From time to time we are asked to plan an event. The going-away lunch. The release celebration. The team get-together. Marketers know something that we can leverage to increase attendance at our events.
Marketers know there are three types of customers. There are customers that buy on emotion, ones that buy on logic, and ones that buy out of fear – think scarcity and deadlines.
Signing up for an event is like buying a product. Some of us will sign up when we see the subject line, “Team Lunch!” Others need to know why the team lunch is a good event to attend. And the rest need to know that the invite won’t be around forever.
To make your event successful, you need to address all three types of “signer-uppers.” The emotional signer-upper is the easiest because the subject line of your email or meeting will probably cover it for them.
The logical signer-upper is going to take a little more convincing. Try bullet points!
- The event will be counted as work hours
- Your attendance will be a point towards your yearly goals
- It’s only a 90-minute event, so plenty of time for you to get some work in before and after
- (you get the idea)
And the third type of signer-upper needs a bit of urgency thrown in. This group needs a lot of reminders that say, “only x days until the event! Sign up now!” You’ll want to send one last invite at the last minute – as close to the event start as you can manage. You will get a few people who will say, “oh, I didn’t know I needed to sign up!”
Make your next work event a success by remembering to address the three types of signer-uppers: emotional, logical, and “fearful.” Provide a fun subject line, the reasons why, and then lots of follow-up emails with a deadline and you’ll have a well-attended event!