Congress - News
There is no business like “digital” business
Robbin Grouwels
It is March 12, we are glued to the tube and watching the press conference of Prime Minister Rutte and Minister Bruins. Expected but not hoped, the minister announces: “events and meetings with more than 100 people will be cancelled throughout the Netherlands”. Very soon many of our clients faced the dilemma: to cancel or postpone?
In the following 2 weeks, our clients planned meetings with us en masse to discuss the future of their meeting. This quickly resulted in an empty 2020 agenda. You get bogged down in a "freeze" mode in no time and it is difficult to get out of it. Fortunately, we quickly formed a strategy with our team and advised our customers based on the following 3 pillars:
- Be grateful, the client is still with us
Cherish what we do have, even if it is only next year. Continue to serve our clients as best as possible. - Be flexible, our clients didn’t choose for this either
Also, the client has put a lot of time and energy into the congress. We don’t charge our clients with extra hours for the postponement or cancelling. Instead, draw on the fact that we now have more time to organize the congress next year even stronger. We think of it as a challenge that we can get even more satisfaction next time. - Be of added value, digital meetings are needed more than ever before
Postponing the congress doesn’t mean that you don’t have to do anything for the time being. It can be of added value to organize an in-between webinar to keep your sponsors and potential guests connected.
Advising on digital meetings was actually a necessity. We are not a fan of it, but nothing else is possible. It is safe to say, we must have watched over 50 webinars in the same period. All from different suppliers, mainly to experience what it is like to participate digitally in a meeting. In general, we at Klinkhamer Group are not of the "early adapter" principle, but rather look quietly at the offer and then choose the best platform for the specific client. As a result, we now have a nice range of suppliers that we can link to our clients. That is the added value we are looking for!
And are you going to organize such an online meeting? Then stick to the following tips:
- Choose a platform that matches your program instead of adapting your program to the platform. There is sufficient supply!
- Unlike physical participation in a conference, the concentration-time online is much shorter. Keep your online meeting short and to the point!
- Set up a studio from where a moderator directs viewers through the program.
- Keep it interactive. Sending is forgotten, involvement is remembered!
- Instruct speakers in advance and provide clear log-in instructions for the viewers.
- Report on the meeting. Record the presentations and make them available after the meeting!
Conclusion?
The measures surrounding COVID-19 have forced us to organize other forms of meetings. Fortunately, there are plenty of tools available and although the shift from physical to online will require the necessary adjustments, for now there is no business like ‘digital’ business.
In this blog, a number of tips are mentioned that help to organize an online meeting. Curious about what other tips and platforms are available? Do not hesitate to contact us!
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There is no business like “digital” business
It is March 12, we are glued to the tube and watching the press conference of Prime Minister Rutte and Minister Bruins. Expected but not hoped, the minister announces: “events and meetings with more than 100 people will be cancelled throughout the Netherlands”. Very soon many of our clients faced the dilemma: to cancel or postpone? In the following 2…