ReTweet this! They may be on Facebook, but they’re not really looking for us…
Meeting venue customers, like just about everyone it seems, have infiltrated social networks fairly heavily, but most of them are not looking for their next venue there. At least not yet.
As part of my MA research project I surveyed nearly 600 meeting venue customers to gauge the extent to which online meeting booking has penetrated the meetings industry. One section of my questionnaire asked respondents of four different generational cohorts to consider their usage of social networks and I think the results should provide pause for thought for venue marketing teams planning and implementing social media strategies.
On average, I found that 69% of respondents operate one or more social networks. 29% of these ‘follow’, or ‘like’ organisations that they have bought from in their personal lives, but only 19% of these use these tools to follow suppliers of theirs from work.
My findings suggest very strongly that social networks are to be considered personal space, and that suppliers are not particularly welcome there. People just don’t seem to want to receive advertising in their personal time in this way. I’m not entirely surprised though, neither do I, if I’m honest.
Of the ‘big three’, Facebook was the most popular amongst the my respondents, with 56% saying they maintained accounts. LinkedIn is used by 36% with Twitter accounts held by 15% of the meeting venue customers surveyed. Other social networks were mentioned occasionally, but none achieved more than 1% penetration.
As might be expected, the highest level of engagement was seen within the youngest cohort, Generation Y, 91% of which operates one social network or more. Although usage of these websites declines as age increases, when it comes to liaising with workplace suppliers, actually, a larger proportion of the so-called ‘Veteran’ generation interact with their business suppliers using social media.
That one did seem unusual, I admit. But perhaps they have only joined these networks recently to see what all the fuss is about. They’re in the unusual position of having less experience of this than their younger colleagues do, so they’re signing up to everything they can to try and absorb as much as possible. Also, fewer of their friends are available to them, so they have more capacity available.
So what are the implications to those of us building a social media strategy? Well, I think they’re pretty clear and quite simple. Work out how your customers want to stay in touch, and make it easy for them (and you) to do so. Some will want emails, some like the telephone, and some like social media, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket and don’t try and force people down a road they don’t want to go down. By all means operate a social network, but don’t be surprised if four out of five people don’t want to join it and don’t dedicate your every waking moment to cultivating it. Take care with LinkedIn too – would you want to share a network of your customers with a network of your competitors, however well you may get on when you meet?
Written by:
James Bland
Group Marketing Manager
The Sundial Group
Highgate House
Creaton, Northants, England
The International Association of Conference Centres is the global home for IACC approved conference centres. Corporate meeting planners, event organizers, and businesses select IACC meeting venues for corporate training sessions, sales meetings, board retreats, and customer special events. Discover why IACC Conference Centers do meetings better and find the right conference centre for your next event.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
What Goes into Your Recycle Bin?
If your hotel and conference guests are offered a container for recycling their waste, do they know what to recycle? Do you?
Many recycling regulations vary by state, or even by county. Aluminum soda and food cans are readily accepted by recycling facilities practically everywhere, so recycle away! Newspapers, notebook or printer paper, and small cardboard can also be recycled everywhere. Be sure to communicate to your guests the best way to recycle these items, as they are bound to be used during conferences and meeting events.
Some areas define what types of plastic are recyclable by the small numbers printed on the bottom of the containers – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7, with 1 and 2 being the most abundant. Plastic numbered with a 1 is the easiest and most common recycled plastic, as its plastic makes up beverage and medicine bottles and is re-purposed to make winter jackets, comforter fills, and life jackets. Number 2 plastic is usually a thicker material, found in laundry detergent containers and shampoo bottles, and can be recycled to make toys, plastic lumber, and rope. Plastic number 6 is easily made into Styrofoam, packing peanuts, and disposable cutlery.
Other areas forego the number categorization entirely and create new regulations. In Forsyth County, North Carolina, for example, plastic with a “neck,” or any tapering at an end, is recyclable, and the numbers make no difference. Find out what types of plastic can be recycled in your area and mark it clearly on containers located within your establishment. Mostly everywhere, plastic bottle lids are not recyclable and must be discarded, as they are made of a different plastic, so make sure your bins make this clear.
Knowing what should be recycled and what to throw away will be especially helpful for guests visiting your location from out of town.
Written by:
Alison Shermeta-Gentry
Special Events Account Manager
Graylyn International Conference Center
Many recycling regulations vary by state, or even by county. Aluminum soda and food cans are readily accepted by recycling facilities practically everywhere, so recycle away! Newspapers, notebook or printer paper, and small cardboard can also be recycled everywhere. Be sure to communicate to your guests the best way to recycle these items, as they are bound to be used during conferences and meeting events.
Some areas define what types of plastic are recyclable by the small numbers printed on the bottom of the containers – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7, with 1 and 2 being the most abundant. Plastic numbered with a 1 is the easiest and most common recycled plastic, as its plastic makes up beverage and medicine bottles and is re-purposed to make winter jackets, comforter fills, and life jackets. Number 2 plastic is usually a thicker material, found in laundry detergent containers and shampoo bottles, and can be recycled to make toys, plastic lumber, and rope. Plastic number 6 is easily made into Styrofoam, packing peanuts, and disposable cutlery.
Other areas forego the number categorization entirely and create new regulations. In Forsyth County, North Carolina, for example, plastic with a “neck,” or any tapering at an end, is recyclable, and the numbers make no difference. Find out what types of plastic can be recycled in your area and mark it clearly on containers located within your establishment. Mostly everywhere, plastic bottle lids are not recyclable and must be discarded, as they are made of a different plastic, so make sure your bins make this clear.
Knowing what should be recycled and what to throw away will be especially helpful for guests visiting your location from out of town.
Written by:
Alison Shermeta-Gentry
Special Events Account Manager
Graylyn International Conference Center
Monday, June 7, 2010
Has Your Property Ever Been Affected by a Natural Disaster?
The oil spill that started off the coast of Louisiana in May is affecting hotels and conference centers all around the Gulf Coast. The Knowland Group recently conducted a survey (of only 50 Gulf Coast hotels) and found that 42% were experiencing meeting cancellations. Most cancellations are for the next 6 months, so there may be ways for these properties to maintain their sales and revenue in other ways.
This is a huge environmental disaster and unfortunately it is not something that can be cleaned up in a matter of months, or possibly even a few years. It made me wonder if any IACC properties are being affected by the spill, or if any properties have been affected by similar natural disturbances. Leave a comment about your experiences and any suggestions to help replace the cancelled meetings.
This is a huge environmental disaster and unfortunately it is not something that can be cleaned up in a matter of months, or possibly even a few years. It made me wonder if any IACC properties are being affected by the spill, or if any properties have been affected by similar natural disturbances. Leave a comment about your experiences and any suggestions to help replace the cancelled meetings.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Do We Live In An Age of Distraction?
On May 9th, President Obama gave the commencement address to graduating seniors at Hampton University. The main topic of his speech was the importance of using the technology we have available as a means to make ourselves and our world better, rather than just a form of entertainment. He called our current time an "Age of Distraction" in which cell phones, TVs, laptops, and iPods all demand portions of our time each day.
This topic is one that greatly affects the conference center and meeting industry. Faster, better technology is constantly demanded in RFPs, and it will only continue to grow. As industry professionals, how can we ensure that we provide the technology that is necessary to make meetings smooth, current, and efficient, but also effective? Is there such a thing as too much technology use in a meeting?
Read through this commentary, "Meetings in the Age of Distraction," and leave comments!
Also, Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all veterans and those currently serving our country!
Written by:
Meghan Bollenback
Food & Beverage Manager
R. David Thomas Executive Hotel & Conference Center
This topic is one that greatly affects the conference center and meeting industry. Faster, better technology is constantly demanded in RFPs, and it will only continue to grow. As industry professionals, how can we ensure that we provide the technology that is necessary to make meetings smooth, current, and efficient, but also effective? Is there such a thing as too much technology use in a meeting?
Read through this commentary, "Meetings in the Age of Distraction," and leave comments!
Also, Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all veterans and those currently serving our country!
Written by:
Meghan Bollenback
Food & Beverage Manager
R. David Thomas Executive Hotel & Conference Center
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Telephone Tips
Seeing as the Emerging Trends Committee has a conference call scheduled for today, I thought this article was quite timely. The following tips provide some good guidelines for how to hold more effective calls that maximize input from the group and minimize lost time. Tip 5 caught my eye as there has been so much talk recently on how technology is changing the way we meet. These are good things to share with clients and co-workers alike.
10 Rules for Effective Conference Calls
Written by David Lavenda
1. Keep statements short and ask for frequent feedback
When many people participate in a call, it is easy for minds to “wander.” Keep your statements short. Ask for feedback frequently. Ask direct questions. Don’t ask, “Are there any questions?” but rather, “Dan, what do you think about this phase of the project plan; are we under-budgeted?”
2. Don’t use slides if you can avoid it
Looking at slides laden with text is really, really boring. You can easily kill a discussion with slides. And worse, you can’t even control what people are looking at – most of them are skipping ahead to see how much pain they will have to endure. The smart ones will clock the amount of time spent on each slide, then extrapolate to calculate how long the torture will last.
3. If you must show slides, don’t send them ahead of time.
Don’t send slides ahead of time. You blow all your ammo before you get your partners on the phone. They will probably have gone through the deck before they get on the line – freeing them up to read email, news, or play Solitaire while you drone on and on.
Even if you don’t send slides ahead of time, try not to subject people to slides via WebEx or GoToMeeting either. Rather, use primary sources of data. For sales calls, show real product demos, for project meetings, show project graphs, high-level financial information, etc. If you must show slides, limit them to just a few and make sure that these rock. Slides aren’t a crutch for not being prepared. Rather, they are an aid.
If participants want the slides, send a set that summarizes the call, after the call. This will serve as a meeting protocol. Even if they don’t look at them right away, it represents a good summary for future reference.
4. Send out an agenda ahead of time and stick to it
Whether a sales call, status meeting, product feedback meeting, support call, etc. – make sure you have an agenda so everyone knows the purpose of the call, approximately how long it will last, and what they are expected to prepare before the call. This reduces anxiety for all. When people dial in to an audio call, they don’t have the visual cues that are present with a face to face meeting – the added clarity of the agenda makes the call go smoother.
5. Use video if possible
Since you don’t have visual cues on audio calls, people mute their phones and tune out. Then they do really important things, like play video games, carry on parallel conversations, or just sleep. Providing visual cues through video keep participants engaged. Skype and other VOIP services offer video as a basic service – there is no reason not to take advantage of it.
6. Let the participants know if you are recording the call
Some companies record calls for a variety of reasons (to retain summaries, for training purposes, etc.) – if you are on the call with people from other companies, make sure you let them know you are recording the call…and make sure they are okay with this.
7. Start on time
If you calculated the amount of time wasted waiting for people on conference call in your company, you would be amazed. 6 people waiting 10 minutes, is 1 hour of productivity in the toilet.
8. Make sure the moderator dials in early
9. Don’t dial in from a mobile phone
Don’t dial in from a mobile phone or from a land line in a noisy place. If you must call from a mobile phone, make sure you are in a quiet spot, that you have good cell coverage, and that you have a full battery (or a recharger). There is nothing more annoying than background noise on a call. It’s hard enough to concentrate on a clear line, with many people on the line.
10. Set limits on call duration
This is even more important than setting time limits for face-to-face meetings, since the amount of energy lost in a call exceeds that of meetings. The lack of feedback is a huge energy zapper. Limit calls to reasonable lengths so folks know what to expect.
Do you have any additional tips to add to this list? Or, any funny stories from conference calls gone wrong?
10 Rules for Effective Conference Calls
Written by David Lavenda
1. Keep statements short and ask for frequent feedback
When many people participate in a call, it is easy for minds to “wander.” Keep your statements short. Ask for feedback frequently. Ask direct questions. Don’t ask, “Are there any questions?” but rather, “Dan, what do you think about this phase of the project plan; are we under-budgeted?”
2. Don’t use slides if you can avoid it
Looking at slides laden with text is really, really boring. You can easily kill a discussion with slides. And worse, you can’t even control what people are looking at – most of them are skipping ahead to see how much pain they will have to endure. The smart ones will clock the amount of time spent on each slide, then extrapolate to calculate how long the torture will last.
3. If you must show slides, don’t send them ahead of time.
Don’t send slides ahead of time. You blow all your ammo before you get your partners on the phone. They will probably have gone through the deck before they get on the line – freeing them up to read email, news, or play Solitaire while you drone on and on.
Even if you don’t send slides ahead of time, try not to subject people to slides via WebEx or GoToMeeting either. Rather, use primary sources of data. For sales calls, show real product demos, for project meetings, show project graphs, high-level financial information, etc. If you must show slides, limit them to just a few and make sure that these rock. Slides aren’t a crutch for not being prepared. Rather, they are an aid.
If participants want the slides, send a set that summarizes the call, after the call. This will serve as a meeting protocol. Even if they don’t look at them right away, it represents a good summary for future reference.
4. Send out an agenda ahead of time and stick to it
Whether a sales call, status meeting, product feedback meeting, support call, etc. – make sure you have an agenda so everyone knows the purpose of the call, approximately how long it will last, and what they are expected to prepare before the call. This reduces anxiety for all. When people dial in to an audio call, they don’t have the visual cues that are present with a face to face meeting – the added clarity of the agenda makes the call go smoother.
5. Use video if possible
DARA
Frank, what do you think?
(No answer.)
DARA
Is Frank still on the line.
(More silence…)
FRANK
(Fumbling to unmute his phone)
Oh, sorry, did someone ask me something? I had the phone on mute.
Since you don’t have visual cues on audio calls, people mute their phones and tune out. Then they do really important things, like play video games, carry on parallel conversations, or just sleep. Providing visual cues through video keep participants engaged. Skype and other VOIP services offer video as a basic service – there is no reason not to take advantage of it.
6. Let the participants know if you are recording the call
Some companies record calls for a variety of reasons (to retain summaries, for training purposes, etc.) – if you are on the call with people from other companies, make sure you let them know you are recording the call…and make sure they are okay with this.
7. Start on time
MIKE
Is Bob on the line?
(No answer.)
MIKE
Bob?
(Very long silence.)
MIKE
Can someone call Bob on his mobile and see why he isn’t dialing in?
If you calculated the amount of time wasted waiting for people on conference call in your company, you would be amazed. 6 people waiting 10 minutes, is 1 hour of productivity in the toilet.
8. Make sure the moderator dials in early
KATIE
Hello? Anybody else there?
HEATHER
Anybody there?
TOM
Yoo hoo?
(All three wait on the phone, listening to the Scorpions’ ‘Still Loving You’ loop over and over, until the moderator joins.)
9. Don’t dial in from a mobile phone
Don’t dial in from a mobile phone or from a land line in a noisy place. If you must call from a mobile phone, make sure you are in a quiet spot, that you have good cell coverage, and that you have a full battery (or a recharger). There is nothing more annoying than background noise on a call. It’s hard enough to concentrate on a clear line, with many people on the line.
10. Set limits on call duration
This is even more important than setting time limits for face-to-face meetings, since the amount of energy lost in a call exceeds that of meetings. The lack of feedback is a huge energy zapper. Limit calls to reasonable lengths so folks know what to expect.
Do you have any additional tips to add to this list? Or, any funny stories from conference calls gone wrong?
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