How to prepare for a meeting

The following content is a compilation of content shared by Xinbang Marketing Director Li Tienan at the event line's offline salon "Brand and Operation of the Thousand People Summit". Some of the content is colloquial. Please be informed.

Sharer introduction:

Li Tienan, Xinbang Marketing Director, joined Xinbang in 2014 and is currently responsible for Xinbang Market, Xinbang Academy, Xinbang Conference, Xinbang National Tour, etc. Project, has in-depth research on new media, and is good at new media operations, short videos, live broadcast e-commerce and other fields.

Content organization: event row

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Be a long-termist and find ways to experience the entire audience in every event , guest experience, and partner experience, to achieve the ultimate. In the process of continuous doing, we will accumulate word-of-mouth, and then a certain level of awareness will be formed in the entire industry. Through continuous output activities, we will continue to create links with this group of people through activities, and slowly accumulate potential energy. After the potential energy is accumulated, word-of-mouth will , the brand will slowly rise. Long-termism + value output + time compound interest, you will unlock excitement and joy.

The activity process is mainly divided into six steps! Market research - event establishment - event preparation - promotion & recruitment - event execution - event review.

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1. Activity framework

1. Activity purpose

This is the most important thing before doing the activity Question, why should I do this activity?

1) Enhance influence and strengthen brand.

2) Policy release, such as Toutiao’s Vitality Conference, Kuaishou’s Photosynthesis Conference, etc.

3) Sales and marketing companies have a standardized meeting process. There are no strict requirements for the information density of the meeting, but they emphasize the mobilization of atmosphere and have KPI indicators.

2. Market research

This aspect is relatively simple. Since we are doing activities in this industry, we must be able to reach some people in this industry, so it is better to do it face to face. , or through online chatting, or through questionnaires, or by asking some old employees of the company, or by looking at the competition in the same industry and the activities of competing products, we can basically draw conclusions. You can verify this conclusion, and you will understand the user's needs and the direction of the activity.

3. Determine the boundaries

If you want to understand why you want to do this activity, you basically have a rough map in your mind.

Start from now and work backwards to estimate how long the preparation cycle for this event will take. For example, it will take 30 days. From the current situation, work backwards 30 days to see whether it should be placed in the middle of the week or on the weekend. Who can decide whether to do a half day or a full day and the type of activity? Who will listen? What is the purpose of this activity? Basically, there is a general vague portrait. At this time, it is not accurately connected to the individual, but I know what kind of label it probably has and what kind of channels it can be reached through.

At the same time, boundaries are important! It draws some directions and knows what can and cannot be used.

1) The budget is different, and the entire boundary is completely different. Maybe due to limited budget, some venues will not consider it, and some teachers will not consider it either.

2) The number of people and the budget are also closely related. Doing an event for 500 people, an event for 1,000 people, and an event for 100 people are completely different concepts.

3) The duration basically determines the number of guests. Everyone is more keen on doing afternoon activities, which are relatively simple, starting from 2 pm to 5 pm, about 3 hours, 180 minutes, basically 6 guests, each guest 25 minutes, total *** 150 minutes, leaving 30 minutes, some roundtable forums and other sessions can be added in the middle. The middle control does not need to be so strict, but the number of guests and the length of sharing are inversely related. In addition, you should also consider whether the venue, meals, and transportation are convenient.

4) The venue is quite special in 2019. Many large-scale activities cannot be held from July to October. In addition, the Chinese New Year is relatively early this year. On January 25th, many large-scale activities are canceled. At the end of the year, and many annual meetings are also held at this time, the entire hotel cost will be driven up. In previous years, you might find a hotel two months in advance, but this year you have to find a hotel two months, three months or more in advance! In fact, there are not many places in Beijing that can accommodate thousands of people and have relatively convenient transportation. It may be that the west side is cheaper, the south side is cheaper, and the north and east sides are more expensive.

Through the above analysis, a rough framework will be drawn for what kind of activities we want to do. We must first determine the entire boundary, and then refine it. There is also an internal communication and running-in process, which is impossible. Make these very precise at first.

2. Activities

1. Confirm the theme

First, do not cause ambiguity.

The second is to let everyone understand the value of the activity, so that users can know what you want to convey to them.

For events within the industry, usually only the title of the guest is written, because everyone in the industry knows who he is, so there is no need to talk about the guest or what he has done in the event section. However, please note that for cross-industry events, you need to write introductions to the guests, because the audience comes from different industries and may come from all directions. You can judge whether the event is suitable for you through the introductions of the guests.

2. Time and venue

Generally, the venue is a large venue and a small venue. The big venue here refers to the city, and the small venue refers to the specific location. For example, it is determined to be at the end of December. When holding an event in Beijing, Beijing is a big venue. How long can a big venue lag behind? If there are many guests from out of town to participate, they will book their tickets in advance and confirm the venue half a month or 20 days in advance. If the event itself is attended by people from Beijing, we will send it to everyone one week before the event starts. The message is OK. ?

Generally speaking, weekends are better than working days, and Saturdays are better than Sundays. However, you must also consider the scale and impact of the event. Don’t put it on Monday. There are often many meetings on Monday, making it difficult to leave.

Afternoon is better than morning: try not to hold activities in the morning. For afternoon activities, the opening time should be slightly postponed and the end time should be postponed slightly, such as starting at 1:30 and continuing to 6 p.m. , can accommodate more guests and contain more information, which is more efficient and saves costs.

In addition, venue movement lines are very important in large-scale events. We must start from the perspective of "newbies" users, do not take it for granted, and consider the direction, route, congestion nodes, and booth spacing of people. , direction, and avoid "deserted booths" (booths where people cannot flow past).

It is best for the venue to be "rear-entry". The screen and the entrance are not on the same side. Do not enter through the front door to prevent the audience from crossing and blocking the line of sight. Set up isolation barriers in advance to avoid distraction. Generally, after doing more activities, you can basically take a look at the venue and you will have the entire construction plan. You will know where to put the sign-in table, where to put it in, where to put the screen, where to put the upper and lower stages, and where. Putting it on the console is basically pretty clear.

3. Determine key communication nodes

If an event with 500 people is held in January, working backwards, you must first confirm whether the event is free or paid, because free and paid The attendance rate is different. It should be calculated based on the attendance rate, how many people need to register and how many people are present. Based on the current resources at hand, push back. For example, if an event push can register 60 people at one time, it needs to be pushed five times. A node that has been pushed five times may be pushed twice a week, or once a week. Push it twice a week, maybe using different channels, once with the official account and once with the poster, so that the nodes of communication are basically out.

According to some major events in the entire industry, such as Double 11 or other events, we can predict some nodes, do not compete with them for traffic, stagger these nodes, and according to some special habits of people in the industry . Let me give you an example here. For example, in the live broadcast industry, if the live broadcast industry wants to distribute posters, it may be distributed at two or three o'clock in the middle of the night or four or five o'clock in the morning. The effect is particularly good, because in the live broadcast industry, the broadcasts are broadcast until one o'clock in the morning. At two o'clock, after the broadcast, we have to review with the team before going to bed. Based on these, we need to fine-tune the specific broadcast time points.

Materials are external publicity materials for the event, such as posters, key visuals, or backgrounds of guests, similar to some communication materials. These materials are helpful for recruitment or external publicity.

4. Problems with information entry

As the person in charge of the event, you have to set the theme, framework, tone and boundaries at the beginning. When cooperating with foreign countries, you are most afraid of encountering Several people are involved in one thing at the same time. Generally, when we hold an event, we will first establish a rule in the group: appoint a general person in charge in the company. He is not only the node for internal information collection, but also the outlet for external information, ensuring that all information enters and exits with one person within the company. , synchronized to the group and collaboration tools at the same time to avoid information gaps. An event requires teamwork. Each person is responsible for which part. Generally, the text must be written and synchronized to all partners. In short, the troops are divided into several groups, each performing their own duties.

5. Collaboration and transmission of information

This is particularly important, especially cooperative activities, such as multi-party hosting and government guidance, which are very difficult. , it is recommended that an event should not have more than three co-sponsors. If there are more than three, it will be particularly troublesome, because everyone has different perceptions and needs of the event.

Cooperative activities should be simplified as much as possible. At the beginning of the activity, the responsibilities of both parties should be clearly divided. You have the right to decide what things, and what things I will just inform you. I will handle everything else. , otherwise there will definitely be disagreements later, and it will involve a lot of time and energy to deal with this matter. This is external. The same logic applies internally. For example, for guests, especially at conferences, there are more than thirty guests in total. There may be 5 to 6 guests. The guests are divided according to sections, and each person connects with several guests.

Some guests cannot be contacted in person. Generally, the brand manager or assistant will be contacted, which involves the transmission and coordination of information. It is necessary to use some tools to prevent the attenuation of information during the transmission process, such as graphite documents, Youdao cloud notes, etc. The specific one to use can be chosen according to the internal situation of the company.

3. Guest related

1. Invitation list

After the event theme is decided, everyone has a brainstorming meeting together, and then talks about what you think Who is the guest? Everyone writes on the blackboard. After writing, use the elimination method, first do addition, then do subtraction, and then eliminate all inappropriate guests. For example, if I recommend this guest, why do I recommend this guest? What is good about this guest? What things have been done this year and which one should be mentioned particularly well.

There are only two aspects to the guest model, one is to do well and the other is to speak well.

To do well, you must have practical experience, because there is a difference between doing it and not doing it in the actual process. If you have done it, you can tell some important details, but they may be ignored by others. In this case, it will be rewarding for people in the industry, which is the so-called dry information.

Although some guests have never done anything, they have been observing the industry in depth. They have particularly good expression skills, aura and rhythm, and speak particularly well on stage. However, there are few such people. of.

There are also some people who do very well, but get nervous as soon as they get on stage, cannot speak fully or speak well, and cannot express themselves at all. For such guests, I suggest you not invite them, because they No matter how well you do it, if you can't express it on stage, it will actually be of no benefit to the audience, and the scene will feel awkward.

2. Guest Invitation

Be clear about these things: where and what size of event will be held, and how long will this event last? Who will be participating? Who are the guests on the stage? From the perspective of the guest, what is the value of this event to him or his company? During the invitation process, you must express these things clearly, whether in PPT or text, and pass them on to the other party.

For some events, among the guests invited in the early stage, there will be a lot of special celebrities, but in the end they can’t come. This is a particularly bad experience for the audience, especially for ticket sales events, and the audience may not come. When you buy a ticket, you just want to listen to one or two guests. In the end, you will find that the two people you want to listen to have not come at all. The scene is very embarrassing. This will cause refunds or other unnecessary troubles in the future. So please be sure to indicate your intention to invite in a prominent place.

3. Collection of guest information

Inviting guests generally requires the guest’s profile, title, photos, success stories, and demos.

Demo about the guests. Many guests may not be able to provide demos, but if it is some fee-based activities, especially guests from other places, they will usually be asked to provide a demo, discuss a topic in advance, and record a 10-minute video. Through the video, you can see the guest's image, aura, expression habits, logical framework, language rhythm, etc., which will provide you with an overall understanding and help with later judgments.

4. Guest PPT

1) Time: For the guest’s PPT, the deadline must be hit to death. The deadline must be rushed forward. According to industry experience, there are always 1-2 guests whose PPTs arrive late, leaving room for adjustments later.

2) Version: Remember to number, develop good habits, and avoid getting the wrong version. The transitional version must be deleted, because some consoles will put the original old version on it. Generally, the guests will not change many things at this time point, but some guests have poor psychological quality. Once they find that the ppt is wrong, they will directly It would be extremely embarrassing to be confused on stage, or to make the problem public, "I put the PPT in the wrong place, can the organizer change it for me?"

3) Size: Keep the PPT as small as possible to prevent it from crashing. If there is a video in it, remember to take it out and save a separate copy. During the event, be sure to agree on signals with the guests in advance. In case of an operational error, you can directly send a signal on the stage, "Please help me play the video." This will not affect the entire meeting process at all, and the entire experience for the audience will be lossless.

4) Content: There must be practical information and methodologies, especially those that can be used repeatedly and migrated, such as some data, analysis and prospects of the industry's cutting-edge, and the summary and sublimation of personal successful experiences. Some of the detours and pitfalls we have gone through in the past are very important, but some details that will be ignored by others.

5) Golden sentences: These are both called golden sentences and photo spots. They are why when some people talk to a certain extent, everyone can’t help but take out their mobile phones to take pictures. It may be emotional* **Ming, it may be because the information content is large and difficult to digest in a short time, or it may be a very philosophical life motto that is very suitable for posting on Moments, or it may be a thinking model that many people will take photos and keep, thus forming secondary dissemination.

5. Speech duration

Some guests had little experience in participating in conferences. They had clearly agreed on a 20-minute speech time and finalized the speech topic and outline, but they threw over a 60-minute speech. page PPT. At this time, you need to communicate with the other party about the problem, sort out the logical framework of the PPT, and significantly delete it. In this step, the duration is controlled. In addition, during on-site execution, there are also countdown screens, countdown cards, background music, etc. Signals are used to remind guests to pay attention to time and control the rhythm of activities.

6. Guest reception

Guests’ air tickets, hotels, airport transfers, accommodation, meals, SMS notifications, participation notifications, welcome and drop-offs, and guest gifts. In fact, these things are very Be careful, don’t notify each detail one by one, learn to “make it up”, we usually give guests two documents, the first document is mainly used in the early stage of docking, what information the guests need to submit, the deadline, and what the guests need to do etc., confirm the speech topic, outline, and submit PPT, etc. The second document mainly contains details such as guests’ flights and drinks, airport pick-up and drop-off, hotel check-in, meals, rehearsals, seating positions, order of entry, and whether the PPT is open to the public.

7. Guest rehearsal

Rehearsal is very important. Even if there is not a particularly long time after the guests arrive, even five minutes is very effective.

1) Familiar with the venue: Where is the location roughly? Do you know where the entrance to the stage is from, where you need to stand, and where are the positioning and photo-taking points? Is it a handheld microphone or a head-mounted microphone?

2) The location of the prompter and countdown: Inform that there is a prompter, and then prevent guests from looking back at the screen, and tell them where a volunteer will hold a sign tomorrow to prompt the countdown, and pay attention to the signal prompts .

3) Notification of arrival: The general principle is that one will be waiting for the last one and one will be notified. You can arrange a sofa near the console, let the guests wait in advance, configure their headsets in advance, and inform some Pay attention to the matters needing attention, and give encouragement, etc.

4. Site construction

1. Selection of builders: professional and reliable. Working with professionals can save a lot of energy and effort. Professionals are reliable. How to evaluate them? First, look at the past and look at the cases. Second, look at the other party's professionalism and attitude during the communication process. There is a running-in process for both parties. It is best to cooperate with a company for a long time and understand your demands and work style.

2. Construction plan: This involves many factors and will not be discussed here. The main ones are large screens, stages, lighting, booths, offsite sign-ins, interactive spaces, interview rooms, etc.

5. Investment Promotion for Events

1. Principles of Investment Promotion

In a word, cast the net widely and focus on fishing. Generally, the commitment is 80%, and a surprise of 30% will be given in the follow-up. A small amount will be charged in the early stage. Do not make unrealistic promises just to attract investment, otherwise it will easily lead to disputes afterwards.

The core demands of customers must be met in a way, and if they cannot be met, make it clear in advance. If the customer can accept it, continue the discussion. If the customer cannot accept it, we can stop here, or balance the interests of all parties and take a step back.

2. Customer sources

1) Seize hot spots and new opportunities. For example, short video live broadcast e-commerce is very popular this year. If a conference on short video live broadcast is held, these companies will definitely have demands and want a large amount of exposure in the industry. In this case, the value provided by this event will be consistent with their needs. Click and form a link, then this person may become your customer.

2) If you do some activities every year, you will retain some customers. In fact, these customers are likely to make repeat purchases. These customers should focus on maintenance.

3) What sponsors do competing companies in the industry have? They may have the same needs, because the entire user population is relatively consistent, which means the other party has pointed out a path for you.

3. Integrate resources

To integrate resources, event sponsorship is divided into two parts. One is the own event resources, such as some offline booths, on-site video carousels, and on-stage speeches. , participating in round tables, awarding awards, host mouth broadcasts, and other information related to the scene. The other part is company resources. Many companies package advertising space promotion, information flow, etc. and sell them to customers. In short, they dig out customer needs and meet them within their capabilities.

6. Event communication

1. User portrait

Who is the user you want to attract? Where is he? What channels should we use to reach him, and how can we attract him?

2. Media cooperation

The communication plan must be formed into a document. Package A, Package B, Package C, clearly what can I provide? Then the other party will match you based on your resources. Be clear about your own resources and the resources you can link to. Before looking for others, think about why others will help me and what rights I can provide to others. In the end, both parties must achieve a win-win situation, otherwise the occasional help will be temporary. , not long.

3. Stones from other mountains can be used to conquer jade

Registered viewers can use some tools to generate personalized Moments posters in batches to facilitate others to post on Moments, so that they can also gather Scattered traffic from personal friend circles, although the volume is not large, has a relatively high conversion rate.

4. WeChat group: Red envelopes to explode the group, name the group, and activate the group owner

This point is relatively simple, so I won’t go into details. The key point is: attract attention, otherwise it will be useless.

5. Activity Platform - Activity Line

7. Tickets and Sign-in

1. Tickets are free or charged

Paid tickets, While increasing your income, you can also increase the registration threshold. The quality of the audience is higher, but considering the influence of the organizer, the number of guests, the consumption power of the location, the popularity of the topic, etc., free events are easy to recruit, but the attendance rate cannot be controlled. In addition, free events are easily affected by the external environment. Generally speaking, some impacts are around 50-70%. If an event is held for 500 people, it is all free. If the attendance rate is calculated as 50%, at least 1,000 people will be needed to ensure that 500 people attend the event.

2. Sign-in time and sign-in tools

If the sign-in time is in the morning, for example, starting at 9 o'clock, there will be very few people signing in before 8:30, and the peak period is from 9 to 9 This time is half past one.

The peak sign-in period is near the opening of the event. The huge flow of people in a short period of time will cause many problems, which need to be prevented in advance. You should think about: whether the sign-in space is wide, whether the sign-in channel settings and the sign-in process are reasonable, how efficient the sign-in is, whether the sign-in personnel have been trained, whether the sign-in tool is tested, whether the sign-in materials are prepared in place, etc. These factors will affect the sign-in process. , if not handled well, the people behind will complain, which will affect the opening of the event and the user experience. There must be someone on site who dares to make decisions, take responsibility, make prompt decisions, not be indecisive, and handle problems quickly.

8. Execution Keys

1. Focus on the big and let go of the small

Rehearse all processes more than three times so that the relevant person in charge is very familiar with the process of this activity. If participants such as the builder, host, console, part-time person in charge, etiquette person in charge, etc. cannot implement it, they should also let the other party know the approximate time point of the link they are responsible for, and who to contact if there is a problem.

All the icing on the cake comes from usual preparations. Don’t improvise during the scene. As long as the prepared things can be made at the event site, there will be various unpredictable and unexpected situations at the event. We must focus on the big and let go of the small, give priority to stability, solve key problems, and minor problems. If you have the energy Process it later, otherwise put it aside first.

2. Risk management

From the initial registration to the venue, guests, audience, and equipment, there are actually many accidents. Just now everyone said that there is a process of "releasing", a " In the process of "releasing" and "collecting", multiple lines have various risks. For example, a guest agrees to come, but cannot come at the moment; for example, a venue with a thousand people , what should I do if there are not enough registrations? Then how to calculate it? What should I do if there is a sudden problem with the field equipment?

To deal with these potential risks, in the early stage of the activity, it is necessary to dismantle each link, analyze the key elements, make preliminary plans, continue to practice, reproduce the problem, scenario it, and then design a solution. Minimize risk. Risks cannot be eliminated, but they can be reduced. ?

9. Review of activities

All activities must be reviewed every time to check for omissions and fill in the gaps. It is also "choose the good ones and follow them, choose the bad ones and change them." "In terms of reference, we should continue to carry forward what is good and discard what is not good. This is also a process of mutual encouragement, mutual learning and continuous improvement within the company. There is a principle here "PDCA", also known as "Deming Circle", which is a quality control process. P is plan, C is inspection, D is execution, and A is review. Think about the plan before doing it, and constantly optimize and iterate during the process. , and finally continue to improve and reflect and continue with the next cycle.

Everything must be recorded by someone during the meeting, in black and white, and continuously retained and accumulated to gradually form an SOP manual, which can also be used as an internal training material.

This may be the most comprehensive guide to operating large-scale events in history. Behind every successful event is everything in detail, but "what you see on paper is ultimately shallow, but you know you have to do it in detail"? , these experiences still need to be applied in practice. I hope you can also make a successful big event!