Tips for Personalizing Attendees’ Experiences at Your In-Person Events

Today, event teams are exploring new ways to elevate their on-site experience, from virtual reality to AI-generated videos. While these things may dazzle attendees, the most important aspect of an on-site experience isn’t the atmosphere or the entertainment — it’s personalization. Personalization is the driving force behind event engagement. When attendees feel that an event caters to their specific needs, they are more likely to have a positive experience and invest in your brand.

Here are a few ways you can personalize the in-person experience: 

Ask the Right Questions

Personalizing in-person experiences begins with registration. Use past event data to create a familiar and inviting experience for return attendees. Instead of asking those attendees the same general registration questions they’ve answered previously, ask only the necessary event-specific questions. For new attendees, reduce barriers to entry by keeping your registration process short and to the point. 

Use AI and Other Tools to Build Custom Agendas

Machine learning and artificial intelligence make it possible to sort through thousands of attendee interactions to form meaningful recommendations. Combined with platform automation, these turn the dream of creating custom agendas for every single attendees into a reality. 

Greet Your Attendees 

Let attendees know they’ll get a great experience the moment they arrive at the event — or even before. Some event organizers leave gifts in VIPs’ hotel rooms. Many assign staff to act as greeters at the registration desk. A warm greeting adds a personal touch.

Reimagine Attendees’ Badges

There are several ways to personalize your attendees’ badges. Event organizers often segment groups with different colored badges, or incorporate various symbols, patterns, or designs to provide a unique look for specific groups of attendees. Carefully thought-out badge design helps organizers manage access to different parts of the event while helping attendees build a sense of belonging.

Make Your Mobile Experience Meaningful  

Session recommendations are key to personalizing attendees’ experiences. One of the best ways to share those recommendations is with mobile push notifications. Let attendees know about the best sessions and activities for them based on their job title, industry, preferences, or past behaviors. Mobile apps also allow attendees to keep track of their personal agenda. 

Offer Dynamic Gamification

Another way to direct attendees to the right event activities is through gamification. When designing your event game, think through which attendees should complete each action. Provide attendees awards that would appeal to their persona. For example, client attendees might play to win a free service or product, while employees might play to win a trip. 

Say Thank You

Whether it’s through an email or a hand-written note, the perfect follow-up to an in-person event experience is a sincere thank-you message. Make sure messages include attendees’ names, and consider which internal team or person your thank-you note should come from. Include a signature if possible. Personal details make attendees feel known and valued.  

To summarize, event teams can personalize attendees’ experiences in a variety of ways, including streamlined registration, badges, gamification, and more. Regardless of how you choose to tailor attendees’ experiences, your efforts to personalize event engagement will result in increased engagement. This increase in engagement will leave a lasting impact on attendees, inspiring them to continue interacting with your organization.