Prior to the world being hit by the pandemic, the financial services sector was organizing meetings and events in physical locations. This used to be a huge congregation of people from different domains within the financial services sector. There was considerable use of technology in these events, to track the ROI along with registrations, participation, and many other parameters. Since technology has been a backbone of events, it has been further expanded into virtual events and conferences.
Since the pandemic has forced everyone to go virtual, and technology also getting evolved for event organization and management, this has created opportunities for organizations in the financial services sector have come out actively participating in various events. They have even gone one step further and incorporated virtual events as part of their event or marketing program.
People who are part of the financial services sector are considered to be evangelists in their field and they know every intricate aspect of their business. Hence, it is evident from the fact that the sector was able to adapt to the changing scenario (due to pandemics) as companies quickly adjusted to the new norm.
Now we see things getting normalized to pre-pandemic times, there is always an element of being virtual that the sector is considering. This is reflected even in the events, conferences, and seminars that the industry participates in. Hence, it is important to understand trends for financial services organizations when it comes to planning and organizing events in the future.
Let’s look at three trends for financial services industry events:
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Compliance around data privacy and security
The concept of cybersecurity is not a new one. However, because of the pandemic, we have seen a surge in cyberattacks. Hence, it has become pertinent for companies to be more cautious by deploying data privacy and protection standards. Let us look at some of the new compliances and guidelines around data privacy and security
- Information Security: Since events have gone completely virtual, there is a lot of inflow of data. This creates a potential risk around data security and privacy, which is why financial services companies must work in close quarters with their IT departments to prepare for any sort of adversity in this transition
- Virtual Platforms: WE see a continuous addition of different virtual platforms, which are been added for organizing and executing these events. Hence, IT teams need to constantly monitor these platforms from a cybersecurity point of view and ensure data security.
- Streaming tools: Because of virtual events, the scope of a larger audience is inevitable. Hence, companies use streaming applications to broadcast the event so that it reaches out to a larger universe. Hence, it is important to evaluate these streaming platforms from a security point of view
- Digital Consent: Due to virtual events, participants share their consent to share their data to such events. Hence, companies need to ensure that various regulatory compliances like GDPR, GLBA, and CCPA, whichever is applicable.
Marketers who were working in the pre-pandemic era were constantly in flux when it came to the adoption of digital marketing channels for events. Thanks to technology advancement and the need of the hour due to pandemics, events are now more of digital marketing channels.
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Total Event Program: Identifying the Right Mix of Event Formats
It is important to understand the right mix of event formats that will be suitable for the financial services sector. Since the sector has been under severe pressure, leadership teams are trying to figure out the right mix of events that will be suitable for them. If we look at a broader classification, events can be put in three buckets – in-person events, virtual or digital events, and hybrid events. How can these event types fit into a complete event program? Let us look into the options
- Small Meetings: These events can be either on a virtual mode (most commonly seen these days) or it can be in-person (considering geographical proximity). Small meetings help in conveying a specific and concise message to the audience
- Webinars: These are purely content-driven online or virtual events. Marketers use technology to track various parameters such as lead tracking and ROI
- Conferences: Again, these can be virtual or in-person. Totally depends upon the objective of the event. Today, we see some relaxation in travel norms, which allows organizations to conduct these events in a hybrid model (a combination of in-person & virtual).
- External Hybrid events: Events such as trade shows, conferences, meetings with investors, client meetings, etc. can be held in a virtual model. However, there is an option of having in-person meetings as an alternative
- Internal Hybrid events: Events such as large team meetings to project kick-off calls to sales meetings constitute internal hybrid events. Since the majority of companies are working in a virtual model, virtual is the best option to conduct such internal meetings
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Strategic Meetings Management: A transition to be viewed
Organizations have realized that SMM (strategic meetings management) has become a pertinent component considering today’s scenario. Organizations that had already formulated SMM in their strategy, were able to handle the pandemic scenario. SMM helped financial services organizations to respond to adverse situations.
Final Thoughts
It is important to know that virtual events and meetings are here to stay. Even though we might get into a scenario where companies will open offices and people will start thronging offices, virtual events will be a part of the overall strategy. Yes, it brings about a certain level of flexibility, but it also comes with the challenge of addressing various compliances. Financial services companies must focus on defining the right set of event models, suitable to their requirements, making it secure and foolproof.