Do you think that a conference or event planner is a luxury? Think again! Did you know that if the event planner is any good they should deliver cost savings that are enough to pay their management fee plus some? You don’t know what you don’t know until you ask! Or, until someone that cares about the success of your next conference or event tells you!
This is the final installment in our series of the Top Seven questions to ask to get more of what you want out of future meetings, events, and conferences:
7. Are they members of any Professional Organizations such as MPI, GBTA, or ISES?
It is important for your conference manager or event planner to be a part of organizations such as MPI, GBTA or ISES to stay updated on industry trends and best practices.
Positives of being a part of professional organizations
- Industry organizations such as Meeting Professionals International are crucial to getting new information on what’s going on in the field of conference management. MPI is an international organization, so its members are getting new best practice information literally from all over the world.
- Industry organizations not only help conference managers obtain global feedback, but also, the fact that they often award members with achievement awards, gives that little extra incentive to your conference managers. Of course, conference managers love their jobs and don’t need an award to keep them working hard for you, but it is a little extra something to reward them for the hard work they put in to help accomplish your dream.
- Industry organizations also provide a built-in network for conference managers. If you have a question for them that they are struggling to answer, they already have a team of collaborators behind them that they can turn to.
Negatives of being part of professional organizations
There are mostly positives of being a part of a professional organization however, as with most things, there are also a couple negatives to be addressed. You need not worry though because the negatives mostly fall on the event planner, not on you as their client.
- The websites for the professional organizations are so content heavy that sometimes, valuable information can get lost in the clutter of information conference managers are not looking for. There is much hesitation to say there is unneeded information, but there is a whole lot of information in a little bit of space.
- An important thing to factor in is that professional organizations must be profitable, meaning that they charge a membership fee. That membership fee could be worthwhile if the conference manager is utilizing it for all it’s worth. But if not, it could be an additional cost per month that they’re worrying about and not effectively utilizing.
Overall it is important for event planner, conference managers, and anyone in a professional field really, to stay up-to-date on industry best practices and new practices. It is important for them to know what is going on and is able to get feedback from other professionals in the field on the progress of their work. So, while it is not critical, it is highly suggested that you ask your conference manager if they are a member of a professional organization.
We hope you enjoyed this series, and that you took away some great tips to make your next event a success! Coast to Coast Conferences & Events brings you strategic, cost-efficient, end-to-end event and conference planning, offering the latest in innovative event technologies, detailed logistics management, destination services, and hotel housing solutions. We always get the job done and we always do it right; reach out today if you’d like to know more: