This document discusses using experience mapping to collect real-time feedback from event attendees to improve their experience. Experience mapping involves regularly surveying attendees throughout an event using tools like mobile apps and dashboards to monitor feedback. This allows event planners to proactively address any issues and ensure attendees have a positive experience. It was tested successfully at one event and found to generate higher response rates and satisfaction than traditional post-event surveys. The presentation argues this approach will help planners move from simply executing plans to crafting the attendee experience and using data to continuously enhance events.

1. #ASAE14
Master Mind: The Future
of Meetings & the Benefit
of Experience Mapping
August 12, 2014
9:00 – 10:00 AM
hashtag: #asae14 LJ6

2. #ASAE14

3. #ASAE14
How many of you have
read something on your
post show survey that if
you had known, you
could have fixed onsite?

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A Simple But Radical Concept
• We will no longer wait to assess an
attendee’s event experience by surveying
after the event, when the experience is over.
• Instead, we will assess attendee satisfaction
throughout the event journey and make sure
attendees are satisfied.
• We will use data to change the experience
attendees have so they achieve their
professional objectives.

5. #ASAE14
We Want to Shape the
Future While We React to the
Present
• Big data and cloud computing are the future –
where data collection and interpretation are
heading.
• Gathering data to make more strategic decisions
enables us to affect the trajectory of a strategy/
concept (proactive vs. reactive).
• Using attendee data to map the journey
attendees have at events gives us the unique
opportunity to actually shape the journey.

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How?
• If an attendee is having a good experience, we
can use data to engage and make it a GREAT
experience (fulfilling the brand promise).
• If someone is having a poor experience, we can
interrupt the journey and repair and elevate it
(recover and enhance the brand experience).
• In effect, we can change the outcome attendees
have at events!

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How Do You Track
Attendees
Experiences?

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Attendee View

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Back End View

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New Issue Monitoring
Dashboard

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Beta Testing- Great Ideas
Results
• 70 Beta Testers- 14% of Conference Attendees
• 28 questions
• 43 text, 27 email
• Saw a decrease in responses on the final day
• 66% average response rate vs. 49% for post
show evaluations
• First day- 85% response rate

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Beta Testing- Great Ideas
Results

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Post Show Evaluations vs.
Experience Mapping
• Generally very similar results
• 70% of the questions that matched, Experience
Mappers had slightly higher satisfied/happy
responses
• For recommending the conference to others,
Experience Mappers were more likely to
recommend.

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Future Vision
• Incorporation into the app
• Questions prompted based on what
the attendee is doing at that time
• Do we need post show evaluations?
• A database where ASAE members
can compare their members
experiences with other like
associations

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What Effect Will This
Have on You?

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Listen to the Data

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Who Uses This?
• Enhance and improve your existing
events
• Build new, customized events
• Proactively engage your attendees
• Create evangelists and grow
attendance

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Producing
• Next step in planner skillset evolution
• Adding a new layer to existing planner
skills
• In some places – a new role
• In other places – part of your current
job

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Growing from Planner to
Producer
Planner
Producer
Execu,on
of
Plan
+
Crea,ng
the
Vision
Annual
Events
+
Translate
Targeted
Events
for
New,
Key
Audiences
Flawless
Logis,cs
+
CraFing
AGendee
Experience
Manage
BoGom
Line
+
Focus
on
Event
Growth
Deliver
a
Successful
Event
+
Sees
Events
as
Integral
to
the
Success
of
the
Organiza,on

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New Skills
• Translating and Curating
• Learning Theory
• Design Thinking
• Audience Statement Development
• Organizational Vision
• Product Development

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• Photo of eating on floor

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Summary
• Collecting real time experience of
attendees and allowing us to
proactive instead of reactive.
• Change the attendee experience for
the positive.
• Allows us to identify gaps in our
meeting and allows us to get closer
to perfection.

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And Shoot for the Moon

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Contact us
John Parke, CMP
President & Chief Executive Officer
Leadership Synergies LLC
jparke@leadershipsynergies.com
608-367-6632
Beth Surmont, CMP
Senior Manager, Strategic
Programs
IEEE Meetings, Conferences, &
Events
b.surmont@ieee.org
732-562-3985
Allison Wachter, CEM
Director, Registration &
Exhibitions
ASAE
awachter@asaecenter.org
202-626-2817