Create your winning event story designing the content of steps
Three main things to do here
#1 Insights of your customers
#2 Target outcome of your step
#3 List things to provide
#1 Put your customers’ goggles on
Don’t just assume what your customers want. Assuming makes usually ass of u and me. It’s better to pay attention to customer data, research and other reviews you have made or you should do first.
Fears and wows
When designing event content for your customers (in app #storyboard) ask yourself in each step you design: What do they think and feel?. What are their fears, frustrations and anxieties? What are their wants, needs, hopes and dreams? What are thoughts and feelings that motivate their behavior? Also what do they hear, see, sense or taste?
Jobs and tasks to be done
Then. Jump into your customers’ shoes. Think of what do they need to do or what do they normally do in this part of an event (in app #step) you are designing. Is there something they need to differently? What acts are needed to get done? What decisions are to be made? Is there something they need to say?
Example.
Step: Queueing for a non-stop bus (Stage: Arrival by car to Park-and-Ride P1, Storyboard: spectators).
Keep the summary of your insights short and simple. Make a note for this step (in app) like a tweet.
"Hate queues and waiting. But hate most people, who overpass due to unorganized queue."
#2 Define the target outcome(s) of your step.
In all things yo do, consider the end first. When breaking down your event goals to guide your planning in each step, you have done already the hardest part in designing your event and its details.
What a feeling?
Define the customer outcome of your steps by asking yourself: “what do my customer should feel after experiencing this step”. This answer is the target outcome you set for this step. A goal that should be clear in your and your teams’ mind while thinking of services, performances and acts in particular step. And also while planning the right space, stuff, staff and support service mix that is needed for producing.
Show me the money
Most of us want to produce events with profit. For sure, there are already business, revenue and cost plans in place, while planning small details of any event. But. As devil lives in the details, you might want to set some financial targets for those as well in terms of better return on costs. Furthermore. These details (or steps here) have potential new sources in sales, upselling or cross-selling to your guests, partners or other stakeholders.
Example.
Step: Queueing for a non-stop bus (Stage: Arrival by car to Park-and-Ride P1, Storyboard: spectators).
Define a step target outcome short and simple. Like a tweet.
"Smooth and fluent queuing with no feeling of overcrowding or delays getting to venue. "
#3 List things to provide in each step you organize.
A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. And knowing what you are doing, makes it super easy to come up with right ingredients (we call space, stuff, staff and service) for each action.
Pieces of customer experience
Useful way to list your things (services, performaneces or other acts) to provide in each step is keeping in mind all single elements that makes up the customers’ experience. These are mostly the interaction between your event and customer, namely touchpoints. Examples of this CX elements include things like customer service, digital services, people flow, look&feel, match/competition (in sports), marketing, stadium production, venue entertainment, food & beverage, game day traditions, stars presence, weather, services, fan kits, shopping, crowd behavior, toilets or signs. List goes on.
The “WOWs”
A protip. Include each step you plan some extraordinary or unique element. Something your customer would not expect to see, hear, taste, smell or just feel there. Anything that makes him or her feel good. Most often this does not need to be a big effort from you. Just a word an wall or a smile on your staff’s face can be enough. The more unexpected wows you build along your customer’s event journey, the better you position your event in your customer’s mind. And make your event different from competing events.
Example: list of things to provide in step
Step: Queueing for a non-stop bus (Stage: Arrival by car to Park-and-Ride P1, Storyboard: spectators).
Guide giving out free candies if long queue
A promotion of Mobile App (preferred thing to do while standing in queue)
Good signs (everyone knows where to line)
(Aiport-like) fences to make queues compact and safe
