High Tech and High Touch
A Winning Combination for Meetings
by Larry Skaja
President of Conference Management Systems, LLC
High technology can enhance the experience of attending a meeting or visiting an exhibition. But, this is true only if it is balanced with "high touch".
About two decades ago, "Megatrends" guru John Naisbett coined the notion of high touch. He referred to several examples in his famous book where companies were using technology to improve the quality of customer service. I believe "high touch" can now be defined as a true combination of human interaction and user-friendly technology.
Most association meeting planners are using some technologies in either preparing for or during their annual meeting, conferences, or seminars. This might simply include the computer on their desk that has Internet access to enable searching the worldwide web for destinations, hotel specifications, literature, check lists, etc. More and more planners are using technology to save time and money.
The more advanced planners are also using their organization's website to not only announce and promote an upcoming meeting, but to also allow potential attendees to register online with secure credit card transactions or to request more information via downloadable fax-back forms. Every planner should make their organization's site "user-friendly" by providing e-mail hotlinks to staff along with searchable databases for course information, abstracts, speakers, etc.
The really savvy planners will offer various ways for attendees to use their website to create Personal Planners which facilitate their meeting/expo experience. In these ways, planners can use technology to create high touch in the way of personal service, easy access to information, and contact with staff for answers and assistance.
Some organizations are even providing ways for attendees to interface with speakers before and after the meeting as a way to enhance the total learning experience.
Despite many earlier predictions that technology would replace the need for people to meet face-to-face, both corporate and association executives are now renewing their belief that personal contact away from the office is the best form of communication. Meetings are still the best way for people to share concepts, exchange ideas, view products, and learn from each other. For example, most attendees would agree that in a typical situation the audience, as a COLLECTIVE WHOLE, knows more than any speaker. This is a good thing to exploit for a more meaningful educational experience for attendees.
We, of course, learn from session speakers but meeting attendees also with more interactive alternatives. So, how can modern planners address this basic method of education? They can start by using technology to foster discussion among audience members as well as provide the means for attendees to make more personal contacts via a central messaging system, to learn at interactive forums before, during and after the meeting, and to visit on-site technology centers where attendees can get hands-on experience with programs and data.
As part of the pre-work for a meeting, attendees can submit questions via online forums to speakers, which will be addressed in meeting sessions. In addition, the post meeting work can include a broader exchange of views and information via a chat room among an audience of attendees, presenters, and others. This all has global implications by spreading the educational content far beyond the walls of the meeting room. I believe the "true wealth" of most associations is information that must be shared with the greatest possible audience.
One of the best case studies of how technology can help provide "high touch" is the Avon Call Center created by Conference Management Systems. Avon, a well-known seller of cosmetics, has an annual sales meeting of about 10,000 representatives. The meeting consists mainly of two mandatory sessions and six optional sessions.
Avon management wanted to be able to quickly register all 10,000 people for the event and initially assign the sessions. Yet they also wanted to allow individuals to easily change their schedules AFTER receiving their written confirmations. CMS set-up a system to allow a "warm transfer" of callers to Avon. So, when a call was received at Avon, the staff person quickly transferred the caller to the CMS registration office, but stayed on the line to introduce the Avon caller to their CMS contact. In this way, there is no "voicemail hell" or "hunt and peck" procedures. Very friendly . . . in other words, high touch to give the caller the feeling of being handled with efficient courtesy despite the high volume of calls each day.
For meeting planners, high touch attention can be placed in other areas such as trade shows. Planners can offer the latest in technology for their exhibitors as well as attendees. Most exhibitors are there because they want to meet new customers and be able to effectively follow-up on sales leads after the exhibition.
By offering systems such as CMScan, which contains a hand-held laser scanner for instantly reading attendee badges with 2-D barcodes, data storage via a computer disk for capturing attendee demographic information, and optional paper printouts, the planner makes the experience of visiting a booth faster, easier, and hassle-free for both attendee and exhibitor. Exhibitors love it especially since a good deal of information about the "buyer" can be put into the bar code. This includes not only name, organization, phone, fax, etc. but can also provide a buying profile. This kind of technology puts high touch into action on the exhibit floor!
So, what else is in the future of most meeting planners? I believe the next generation of attendees, sometimes called Generation Y, will present a special challenge. This group has grown up with computers, beepers, cell phones, MTV, and the Internet. Gen Y'ers expect technology to work and demand that it make their experiences easier, faster, and more enjoyable anywhere, anytime.
Just as Avon and CMS found a way to make technology handle a troublesome chore of massive session changes for thousands of attendees in a high touch, very human way, more and more meeting planners will be challenged in the same manner. You must find ways to make technology work for you and your members/attendees.
More than ever, it is vital for planners to understand and utilize technology advancements to better market their meetings and to satisfy the evolving needs and higher expectations of their attendees. Are you ready for these new realities? I hope so. Otherwise, cyberspace will become your no man's land of the future.
Bio:
Larry Skaja is the founder and President of Conference Management Systems, LLC (CMS) of Park Ridge, Illinois. CMS is an established national supplier to the convention and expo industry with its own lead retrieval system and full service registration. CMS also supplies temporary staffing, voice messaging, product location, air ticketing, and meeting planning services to associations and companies. The client list includes such well-known corporate names as Avon, Pampered Chef, American College of Surgeons, American Hospital Association, and the Direct Marketing Association.
Prior to forming CMS, Larry established Windjammer Travel in 1974 which specialized in general travel--both retail and corporate--for the meetings and convention industry. They also handled incentive travel along with registration and housing services for associations.
