Improve event attendance by 30-50%

Organizing a major event can be nerve-wracking to say the least. Coordinating speaker’s schedules, volunteers, catered dinners, reservations, etc. can be especially difficult. All the while, hoping that people actually attend the event is always in the back of your mind. Attendance is a necessary, although not sufficient, condition for a great event and various methods can be used to get people there. One of the most efficient and cost-effective ways being automated calls.

Sending out emails and newsletters can be integral parts of any attendance campaign, but oftentimes, the same people over and over respond to the email/newsletter and attend events while the remainder of the population isn’t effectively reached. Complementing those efforts with a call the Monday before and an automated “top-of-mind” reminder the night before an event can improve attendance significantly, anywhere from 30-50% in our experience.

In one instance, Action Solutions worked with Iowa’s Family Leader, and got over 3000 people to their county-by-county events over the course of a three month effort using telephone technology. Action Solutions worked with the Family Leader and created a customized message that was delivered to their supporters via automated call informing them of the event. A message can be set-up and delivered within 1 day, and you are able to get measurable results beyond attendance that allows you to accurately determine the reach of your message (whether it went to voicemail, the length of time a person listened to the message, or if it was an invalid number). As an example, here is an excerpt from Bob’s message, “I want to invite you to a free supper in xxx intended for conservatives. This is Bob Vander Plaats and, as the new President and CEO of the Family Leader, I am excited about the victories realized last November (this is set in 2011). We picked up a majority in the Iowa House, we ousted 3 activist justices from the Iowa Supreme Court and a new governor was elected. And now we, at the Family Leader have launched a 99 county Capturing Momentum Tour. We’d like you to come meet with me, Bob Vander Plaats, to discuss the next steps in capturing the momentum we built last November across ..”

The value of such an attendance effort is more than just the number of people who show up to the actual event. First, every person who listened to the message or received the voicemail heard your organization’s or campaign’s name which helps with name recognition. Second, each person sees that you’re an active organization that is involved with issues that they care about. So even if they don’t personally attend, they may in the future, and at the least, hear your organization’s name multiple times. Bob Vander Plaats, President, of The Family Leader had this to say about working with Action Solutions, “Action Solutions has been a key partner in helping The Family Leader increase attendance at meetings, identify new members, create successful events and help us exercise influence in the public arena. We have found AS to be a very helpful company!”

Reply to this email or contact Jeff Kubler at 503-914-1082 (jeff@actionsolutions.net) if you have any questions or if you’d like to discuss ways to get more people to your events.

You can also visit www.actionsolutions.net for additional information.