2022 is going to be an exciting year for businesses. The past two or so years have been confusing with meetings being canceled or rescheduled due to a pandemic that the world is still recovering from. However, with life slowly getting back to normal and global economies opening up, it has become clear for most businesses and entrepreneurs that there is a need to do things differently. As many move into the New Year, 2022, it is essential to have a strategy to deal with meetings, events, and conventions. The last thing you need as a company is to be caught off-guard because you did not anticipate or plan for potential changes. You need to have some forecast based on what has happened this year.
What Happens if an Event is Canceled? What Do You Do?
Even as the dust settles, businesses have to find a way to keep them going. Sudden cancellations and postponements have hurt business progress, most of which has not been so good. This has happened a lot in the past few months because of different travel restrictions and bans in different countries.
Unfortunately, while the intention of such bans was good, event organizers and product marketers seemed to have been on the receiving end. Therefore, it is becoming apparent that there is a need to find a solution to support the continuity of such forums with or without travel bans and restrictions.
However, responses depend on the side that sits on this matter. Exhibitors and product marketers will undoubtedly respond differently than event/convention organizers.
For Exhibitors
Teams need to move swiftly to build campaigns and marketing strategies that address the gap created by such shifts. If you already have buyers who have set times and dates to meet, send representatives to them instead. Ensure you reach out to the customers within the first 24 hours of the event’s cancellation.
For those who may have had product launches as part of the canceled events, it is a good idea to shift the launch or go through with it but on a digital platform which may mean investing more. Alternatives such as webinars and in-booth presentations should work. Lastly, contact the event organizers for promotional opportunities with registered attendees. This may make it easy to reach your audience through online media.
For Event Hosts
Event organizers need to come up with contingency plans. It is important to explain any changes that may have resulted from the cancellation to attendees. Email campaigns should help you get the word out faster. However, it is always a good idea to find out whether there is an impending cancellation or restriction before planning an event.
Planning an Event Post COVID the Challenges
The COVID pandemic changed many things, including how meetings were held. There have been numerous virtual meetings and events thanks to the social distance requirement by governments. However, the most significant challenge with holding conventions and events during this period has always been maintaining or achieving safety.
As such, many organizers turned to virtual platforms. Unfortunately, this is costly considering the number of staff required and the expensive equipment needed to achieve results.
Moving into 2022, most companies may still maintain some virtual presence during such events, only that it may not be full-blown because of the cost implications. However, organizing a conference will still be a significant challenge considering the fluctuating government rules and restrictions since the COVID pandemic trends are still not stable.
What Will Be the New Norm for Events and Conventions
Despite the expected challenges, one thing is for sure, and that is the fact that life must get back to normal. Economies suffered massive blows during lockdowns and many businesses even closed shop as they could not cope. Things have to go back to some normal if businesses are to thrive.
Consequently, a new way of doing meetings and events/conventions will undoubtedly emerge. This is what industry experts call hybrid meetings, which involve virtual and in-person attendance. As a result, it will be easier for more people to attend such meetings and conventions, especially when they do not have to worry about the cost as many pay out of pocket.
The only downside is that panning such events and meetings will be a lot harder than many people appreciate. Everything must turn out right from the graphics to people’s appearance. So it may take longer than 2022 for things to get back to what they were.
People may still not be convinced to attend in-person meetings and conventions where many are gathering, especially international events. As such, you should be looking forward to some element of hybrid meetings for all kinds of events in 2022.
2022 will be an interesting year for event organizers and marketers in general. Everyone is waiting to see what will shift since there has been a lot of influence from the past few years.