Are you looking for ways to boost event engagement, improve the participant experience, increase your Net Promoter Score or generate more sponsorship revenue?
Asking: "Where am I?" and "Where am I supposed to go?" are common frustrations many event participants ask. If answered properly and promptly, it will go a long way to improving overall event engagement and satisfaction scores.
As an article by event location specialists, Crowd Connected states: "This is particularly acute with first-time visitors – which for some shows could be 40%+ of attendees – who all-too-frequently find themselves lost in an unfamiliar environment."
With complex event floor designs, custom booths and removed stand numbers, plus many exhibitors, features and stages to navigate, getting to the next meeting, session or venue facility can be a challenge for event participants. This often leaves them feeling dissatisfied and frustrated at having wasted time at your event which ultimately negatively impacts your Net Promoter Score (NPS).
But there is a way to make this process much easier for people attending your event: interactive floor plans with wayfinding functionality provided by a mobile event app, a vital tool for boosting event engagement.
A mobile event app with interactive floor plans and wayfinding (also known as walking routes) can quickly provide attendees with the information they need so they can navigate your event with ease.
Interactive floor plans are used inside your mobile event app, playing a crucial role in amplifying event engagement.
They transform a simple, static floor plan so that participants can find what they want in a more immersive and engaging way. Much like your favorite navigation map app such as Google Maps, the interactive floor plan will estimate time and directions to and from different locations inside the venue.
Features include:
People are used to easily navigating around the world through their trusty "blue dot" mapping technology. In seconds, you can easily find your way around foreign cities, search out local restaurants and amenities and enjoy a hassle-free day out.
But traditional map applications can only get you so far when it comes to events with complex layouts. In fact, these apps often are not able to accurately find your location within a venue at all and with different event layouts being installed week-to-week, attendees feel lost. This is where the role of a dedicated mobile event app with integrated interactive floor plans and wayfinding becomes essential.
You can revolutionize your event experience with stress-free, in-app event navigation that will leave event participants feeling increasingly satisfied by easily being able to get to their next meeting or session on time, or finding the best location for lunch at your event.
That's why it's important to incorporate interactive floor plans and wayfinding into your event app to boost your event engagement.
1. Increase NPS scores through an improved participant experience
Not being able to attend meetings on time (or indeed missing them altogether) or not being able to find the right theatre at the right time, will leave event participants feeling frustrated and could negatively impact your event's NPS.
Enhance your attendee experience with interactive in-app floor plans that bring a whole new level of detail to event navigation.
With clear "You are here" markers and recommendations for the best routes to take, you'll eliminate the headaches of lost and frustrated attendees, positively impacting your NPS scores.
2. Cost savings on printed maps and signage
Printed maps, directional signage and onsite staff to provide directions can be costly.
By providing an interactive floor plan within your event app, you eliminate unnecessary costs. This saves you both time and money that can be used to improve other aspects of your event.
3. Revenue opportunities for sponsorship signage options
By offering an interactive floorplan in your app, you can open up new revenue streams by highlighting top exhibitors.
It doesn't stop at navigation either. Your marketing material promoting the app (emails, social posts and web pages) can be a great opportunity for brands to get involved with further sponsorship, helping them reach their target audience across multiple promotional campaigns.
4. Improved navigation with interactive maps and blue dot technology
By incorporating interactive floor plans into your event app, you can provide attendees with a much smoother experience. Event participants can easily find their location (typically shown as a blue dot on a floor plan) and determine the best routes to take, in a matter of seconds, ensuring they get to their next meeting on time.
By adding blue dot technology to your event map, you are improving real accuracy (as opposed to theoretical accuracy) so event participants can see exactly where they are and where they need to go, and if they venture down a different aisle, their route will automatically update.
Utilizing blue dot technology involves installing multiple BLE (bluetooth low energy) beacons around your event venue. Phones with your mobile event app then detect the nearby beacons, providing an estimation of the user's indoor location on the map.
If installing blue dot navigation at your venue or event is too costly, there are innovations such as QR code wayfinding, which can provide a similar, more cost-effective solution. This works by displaying QR codes on screens strategically placed around your venue, including at the entrances and at key intersections across the show floor. Scanning any QR code opens the digital floor plan with the participants location highlighted on the static map.
5. Avoid missed meetings or sessions with accurate indoor and outdoor mapping
Many events span multiple buildings, halls and levels with complex layouts that are constantly changing from event to event.
By implementing interactive floor plans and walking routes, you provide a much more accurate and detailed navigation experience. You'll allow attendees to quickly and easily access the right rooms at the right times, avoiding any missed meetings or sessions.
Many events may have multiple floors in use for content sessions, trade shows or hosted buyer locations. So enabling easy navigation for your event participants is key to improving the overall event experience.
6. Premium sponsorship options to highlight popular event areas
Maximize event engagement and profitability with premium ‘location-based’ sponsorship opportunities. Identify the best opportunities by using your wayfinding platform and its analytics to highlight popular areas, booths and routes that have the greatest footfall.
By being able to analyze popular areas and routes from your wayfinding platform, you can offer increased, premium opportunities for brands to sponsor. But don't stop there!
For example, partner with venue catering providers to generate commissions with every sale you direct to them by including a special offer in app. Or enable exhibitors to sponsor a dedicated catering zone and highlight that on your map to drive footfall.
The monetization opportunities are almost endless and you can provide bespoke sponsorship solutions for your event partners.
7. Improved accessibility and inclusivity
Interactive floor plans are a big benefit to those with accessibility requirements. By providing attendees with easy-to-follow directions, understanding the distance from their current location helps those with additional needs. They can now easily access the relevant areas of your event. For example, highlighting quiet rooms or wheelchair accessible spaces on an interactive floor plan.
Incorporating accessible routes into your interactive floor plans will not only benefit those with additional needs but all event participants that may not be as familiar with the layout of your event and may require more detailed navigation recommendations. This is a good way to increase event engagement and combat first-time attendee churn. Ensuring they are not overwhelmed and get maximum value from your show is a great way to get them to rebook for your next event.
Ultimately, incorporating interactive floor plans and walking routes within your app can help boost event engagement and streamline the attendee experience, saving them time and making it easier to navigate the event.
Additionally, the sponsorship opportunities provide a unique way to generate revenue and enhance the visibility of your sponsors.
Learn more about the Grip mobile app’s interactive floor plans and wayfinding here.
