Conference Venues

Conference venues and meeting venues have become a multi-million pound market and there is fierce competition between between the different types of conference venues: universities, stately homes, purpose built conference venues and hotel properties. There are now a plethora of business events from meetings, conferences, Christmas parties, banquets, exhibitions, product launches, team builds and incentive programmes all held in conference venues. Often conference venues also double as leisure venues hosting: weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, christenings, graduation parties, Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs.

There appears to be an endless supply of conference venues but interestingly it really is hard to distinguish between each of the conference venues, sure some of them look very different but that is generally where the difference ends. Each conference venue appears to offer the same level of service, the same themes and the same packages.

Conference Venue Marketing

In fact you could be fooled into believing that there is just one company behind the scenes marketing and selling the multitude of conference venues. They replicate the same venue marketing descriptions in slightly different sized glossy or matt brochures, drop in new images and send to print. They advertise in Conference & Incentive Magazines and say the same thing as the venue on the opposite page but with a different image and call to action. They produce web sites to market their unique conference venue showing empty rooms and vacant spaces devoid of atmosphere or ambiance. Worse still in marketing literature their venue's facilities become little more than a meaningless list: garden, grounds, bedroom, lounge, swimming pool, gym, restaurant and bar.

Conference Venue Sales

Selling tends to replicate the same format. If you make an enquiry to hire a conference venue you are asked a string of questions, put on hold and then if the space is free you will be asked if you want to take out an option (leaving most customers outside of the industry bemused and frustrated). Very little attempt is made to build rapport with the client, identify their needs, describe the venue or package the product, in summary very little selling goes on.

Conference Exhibitions

Industry exhibitions are a chance to showcase and sell your location, to differentiate it and make it stand out from other conference venues, your competitors. So why do we hear the same thing from each sales person regardless of whether it is a castle, conference centre, island retreat or country house venue they are selling. They tell us what they are offering rather than asking what we want. In our experience sales enquiry follow-up is often piecemeal and ad-hoc with little more than an email or a brochure.

Now that may all sound very disparaging but the truth of the matter is we are frustrated at the lost opportunity. There are thousands of beautiful, modern, contemporary, traditional and unusual conference venues out there. In hotels with conference facilities, in university conference sites, specialist conference venues and dedicated conference & exhibition venues. All of these conference and meeting venues have their own unique characteristics and are all perfect for the right customer. The right customer is the one that wants to buy what you have to offer. You need to help customers understand how your conference venue and all that it offers matches with what they want to buy.

Conference Personnel Training

Our Conference training and development programmes are bespoke to your conference venue and the team. We will assess your needs and design a programme to develop and up skill your team. We can assist your operational teams in improving the customer experience or help the food and beverage teams to develop new menus and sales opportunities.

We can benchmark your sales team against industry standards making sure they not only meet but exceed those standards. Whether they are selling reactively or pro actively we can give them the sales and soft skills training that will significantly enhance their sales performance. Our track record in this area speaks for itself, so why not have a look at our client testimonials and case studies.

Conference Revenue Development

We can develop or improve revenue management techniques, knowledge and understanding for your meeting venue, conference venue or exhibition centre. We can implement a revenue management development programme for your venue, or mentor, coach and train your team to improve their knowledge and understanding.

Conference Venue Reviews

Think you are doing o.k. but don’t know how you are performing compared to the market. Think you could do better but not sure which area to focus on, then why not give us a ring and arrange a full or half day review of your conference venue people, processes and systems. We will make some enquiries, talk to your teams, review your numbers, look at your systems and processes. If everything is fine and you don’t need us that’s great, if you do then we can work out a programme of improvement for you.

Modus Operandi Conference Venue Marketing Consultants