interpretation for the customer.
Moreover, in recent years, we have witnessed the return of in-person events and corporate gatherings, which are reaching levels close to those seen before COVID, coupled with a strong demand for online and digital events. Reports have highlighted how technological advancements in the event space have progressed rapidly, with the use of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and other technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and event apps (Evans, 2024).
Figure 2.0 demonstrates some of the significant benefits of event technology on customer experience, attendance, and lead conversion.
As outlined by Berridge (2007), some key areas of consideration in terms of the customer journey include the need to focus on building anticipation for the event by creating excitement and incorporating elements of surprise for the guests through creativity, unique settings, and live performances. Furthermore, the sense of arrival plays a significant role in customer satisfaction. Ensuring a sense of occasion, a warm greeting, a seamless check-in process, and effective flow design for the venue can have a huge impact on distinguishing yourself in a highly competitive environment.
Based on the need for a multi-sensory experience, the atmosphere can be enhanced by thoughtfully considering lighting, music, and even scent. The three A’s of Appetite, Activity, and Amenity are key to encouraging participants to engage and stimulating their senses through technology and interactive experiences. Additionally, it is essential to understand what the customer takes away from the event and how we can ensure the event remains memorable. This highlights the importance of post-event follow-up and customer engagement, which can also serve as a valuable source of data for continuous improvement.
By utilising empathy mapping, we can pinpoint the pain points and challenges that personas encounter during their customer journey and develop detailed empathy maps, as outlined by...
For example, a business traveller might struggle with time constraints and the need for a quiet workspace during the event. Empathy mapping also sheds light on the goals and aspirations of your personas, such as what they are hoping to achieve during the event. It can further reveal behavioural patterns (Kaplan, 2023). For instance, if you discover that event customers are highly influenced by online reviews, you can prioritise managing your online reputation and target customers through various social media initiatives.
Conclusion
Based on the findings, we can see how the key to successful event conception and implementation is a focus on customer reviews and feedback to align the event to consumer needs and industry trends, a breaking down of the customer journey and key touch points with a focus on experiences at each part of the customer journey and the personalisation of the event through an understanding of what the customers key needs and objectives are by utilising key data and empathy mapping. This combined with creativity and a coherent approach to the event management process from conception to delivery with stakeholders are some of the key elements of delivering unique and meaningful events.
Read more from Alexander Muir
Alexander Muir, Senior Lecturer & Business Consultant
Alexander is a Senior Lecturer & Academic Subject Lead in Hospitality, Events and Tourism and a Subject Matter expert in Hospitality for leading universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Alexander also works as a business coach and consultant for charitable organisations and his family-owned food manufacturing business, The Clare Jam Company Ltd.
He has extensive operational management experience at some of the leading hospitality management companies, such as Dorchester Collection, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Rosewood Hotels and Sketch London.
References:
Evans, N. G. (2024). Strategic Management for Tourism, Hospitality and Events. Oxford: Taylor and Francis., p.290. eventify.io. (2023). Top Emerging Event Technology Trends to Be Followed In 2023. [online] Available here.
Kaplan, K. (2023). When to Empathy Map: 3 Options. [online] Nielsen Norman Group. Available here.
Leachman, L. and Scheibenreif, D. (2023). Using technology to create a better customer experience. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available here.
Pine, J. and Gilmore, J. (1998). Welcome to the Experience Economy. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available here.
Process Street (2021). 7 Ways Salesforce Achieves Complete Customer Engagement Using The Four Realms of Experience | Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software. [online] Available here.
Rolfe, A. (2020). Segmentation, targeting, positioning & the buyer persona. [online] www.professionalacademy.com.Available here.
