Event Management: A Reflection

It's hard to believe that when I press "Publish" on this post, my first grad school class will be complete. This class may be the first this semester to come to an end, but the takeaways will last far longer. Here are my top three takeaways from this past semester in Event Management:

1. Benefits vs. Features
Working for a CVB in their sales department and simultaneously taking this class have been a great joint learning experience. As I learn in the class, I can apply it to my job and vice versa. It has been such great way to get to know the industry better! Working in sales, I see managers trying to sell San Francisco all the time and I finally get what differentiates the top sales managers from the okay ones; they sell benefits. San Francisco has a lot of features but it's how you market the benefits that matter. Yes their airport is close to the city, but the benefit of having an international airport nearby is that it services countries all over the world meaning attendees can come to conferences from all over the world and it will be less of a hassle to get there. Understanding the clients and marketing the benefits to them rather than the features really makes a difference and it also shows a higher level of detail and understanding to each client, which they value.

2. Journey Mapping
Our trip to Social Tables was one of my favorite classes and their insight in journey mapping is something that really stuck with me. Looking at an event based on those 8 steps is a great way to really understand your event, catch the little details, and plan for every situation. It's an all encompassing way to look at an event, and something I never thought about before. We looked at it with sponsors in mind, but I think taking the journey mapping method and applying it to various stakeholders for an event is so important, especially for the attendees!

3. Be Active
The most important thing I learned in this class is to always be active - constantly look for opportunities to network and learn more about the industry because you never know when you will run into someone or something valuable. We have been given so many great networking opportunities through this class and program but we can also make our own opportunities by being active and proactive, searching them out, and taking advantage.