Tactics for Annual Meeting Improvement in a

Tough EconomyDave Lutz, CMP

Velvet Chainsaw ConsultingOctober 9, 2009

Ground Rules

ASKQuestions

Cell Phones OFF

Keep ?’s Relevant

To all

NO Speeches

Do NotRun with Scissors

NO VendorPlugs

Simple RulesSimple Rules

Share yourexperiences

Today’s Agenda

Measurement Examples 1

Retention & Loyalty Tactics2

Attraction Tactics3

Drastic Times/Drastic Measures4

Prioritization Tool5

Performance – Attendance & Financials

Attendance

-

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

FY2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%Total Attendees

% Membership in Attendance

* Note: All numbers in this presentation are not actuals, but are realistic

($500,000)

$0

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

$3,000,000

$3,500,000

FY2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Revenues

Costs

Profit

Profit*

Utilize External Benchmarks

Attendance vs. Other Associations

* Note: All numbers in this presentation are not actuals, but are realistic

Profit*Pricing vs. Other Association Convention

$-

$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

AC

HE

HF

MA

MG

MA

AA

HA

M

HIM

SS

AH

IMA

Member

Non-Member

1.00

1.10

1.20

1.30

1.40

1.50

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

U.S. CPI

HFMA Membership

ANI Basic Conference

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

120.0%

140.0%

160.0%

RS

NA

HIM

SS

NA

LPA

BA

ALA

AA

SA

ON

EA

ZA

MR

AA

AD

AA

HP

ER

DA

AH

AM

MG

MA

AC

HE

HF

MA

AH

LA NR

AH

IMA

Attendance/Membership %

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2004 2005 2006 2007

20+ 11-20 6-10

2-5 <2

-

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

2004 2005 2006 2007

20+ 11-20 6-10

2-5 <2

-

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

FY2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Non-Provider

Provider/Payer

Provider vs. Non-Provider

PFS MC# of Years in Healthcare # of Years as a Member

Analyze Long-Term Attendance Trends

* Note: All numbers in this presentation are not actuals, but are realistic

-

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

FY2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Repeat Attendees

First-Time Attendees

1st Time Attendees steady

Key Program DissatisfiersPoor delivery and information too basic are the most common concerns at HFMA national educational events.

Dissatisfier Representative CommentsDelivery Just read slides, boring, dry, unorganizedToo Basic Nothing new, too basicNeed Examples Need real world examples, tools, solutions or more detailsQuality Wrong data, typos, opinion not factNot Relevant Too academic, how do I use this? Not relevant for smaller hospitalsMaterials Font too small, B&W graphs, unreadableUnexpected Program title doesn't match program, not what I expectedLogistics Microphone problems, lightsOther Q&A not handled wellSales Shameless plugsToo Long Topic only deserved 60, 90 minutes, too long

How do you measure retention?

* Note: All numbers in this presentation are not actuals, but are realistic

# Repeat Attendees per year

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

-

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

1 2 3 4 5 6

How do you measure retention?

37% of Attendees have attended multiple times

# of Times Attended in last 6 Years

* Note: All numbers in this presentation are not actuals, but are realistic

Measure long-term repeat attendance

How do you measure attraction?

* Note: All numbers in this presentation are not actuals, but are realistic

660

680

700

720

740

760

780

800

820

840

860

880

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

# 1st Time Attendees By Year

How do you measure attraction?

85% of members have not attended in 6 years

-

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

Current HFMAMembers

Have notattended ANI in

last 6 years

* Note: All numbers in this presentation are not actuals, but are realistic

Is the Issue Retention or Attraction?

Weak Retention Strong Retention

Weak Attractio

n

Brush up the resume!

1. Not enough or not on-target marketing? Viral?

2. Target new demographic.3. Consider incentives for 1st

timers or guarantee.

Strong Attractio

n

1. Too much repeat or stale education?

2. Either conference was “oversold” or it under performed.

3. Not attracting the right audience?

4. Location factor?

Life is good! Ask for a

raise.

Meeting End Survey

Session Surveys - Takeaways

Changes made 30 – 90 days

Business Impact linked to the meeting

Assessing each level, actionable results

Level 2 - KnowledgeDid they learn anything?

Level 3 - BehaviorDid they apply it to their job?

Level 4 - ResultsWas it worth it?

Level 1 - ReactionWere they satisfied?

Kirkpatrick’s Evaluation Model

© MeetingMetricsSM All rights reserved 2007

MeetingMetricsSM | Webinar for PCMA Members

14

Areas of Strengths Highlighted by the Post-Meeting Survey

84

91

74

8690

9592

9489

95

0

20

40

60

80

100

Percent

Satisfaction with PCMA Satisfaction with PCMAEducation

RecommendingJoining PCMA to

Others

Likelihood to RenewOne's Membership

My PCMA Membershipis a Valuable

Professional Asset

Pre-Event Post-Event

Short-term Thinking

“We can save our way to

profitability.”

Retention – Accelerate Connections

Networking on Steroids!•Social media groups

– White label - tagging

•First timers•Speed dating•Links to handouts & booths visited

Content is Huge!

“People will pay for content if it is so unique the can’t get it anywhere else, so fast they benefit from getting it before anyone else, or so related to their tribe that paying for it brings them closer to other people”

Seth Godin

•User generated content rules! - Crowd sourcing•Call 4 papers vs. recruitment - coaching•Extending the event - Hybrid•Segmentation•Main Tent – Emotional + Unique•CEU’sContent is King!

Retention – Education Improvement

Retention – Give lots of LOVE

•SHRM – ROCK•Staff & board engagement•In the spotlight - recognition•Easy to do business with

Attraction – Targeted & Wide Net

•“Laser” Focus – marketing vs. promotion•Word of Mouth - Social networks•Give them a taste •Exhibitor/VIP invites•Co-location & partnerships

Attraction – Incentives

•Group discounts•Economic stimulus•Membership•Local day special•Students•Money back guarantee

Drastic Times/Drastic Measures

•Desirable location•Nice to have vs. must haves•Stop doing list

– Show daily– Annual dinner

•Will cuts be noticed?•Vendor advice•Switching costs

Prioritize ‘til it Hurts

Project Prioritization MatrixReturn on

InvestmentInvestment Required

Probability of Success

Time to Complete Difficulty

Resource Match Total

Decision Criteria Weighting 30% 20% 15% 15% 10% 10% 100%Use polling in general session 1 4 4 6 4 1 310Extend life of show through online community 6 4 6 1 4 4 445Improve efficiency of abstract submission/mgmt 9 6 6 6 4 4 650Benchmark conference and expo pricing 1 9 1 6 6 6 435Add Internet Café to Expo Floor 1 4 4 9 9 1 405Rating Scale $50K + = 9 < $10K = 9 Very High = 9 < 1 month = 9 Low = 9 Very High = 9

$30 - $50K = 6 $10 - $20K = 6 Strong = 6 2-3 months = 6 Moderate = 6 Strong = 6$10 - $30K = 4 $20 - $30K = 4 Some Risk = 4 3-4 months = 4 Strong = 4 Moderate = 4< $10K = 1 $30K + = 1 Low = 1 5 months + = 1 Very High = 1 Low = 1

Resources

– http://Jeffhurtblog.com – www.principledinnovation.com/blog/

– www.Chrisbrogan.com – TSW Event Tech Blog– Velvet Chainsaw - VCInk