Good news for our meetings industry. Optimism reigns, and some industry experts believe meetings levels with be at pre-pandemic levels in 2023. We’ve come a long way baby! In fact, Knowland (Knowland, U.S. and Top 25 Markets Meetings Recovery Forecast | Q2 2022 Update) predicts meeting levels will be 106% of 2019 levels in 2023, and 116%.
Industry reports indicate Corporate is leading the meetings recovery, That said, I think 2023 will a banner year for the association market. During the pandemic, while corporate and state level associations turned to virtual, most. national level associations didn’t meet, opting to wait out the pandemic.
Another meetings source, Meetingsnet, reports the following observations:
• Shorter meeting presentations, followed by more networking opportunities is popular. Not surprising as people emerge from pandemic home offices.
• Speakers are being asked to make presentations more interactive, less lecture style.
• Virtual meetings aren’t going away. They can be a great adjunct beyond merely offering a hybrid experience. My clients report more requests for follow-up virtual offering. Either a “questions and answers” session, or more detail. Read more about “Aftercare” in my book, “Book More Business: Make Money Speaking”.
• Lead times are shorter. I’m hearing this a lot. If your fourth quarter isn’t what you wish, keep the faith!
• Speakers need to be flexible as planners are wanting to adapt content and schedules based on latest stakeholders requests.
A lesson learned from the pandemic use that you never know what may lie ahead. I think that’s as much a blessing as a curse. Inflation concerns are with us now. Be aware of market conditions, especially in your target markets.
The meeting industry has gained some new tools from surviving the last two and a half years. We’ve also been reminded how resilient entrepreneurs can be!
Copyright 2022, Lois Creamer, Book More Business. Lois works with professional speakers who want to book more business, make more money and fully monetize their intellectual property. She can be reached in the following ways:
314-374-4007
For more information on Lois’ business check out https://www.bookmorebusiness.com.
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