The Association of Briefing Program Managers (ABPM) Spring Conference taking place from April 15-17 in Washington D.C. is almost here. And, we are excited about the wide array of breakout sessions. The event planners are leveraging a new approach specifically designed to help attendees get more out of the conference with 60 minute primary and 20 minute flash sessions during each timeslot.
Here are some the topics and trends we find exciting:
Clear Focus on the Customer Experience
The ability to provide guests with an interactive and fully immersive experience is a crucial of program success. This year’s event includes a handful of breakout sessions specifically focused on optimizing the customer experience. The first customer experience focused session will focus on providing attendees with a clear idea of what skills are best for their programs, and where to make investments in their discussion leaders, account teams, company executives and briefing center staff.
The second, also during the first grouping of breakout sessions, will take a deep dive into understanding the value of emotion when delivering an optimal customer experience. This is a crucial step when seamlessly leveraging technology to enhance the storytelling process.
The next group of breakout sessions features an opportunity to learn about creating purpose-built Executive Briefing Centers modeled after a set of personas that can transform the physical and digital space into a dynamic user-centric experience that integrates advanced technology such as facial recognition, A.I., virtual reality, augmented reality, mobility, biometrics, IoT devices, BYOD, wearables and more.
Google will also facilitate a session it’s best practices for design, construction and operation of briefing centers. The presenters will show examples of how they’ve translated these principles and practices into high-touch, immersive experiences.
The final customer experience session will focus on helping participants understand why neuroscience technology will be the next measure of customer experience and ROI through various metrics, benchmarks, tools and visceral reactions unbeknownst to the naked eye.
Building and Updating the Executive Briefing Center
Having a well designed, properly deployed and effectively managed EBC in place can pay meaningful dividends. Specifically, a recent ABPM study showed that EBCs rank highest for activities relating to accelerating progression or faster closing of enterprise deals, especially for considered purchases, where prospect interaction and feedback are important in the sales cycle. According to survey results, 84 percent of EBC visits strengthen the relationship, 77 percent make a decision to buy, and 34 percent purchase faster.
Of course, getting it right takes a strategic plan and a commitment to establishing an EBC prime for long-term success. We talked about the key factors to consider recently, as well as the crucial steps to ensuring that your EBC is world-class. Fortunately, ABPM is offering a number of sessions spotlighting best practices. This is true whether you are a new briefing center manager or a seasoned professional looking for interesting new approaches to refresh your EBC.
For instance, one session will provide fundamental and straightforward guidance on budget, planning, and a large set of checklist tools to help avoid common pitfalls. Another session will provide attendees with a list of the top 6 musts to open the doors of a successful program.
If you are looking for ways to update or revitalize your EBC, there is also a session covering all aspects of refurbishment. The session will discuss practical solutions to update technology, deal with the expansion of a business portfolio or brand message as well as how to refresh the experience. There will also be a session providing tips to getting the AV technology right.
These sessions align well with our design-led approach to maximizing your space to deliver the optimal EBC experience. Knowing that your space is your canvas, it’s crucial to spend time upfront understanding the goals, the type of content involved and each individual aspect of the application. Click here to learn more about how partnering with Electrosonic can help you optimize your EBC investment.
Learning from Continuous Improvement Opportunities
With a mix of sessions centered on measurement, ABPM offers an interesting look at how to turn data and customer feedback into opportunities to constantly evolve your program.
Specifically, one session provides a framework to help you develop measures that directly align to the priorities of your company, identify sources for data and reevaluate your customer feedback survey design.
When combined with the full schedule of EBC tours of the last day of the conference, the think tank and lessons learned sessions provide an inside look into how world class centers and thought leaders approach, manage and measure their programs.
