Since the invention of world wide web, and the coining of the term ‘internet of things’, the rate of growth in this field has grown and accelerated remarkably; touching on basically every facet of life. This article by Jumia Travel team examines different innovations that have bolstered great convenience and efficiency in the meetings and conferences frontier.
Big data for connection and retention
Just like we champion for customer-centric products, every event organizer should be keen in developing attendee-centric conferences and meetings of any kind. Previous interaction, surveys, and real time feeds will help organizers predetermine crowdflow control measures, food servings and menu, programming and schedules as well as networking processes and group interaction.
Live stream
Virtual meetings, webinars, and webcasts have become the norm. The primary basics for livestream is quality; ensure that camera picture quality, lighting, transitions, and bandwidth requirements are all met. Presenters and moderators must also remember to establish a connection with the virtual audience, simply by keeping them engaged through mentions and familiar references.
Mobile payments
Mobile and digital payments can be termed as the backbone of e commerce. The ability to have a seamless purchase process for consumers is a major factor in boosting online convenience. Event organizers must therefore understand mobile and digital payment trends and integrate them in the registration process to ensure that attendees are able to not only access information but also secure their seats without having to transit across devices or offline payment methods.
Messaging, chat, and social media
Unlike in earlier days where every notification had to land in your inbox; anyone interested in a particular event is encouraged or ‘recruited’ to join a chat group, online community or common platform where all information is displayed. Apart from easing up record keeping and tracking, members are allowed to engage each other as well as the organizer on any talking points that may arise pre and post event.
Drones
Photography, videography and even physical delivery of invites and parcels has never been so sophisticated! Continued development and innovations in unmanned aerial vehicles or even remotely piloted ones has undoubtedly opened up new horizon in overcoming the usual challenges experienced while covering conventions of greater magnitude. A lot of misconceptions however surround this emerging technology, and a lot of demonstrations as well as public education for approval is vital if their full potential is to be realized.
Lillian Gaitho, Jumia Travel
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