Unconferencing Some Elements of Mainstream Conferences

Matin Brown of Isite wondered if it could be “The future of conferences?”. He was refering to the BarCamp a form of unconference that’s gaining a lot of popularity among the tech savvy conference-goers. Pam Broviak has so interestingly reported her Barcamp Chicago event in a post entitled Barcamp, Social Media and Pizza.

In a previous post, we have pointed out a few shortcomings of the unconferences and to read that you may hop in here. All these notwithstanding, we understand how innovation is so crucial to the growth of the conference industry thoughout the world. While we do not think mainstream conferences will take the form of Barcamp and other unconference types on the whole, just the same, we are of the opinion that the way future conferences are organized may consider a lot of the elements of uncoferences in it. Here, we came up with this list of what mainstream conference organizing can learn from those who calls themselves “unconference unorganizers”:

1. No Spectators. That’s the Barcamp motto, and is reflective of how a conference, ideally, ought to be designed for maximum participation.

2. More Participant-focused. A regular conference can evolve from the speaker-centered events to an exciting mix of experts engaging the delegates with the more participatory workshop type where the audience are active co-creators of content.

2. Networking Value. Pam Broviak tells of how “I retained more from this conference than I normally would at a more traditional event and met more people”

3. Pricewise. Its low-cost if not totally free. While it certainly cannot be duplicated by high-fee corporate mainstream events for the infrastructure and preparation they mount for every event, it can make organizers re-think pricing models and innovations that gives conference-goers options for smart conference going at less price.

4. Social Media rules! “Because many of us were following each other on Twitter, we could post comments or converse online with others in the room or even with people we knew who were not there.” Pam Broviak on Be2Camp.

4. Real global interconnections. Pam Broviak recounts “I sent out a Twitter about the online tool with a link. Martin Brown picked up on this, as we follow each other on Twitter, and he visited the Web site noticing that it was run by someone in Hungary….So within hours, information from a presentation given in Chicago reached London and then Hungary resulting in the participation of a professional in Hungary at a future barcamp in London.” That’s lightning speed in today’s interconnected world and emphasizes how important connectivity is to a well put-together conference.

5. Conferences can be “fun”. “The basis of the conference seems to be that it is totally informal and completely engaging “. While a lot of conference goers are keen to go about their events in style–urban tastes, exciting destinations– there can be ways to make the rmainstream events features more spontaneous, fun and stimulating.

6. Persistent conversation. Unconferences run attractive wiki pages prior to and after an event where ideas for topics are welcome prior to the event, and collaborations are made persistent and structured long after the event is over. This can be adopted as a way of incorporating social media softwares as a way by which new conference learning styles can be constructed and propagated.

7. Don’t forget cuisine. A specially prepared, full course meal that caters to variety of tastes is part of the entire conference experience that organizers must never fail to consider. Please, no cold, boring lately-served meal that looks like you ought -to -pray -it will be tasty. Otherwise, we’d have to say Barcamp’s “coffee and doughnuts in the morning, pizza for lunch, and a get-together at an Irish bar” sounds far more exciting.

An Evolving Global Industry

The conference industry is said to be one that is maturing rapidly yet ironically, is quite an “immature industry”. Why is this so? Relatively speaking, it is a very young industry — barely 50 years of history as an established one in Europe and North America, and even younger in most of the rest of the world. To a great extent, its so called immaturity as industry  is due  to an apparent lack of reliable statistics and regular research to provide a base of intelligence and information on trends and on the size of the value the conference industry.

Through the decades, it is also quite apparent that governments have not taken the conference industry seriously as a major benefactor of national economies precisely because it has been impossible to demonstrate clearly the economic impact that conferences can have. This is quite unfair considering the benefits of the industry in energizing local economies throughout the world:

Exciting destinations!

Great profitability

Conferences cater to the “high quality high cost “and therefore, “high yield ” end of the market. A 2001 study of conference visitors to the UK show how conference visitors from overseas spend an average of three times more than any other visitor for all categories in the country. The greater spending power of business tourists means increased economic benefit for the host destination and a greater return on its investments in infrastructure and marketing.

All year round activity

Conferences place throughout the year with peaks in spring and autumn. Many smaller conferences and meetings are also held during winter months. The all year round nature of conferences also leads to the creation of permanent jobs, as opposed to the seasonal temporary jobs oferred in other tourism or leisure industries.

New opportunities for collaboration!

Future inward investments

One of the ways a conference adds value to a locale is by giving delegates a pleasant, positive experience of the destination. this means showing them the most attractive scenic parts of the destination. When this has been undertaken, so many delegates do return as leisure visitors, bringing their partners and families for a holiday or short break. A business visitor who leaves with good impression of the conference destination becomes some sort of an ambassador for that place, these are often influential people whose opinions of the destination will be instrumental in a destination’s image building.

Green tourism

Little negative impact to the environment than mass leisure travels for instance. Conferences are concerned with smaller numbers at much “higher spend”. Conference delegates travel together as a group making it possible to educate them about the community and increasing the likelihood of their revisit or considering to stay an extra day in other spots of same destination.

Given all these, we at Conference Bay are happy to do our part towards making the conference industry a more energized, dynamic industry. To start with, we want you to come away with opportunities as it relates to this vibrant industry, whether you are a delegate, a conference organizer, speaker or sponsor. We are working and running our beat to keep you attuned to recent trends in this important global industry and the conditions in which they are taking shape. We shall provide statistics and valuable information such as sweeping changes that have occurred in the last so many years.

How is the conference industry evolving in today’s information era? What are the trends of increasing demand at events around the world? How is the conference industry growing alongside tourism industry? How is technology shaping the future of the conference industry?  All these and more as we assess various aspects of the conference industry and how it will drive into the future.

Conference-in-Focus: AQ Services International Customer Service Excellence Conference

We first came across this buzzword at the turn of the 21^st century – the term Experience Economy was described in a book written in 1999 by B. Joseph Pine and James H. Gilmore titled “The Experience Economy”. It is supposed to be that NEXT big stage to follow the agrarian economy, the industrial economy and the most recent so called service economy.

This is exactly the value we drive at Conference Bay – to design and orchestrate memorable events for our customers. We always say delightful conference experience, means conference without the hassle. Then that experience becomes our product! We offer conference going without the hassle commonly associated with it. For instance, we aggregate relevant conferences by topic and location and offer online tools to book conferences or alternatively to save on your conference seat by bidding for it. This, we submit is the natural course in the value added by our business over and above other things.

The experience economy is also considered as main underpinning for customer experience management. We have a classic example to show you here from AQ Services International with their Half Day Conference on Service Excellence.

Goods and services are no longer enough. To be successful in today’s increasingly competitive environment companies must learn to “stage experiences” for each one of their individual customers. Recollecting a delightful experience is remembering the product positively.

They have taken every innovative step to make this event a Conference apart from all their past offerings. First, they have put all bids up for sale. In an interview with Herman van Breemen, he says of this innovation “ At AQ-Services we think that customer service should be on everybody’s agenda. Yes we have put all seats up for bid ! I believe this innovative approach lets every company decide how much they think customer loyalty is worth instead of setting a fixed rate for a conference. With this approach we want to trigger companies to think about this. Yes, why not? It began as a curiosity and indeed, curiosity is fundamental to every achievement!”

Setting the price free is a smart way to persuade people to visit conferences even during an economic downturn. We see this as shaping the way conferences are organized and attended now and in the years to come. “All companies involved with rendering services have to realize that sharing experiences can provide knowledge to all. Knowledge to gain market share, to understand customer behavior, to recognize new marketing methods, to explore the market! Our approach, by setting the price ‘ free ‘ can only attract the real entrepreneurs. It’s not about the money…..it’s about the ideas …….it’s about backgrounds……it’s about sharing…….it’s about winning!”

In this conference, it will be discussed how front line performance can make or break a business in this experience economy. Services, for instance values such as hospitality, are intangibles, Herman van Breemen maintains they can they drive value for customers and grow profit for businesses in solid ways. “In today’s experience economy service excellence plays a major role for the customer. Poor service is the number one reason why customers turn to the competitor. Exceeding their expectation will lead to loyal customers and therewith, growth for your business.”

Herman maintains that the experience is everything and “Nowadays the experience is growing! Various researches show that the experience is considered more important than the product on itself. This is visible in restaurants, luxury stores, hotels etc. There is an incredible downfall when talking about customer loyalty. The customer expects a certain level of service and only exceeding the customer’s expectations can lead to more loyal customers. To benefit from this trend companies must offer the perfect customer experience to prevent them from going to the competition.

A lof other conferences are based on figures, percentages, martketshares, etc. This one is based on something else, something different! Namely people. No business without people! Customer loyalty is underestimated but still one of the major components to continue business relations. So let’s focus on this customer! How can we influence and understand their behaviour in order to learn and benefit from their loyalty. It used to be that “What you see is what you get… but experience goes beyond everything…!”

Serve Better, Sell More! Bid for this new conference experience! You get to meet like-minded, interesting people in this cool venue in Carcosa Seri Negara, Malaysia. How cool is this, no fixed rate, YOU decide how much loyal customers are worth! Make your bid now for the Service Excellence Conference Day.

Head on to Conference Bay simply register and placeyour bid by clicking ‘the service Excellence Button!’ Any reasonable offer will be accepted !

My ‘Champagne’ Conference on a ‘Beer’ Budget

Take it from seasoned conference goers who have tried them all — that’s us at Conference Bay! You can attend a conference in style and it need not cost you the world. A few quick tips here:

“A Conference minus the hassles can be a delightful experience and need not cost you the world.”

• Worried about hotel bills? Track down relatives or buddies in the conference city. Be creative and get yourself invited into their homes. Consider it as a way to bond with relatives and friends who happen to be in the same locale. And how about visiting mom?

• Consider staying in a Youth Hostel, they also have private rooms with bath and are often equipped with facilities like gyms and swimming pools. Be on the alert for bed-and-breakfast programs offered by several organizations.

• Don’t just fall for the inexpensive place. It maybe cheap but consider transport arrangements Plan your stay around walking and public transportation.

• Share a room. You can use your blog or social network to look for a potential roomie. Having a roommate can be fun and gives you a chance to discuss what you’re learning. It is also a chance to reconnect with a colleague who has moved to a new city

• If you must stay in a hotel, consider their freebie offerings. Choose one that provides free breakfast.

• Go slow on restaurant meals, if any. Find the closest grocery store and get your supplies, a picnic in your hotel room is a cool idea. Since you are on travel, bring food that you can easily grab on the go — granola bars, dried fruit, coffee fixin’s, and a travel mug.

• You can take advantage of the conference travel for that long due summer trip with your spouse or significant other. They get to explore the place while you’re in meetings, but you can have fun moments in between.

• Cash in frequent flyer miles to pay for the airline ticket. Check out special air fare offerings on the net.

• Take advantage of vendor receptions and meals.

How about saving on the conference seat itself?

Yes you can now attend a conference that fits your budget by using Conference Bay’s online bidding system.

You have the option to register as a regular paying delegate by finding conferences by topic and location on our site.

What’s cool is that you can also bid for you next conference seat, by telling us the price you are willing to pay. You surely want to find out how that works !