Creating personalized event experiences for your attendees can make or break your next event. People are constantly bombarded by endless content and choices, which can leave them frazzled and overwhelmed. Attending a convention or trade show with an abundance of choices but no direction can have the same effect. That’s where event personalization can help.

What Are Personalized Event Experiences?

Event personalization means understanding the interests and goals of your attendees and using that knowledge to create a custom journey for each of them. The more you’re able to personalize the event experience for attendees through customized agendas, targeted networking and curated content to give them exactly what they want without having to make a lot of small choices, the more you’ll improve engagement and satisfaction. Participants will leave your convention having had a uniquely valuable and impactful experience, enticing them to come back next time.

“Personalization in events is just a fancy way of saying that festivals must cater to the interest of the attendees, artists and vendors,” says Laurie Kirby, president and owner of FestForums, a B2B event for music, film, food and wine festival organizers, and industry leaders. “The whole idea of a festival is that like-minded people come together to create shared memorable experiences.”

The Advantages of Personalizing Your Next Event

Creating a personalized event experience is critical in the events and meetings industry for several reasons. Not only is it advantageous for attendees, but event organizers and hosts will also see the benefits. Personalization can:

Enhance attendee engagement — Attendees are more likely to engage with content and activities if they feel the topics presented are relevant to their interests and goals, creating meaningful connections between attendees and the event speakers.

Improve attendee satisfaction — When attendees feel like an event was designed with them in mind with carefully curated topics and activities, rather than a generic, wide-ranging host of topics, they’re more likely to have a positive experience and return in the future.

Increase ROI for organizers and sponsors — Personalized experiences can lead to more targeted interactions and better data collection for event planners and sponsors, which can help them measure success more accurately and refine strategies for future events. It can also drive higher conversion rates for exhibitors or sponsors seeking qualified leads.

Create better networking opportunities — The more personalized an event is, the better you’re able to help match attendees with others who share a similar interest or goals, making networking more valuable and productive.

Make your event stand out — Offering personalized experiences can differentiate your event from others, which builds a unique brand identity that encourages loyalty, which in turn, will have your attendees spreading the word to industry peers.

Increase online buzz — Personalizing your event can make your attendees feel special. The more special they feel, the more likely they’ll share their experiences on social media, which will help extend your event’s reach and visibility.

Gain access to real-time feedback and adaptability — Through specialized mobile apps and other technology, you can collect real-time data during events through personalized alerts, content recommendations and other interactive features, allowing planners to adapt on-the-fly.

Personalized experiences can lend themselves nicely to creating an emotional connection for attendees if done well. Tailoring content and experiences could be as simple as using data to make recommendations through an event app. Maybe it is about creating a VIP experience to elevate your convention, including special seating. Anything added that creates an element of exclusivity, like a private dining room or including one of the high profile keynote speakers as a guest, can make an event seem special.

Even small touches can provide great impact. Elevating your swag and making it personal goes a long way. Taking the time to write a welcome note for attendees or putting a customized snack in each room is sure to be memorable.

But those extra touches fall flat if they re not truly customized to each attendee in the right way. For example, if you provide a basket of pastries as a snack and the person is gluten free, it is a waste of your efforts and will not endear your attendee to you.

How to Personalize Your Next Event Experience

Think of event personalization as the difference between going to your favorite fine-dining restaurant versus going to a standard buffet. Imagine walking into a buffet where everyone gets the same meal — no matter your dietary needs, taste preferences or mood. Maybe you’re vegan, allergic to peanuts, or just not in the mood for pasta. That’s how a generic event feels — fine for some, frustrating for many.

Now, imagine going to your favorite fine-dining restaurant. What is it that keeps you coming back? Do they greet you by name? Do they know your dietary preferences? Perhaps they’re able to suggest specials based on what you liked last time and even offer you the option to customize your meal. This restaurant knows and values you as a customer, which makes you feel special and more likely to recommend it to others.

Similarly, people remember how they were treated at events. Creating personalized experiences turns attendees from passive observers into active participants, making them feel like your event was made especially for them.

How can you create a personalized experience for your attendees at your next conference or event?

The first step is to remember that your attendees come first. Keep this in mind during every step of your planning process, from choosing the venue to program curation to catering. Next, define your goals and metrics to help guide you in your planning process. Do you want to increase attendee engagement? Generate more leads? Increase networking opportunities? Whatever you choose, you can tailor your event according to these goals. This can help you measure the success of your event, create metrics and monitor them throughout the duration of the event so you can make adjustments as needed.

Keep your sponsors, vendors, partners and other stakeholders in mind while planning your event to foster collaboration and increase their sense of ownership. In return, you’ll most likely get more support and participation from them.

One of the most important steps in creating personalization is to gather and measure data using mobile apps, registration systems and actively monitoring social media. Analyze the trends and patterns in this collected data to help you make informed decisions in your planning.

Kirby says that planners must have an organic understanding of what the attendees want in order to create a successful event, which takes time, research and a deep appreciation of the needs of the audience. It’s how she plans all of FestForums events, with the preferences and interests of her event’s attendees. “We analyze registration details, session, attendance and surveys to adapt our program to their interests,” she says. “A lot of attention is focused on networking that helps attendees get to know each other in an informal but valuable way.” The goal is always to foster meaningful connections and grow business for the organization.

Today, badges are more than just a way to get you in the door. They provide connection and increased access. Photo courtesy of Cvent

Using Technology is a Must

Technology can significantly enhance the personalization of events by enabling planners to collect and analyze data about attendees’ preferences, behaviors and demographics. Through event apps, registration platforms and social media integration, planners can gather insights that allow for customized agendas, targeted content and personalized communication before, during and after the event. Tools like AI and machine learning can recommend sessions, networking opportunities or exhibitor booths tailored to each attendee’s interests. Additionally, technologies such as RFID, beacons and facial recognition can help track engagement in real-time, allowing organizers to adjust the experience dynamically to better meet individual needs and boost satisfaction.

Here are a few tools that can help you when it comes to customizing your next event for your attendees:

Smart Registration Forms — User-friendly, web-based forms that streamline the collection of information for various purposes, such as event registration, user sign-up or data entry, offering features like customized questions, validations and conditional logic.

AI-Powered Event Apps — Mobile or web applications that use artificial intelligence to enhance the planning, management and attendee experience at events. These apps offer features such as personalized agendas, smart matchmaking for networking and real-time recommendations based on user behavior and preferences. They can also support chatbots for instant customer service, automate surveys and feedback collection and provide organizers with valuable insights to improve event outcomes.

Dynamic Event Badges — Interactive name tags or credentials incorporate technology to enhance the attendee experience. These badges can include digital displays, RFID or NFC chips, and sometimes Bluetooth or QR codes, allowing for real-time updates, personalized information and seamless interactions. They can also enable contactless check-ins, track attendee movements for analytics and facilitate instant information sharing between attendees and exhibitors with a simple tap or scan.

Wearable Tech — Smart, body-worn devices — like wristbands, lanyards, badges or even clothing — that enhance the attendee experience and streamline event management. These devices often incorporate technologies like RFID, NFC, Bluetooth or GPS to enable features such as contactless check-ins, cashless payments, personalized content delivery and real-time attendee tracking. Organizers can also use wearable tech to gather data on attendee behavior, improve crowd control and create more engaging, immersive event experiences through gamification or interactive installations.

Facial Recognition or QR Check-In — Facial recognition check-in uses cameras and AI to identify attendees by scanning their faces, allowing for fast, touchless and secure access without the need for physical tickets or badges. QR check-in, on the other hand, involves attendees scanning a unique QR code — usually sent via email or stored in an event app — at designated entry points to verify their registration. Both methods reduce wait times, improve event flow and enhance security, while also enabling real-time attendance tracking and data collection for organizers.

Personalized Push Notifications — Targeted messages sent directly to attendees’ smartphones or devices through an event app, tailored to their individual interests, behavior or location. These notifications can provide real-time updates such as session reminders, schedule changes, networking opportunities or exclusive offers, all based on each attendee’s profile or activity.

Real-Time Polling and Content — These interactive tools allow organizers to engage attendees instantly during sessions or presentations. With real-time polling, speakers can ask questions and receive live feedback from the audience via event apps or dedicated platforms, displaying results instantly to spark discussion or guide the flow of the session. Real-time content might include live Q&A, interactive quizzes or dynamic slides that update based on audience responses. These tools boost engagement, make attendees feel more involved and provide valuable insights into audience opinions, helping create a more interactive and responsive event experience.

Data-Driven Networking Tools — Planners can leverage data analysis and algorithms to facilitate more effective and targeted networking opportunities, improving the overall event experience and engagement. You can use these tools for data-driven event planning to help you make informed decisions, offer networking services and gauge audience sentiment, as well as adjust event elements in real time.

The Challenges of Using Technology to Enhance the Personalized Experiences

While technology can be incredibly useful and efficient, it can come with its own set of challenges, especially when it comes to data collection. If it is not done well, it can come off as being invasive and overdone. It is difficult balancing between collecting enough data while not appearing too intrusive.

Once you have data collected, the next step is to think of the best way to utilize it. Which tools would work best to customize and personalize the experience and how do you make sure they integrate into the software you already have?

Putting all this together can end up costing extra money. In order to truly have an event that is personalized, a large budget may need to be allotted. If that is not possible, than customizing only portions of the event and charging a larger ticket price might be helpful.

It is important to build relationships with attendees and that comes down to how you interact with them. By giving them a bigger voice in the process, you are getting them more involved with the event creation and making them feel more important in the process. This is likely to get them to want to come back next year as well.

By having an event app that attendees can download and voice their opinion and pick the sessions they want to attend, it helps planners to better understand their audience and customize which events better fit their audience. Also, once attendees have chosen a session, planners can send a return thank you for registering to keep the communication going. It is important not to bombard attendees, but having just the right amount of back and forth interaction is key.

Be transparent with attendees. Planners who reveal how data will be used will have a better result. By expressing that the data will be used to customize sessions in the future and provide a better experience, attendees are more likely to participate. They also feel more vested in the process.

Personalization is Remembering the Little Things

However big a part technology plays in personalization — and it does — it’s also important to remember the smaller details you can implement to make your next event truly memorable and stand apart from the rest. Consider having ways to get swag personalized for attendees, maybe engraving a water bottle with someone’s name on it, for example, is a fun way to make what would be an everyday item seem more customized and something they might be more interested in holding on to.

Personalizing an event is a great way to keep attendees engaged and make your event more memorable.

Balancing data collection with concerns over privacy matters and logistics is key. When it is done properly, it will help to build an important bond with attendees and get them to promote your brand by creating an event they will never forget. AC&F