The role of a modern professional conference organiser (PCO) is to help conferences and events succeed by adapting to the needs of the organisation and target audience. PCOs offer a wide variety of services, from securing venues to developing marketing plans.
Most individuals with little or no experience in conference organisation recognise the benefits of a PCO. Still, it can be much harder to identify when you need professional support when a larger group of people are responsible for the event.
You will likely need support by a professional conference organiser like Congrex if:
1. You struggle to reach your ticket sales targets
There could be several reasons why you have struggled to reach your ticket sales targets, including ineffective marketing, registration pricing, or unappealing guest speakers and activities.
A professional conference organiser will analyse your previous events and competitors to identify the main issues and how to fix them. Professional Congress Organisers will be able to use their broad skillsets and industry connections to fill your conference venue with the right kind of guests and delegates.
2. You struggle to secure high-quality speakers
Great conferences have great speakers, but how can you obtain them for your events? Professional conference organisers are experts at identifying and securing relevant, reputable speakers and negotiating terms that benefit both parties.
Your difficulties may have come from a poor reputation, lack of brand awareness, unclear communication with the speaker, or struggles to make contact in the first place. Since PCOs are experts in event organisation, they have vast experience across all these situations and can resolve them quickly and quietly.
3. Contract negotiations are difficult and time-consuming
Professional conference organisers spend time developing relationships with suppliers and businesses worldwide. These relationships help them complete negotiations for your conference needs (e.g. hotels, transport, venues, etc.) much more quickly and efficiently.
The relationships PCOs build often mean they can get the best deals on venues and suppliers – enabling you to use your budget in other areas or make a greater profit.
4. Your event goes over-budget
With so many suppliers, speakers, marketing costs, and other expenses, it can seem all too easy for your conference to go over budget. However, PCOs are experts at navigating even the smallest event budgets to achieve success by utilising their connections for the best deals and lending their expertise in driving ticket sales.
PCOs help you streamline the financial management of the event by budgeting for each area, bookkeeping, and ensuring you are tax compliant.
5. You have had issues with event logistics
Logistics may not sound like the most important aspect of conference organisation – but even the slightest delay can ripple into major issues for your suppliers, speakers, and attendees. Simple elements like ensuring individuals have sufficient time to travel from their accommodation to the conference venue can contribute to a great event experience.
Professional conference organisers know exactly what considerations need to be taken without being disruptive to the wider event.
Read more: Successful Conference Management For The 21st Century
6. Your attendees do not feel like VIPs
Every attendee at your conference, regardless of ticket type, wants to feel like a VIP in some way. This does not mean they need a red carpet rolled out in front of them, but rather that special considerations are taken to ensure they have a pleasant experience.
This is often a heavily administrative task focused on getting the details right – e.g., are there food options for all dietary requirements, is wheelchair access needed (or ground-floor accommodation)? Professional conference organisers take on all these duties to ensure you ask the right questions and implement suitable measures to make every attendee feel cared for.
7. You run out of time to organise your event effectively
There is no denying that there is a lot to organise regardless of the size of your conference. Tasks often get deprioritised until, suddenly, the day of the event is here, and some elements have not been fully addressed. In this situation, you will often have to hope that these deprioritised areas do not lead to a larger issue or major disruption during the event.
With their vast experience in event organisation, PCOs know how to ensure everything is taken care of effectively so that your event can run smoothly and stress-free.
8. You are slow to respond in a crisis
If a crisis occurs, you need to quickly respond and resolve it. Otherwise, you risk damaging your reputation, losing profits, and creating a poor experience for your attendees.
Professional conference organisers are not only able to predict what is most likely to go wrong, but by being professional problem-solvers, they are often able to respond in a timely and calm manner.
9. You do not enjoy your own conference
Once you have organised your conference or event, you should be free to enjoy it. Unfortunately, you can often get distracted by issues and spend the whole conference firefighting or too worried to truly engage with the seminars.
Professional conference organisers aim to pre-emptively solve problems in advance, and take responsibility for everything on the day, even if issues do arise. This leaves you free to experience your event as an attendee and build relationships with key suppliers for the future
A professional conference organiser is likely to be able to solve any challenges you’ve had with your previous meetings, conferences, and events. To avoid time-consuming, stressful, and costly issues in the future, see how our team can help organise your next event.
Congrex Switzerland is an internationally operating agency delivering customised solutions. This encompasses the overall organisation of conferences and meetings, including the management of hotel rooms and strategic consultancy. Annually Congrex Switzerland organises approximately 45 events with over 73’000 delegates. Amongst our clients are international associations, governmental organisations, and corporations. Call Us Now
