The morning after.....

The event is over. It's been a great success and you [the organiser] are exhausted. The presenters and performers have had that adrenalin rush and are now on a bit of a down. Energy is low. But the event is over and there is nothing left on the task list so that's fine...or is it? What about the audience, how are they feeling. Hopefully pretty pumped. If all has gone well they will be filled with new ideas and itching to act. Unlike the event team, they are primed to talk.

We all know how hard it is get peoples attention. We hold events for that very reason: We get  the undivided attention of the audience for the time they are in attendance. But don't forget the post event phase. There is a small window of opportunity in the days following an event where the audience will be far more responsive to communication because the memory of the event is still fresh, and, if they enjoyed the event, they have some sense of obligation to engage with you. They will take the call, read the email, do the survey [maybe that's going too far!] They are open to your communications. How long does this last? Anecdotely I would say 3 to 5 days. The 'follow up' sweet spot. As event organisers we can be guilty of not planning for that post event period other than the eval form. But in the battle for customer attention this post event opportunity should not be wasted: secure that sales meeting, get that sign up, get them to do whatever it is you need to achieve your objective.

We would be interested to hear about any great post event strategies to extend engagement. As always we will share this back with the community.