Rob Carey wrote this piece for MeetingsNet in December 2021, when planners were trying to figure out who would come back to in-person events. A survey that fall found only 25% of people were sure they'd attend something in 2022, and 51% didn't know when they'd return. My advice was to keep using demographics and add values on top. As I told Rob, demographics are necessary but not sufficient, because people inside the same demographic group agree with each other by a two-thirds margin only about 11% of the time.
The article also covered what I'd shared at IMEX America that November about how top values differ by region. Belonging, Relationships, Friendships and Community showed up everywhere. The US added Personal Responsibility, Personal Growth, Health & Well-Being and Basic Needs, and the Middle East leaned toward Morality, Loyalty and Financial Security. If your attendees are driven by Employment Security and Financial Security, tell them what it costs them to miss the event. If the value of Health & Well-Being is high, reassure them without using scare tactics. People act on things that speak to their values. MeetingsNet has since been folded into BizBash, so the link below goes to our archived copy.
You can read the original at MeetingsNet (archived copy).
My new book walks you through all kinds of ways to identify (and use) your values, and it's available for pre-order now. It's called The Values Map, and I would be very grateful if you pre-ordered a copy. My publisher would love it too. ❤️
Everything gets easier when you know What Matters Most.
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