Eventex B2B Match Highlights: How to change attendee behavior to maximize ROI with Dr James Morgan

In case you missed out on Eventex B2B Match this April, we have good news — we are bringing you insight from the live sessions during the 2-day online networking event, to help you discover strategies and solutions to elevate your work and get ahead of the curve. So, it’s time to take a look at one such winning strategy with Dr James Morgan, Director of Digital at Riyadh Exhibitions Company, who shares insight on how to create a change in attendee behavior to maximize the event’s return on investment. 

Creating Attendee Behavior Change to Maximize Event ROI

James’ presentation offers an in-depth understanding of behavior change dynamics, how to create in-event emotional triggers that facilitate behavior change, and how to design a post-event strategy to maintain behavior change and maximize ROI.

4 steps to change 

The 4 steps to changing attendee behavior are involved in the pre-event process, as well as during and post-event. 

1. Contemplation

This is the first step to change. What event planners, designers, and marketers have to do first is persuade people to get into the room. 

Their behavior changes from not knowing about the event to contemplating to attend. 

The change is facilitated by the use of persuasion techniques. Content that creates interest or curiosity, or even #fomo will provide a trigger to register or RSVP to an invitation.

We have to get people to contemplate their behavior change. Further marketing communications that use images and text to trigger positive emotions can be used to anticipation the experience.

2. Preparation 

This stage covers preparation for people to change their behavior. It is about what happens when people get to the event. The outside space matters too, and especially in the case of a product launch, could be utilized with posters, images with QR codes, which can start changing the behavior. For example, through a QR code accessing product information.

So we start using these preparation tools to actually get people to start changing their behavior.

Another example of preparation is a product launch that features product demonstrations, information on the product, or even a box wrapped up before the reveal that creates the emotion of curiosity. 

What the behavior change is with a product launch is I don’t have this product today but I want to buy that product tomorrow. 

3. Actions 

This is where event organizers need to provide: 

• Activities 
• Endorsement 
• Evidence 

All with the purpose of giving people a reason to change their behavior. 

People are not just going to change their behavior if you give them a free pen with a logo on it. 

4. Maintenance 

This involves some kind of support, or further education to maintain the behavior change. This could happen through communication, such as sending out a special kit that goes out a couple of weeks after the event. 

What we are looking at doing is maintaining that behavior change. Marketing communications post event that may offer new product information, endorsements, discounts, loyalty points, and other marketing tools will maintain the attendees' behavior. 

For more in-depth insight and examples of changing attendee behavior, watch the live session for free.

About Dr James Morgan 

Dr James Morgan is the Director of Digital at Riyadh Exhibitions Company, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was previously the Dean at the International Tourism and Hospitality College in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Principal Lecturer and course leader for the MA Tourism Management and MA Event Design courses at the University of Westminster, London. He has a PhD in Tourism Development and Destination Regeneration. He is also the founder of non-profit Event Tech Lab, a partnership community for event technology companies, event professionals, and investors.

About Eventex B2B Match 

Eventex B2B Match lets event professionals network seamlessly with participants spanning the globe, attend live sessions by industry superstars, and discover solutions to elevate their work.