Lincolnshire Show Review Part One – This review will be in three parts. Today I will write a synopsis of the show. Thursday and Friday’s articles will reflect on the aspects of Talks and other elements of note from the weekend of July 27 + 28 2019.
Anyone who Visited the show could not fail to acknowledge the increase in attending Visitors. The actual figure is 988, and this does not include returning (two day Visitors). I am asked why we do not count two-day attendees. The reason is it clouds the figures. For those who are interested, I confirm there were 128 returning visitors on Sunday.
The Community experienced mixed success. A vast majority enjoyed a superb show and a few expressed concerns they had not faired too well. I will not speculate on the reasons either way. It is essential to reassess one’s performance and look to those within the same genre who are successful for answers to this challenging issue. If asked, we will always give support and advice.
One suggestion worthy of consideration is pre-show promotion. No one can say the organisers did not promote the event to the highest possible level. In certainty, tens of Community members commented on the level of our promotion. It seems those who used LizianEvents News and the LizianEvents Facebook Group reaped the harvest provided by using these fields of advertising. LEN and the Facebook Group are there to be used to The Community’s advantage; it is easy to post information and articles.
Visitors loved the show: Liz, Sue and I enjoyed compliment after compliment regarding the quality and standard of The Community’s work. While walking the floor, one could sense the electric atmosphere: as could Visitors and The Community.
We’d given the two hall’s identities for the last two shows — one side for spiritual focus and the other for wellbeing. After the November 2018 event, Liz and I accepted this was working well. Therefore the choice was made to mix the Community members across the venue. How did we arrive at the layout?
Well, we recognised that no one would pay five pounds to enter the show and not walk around the whole venue. It is crazy to think otherwise. There is no such thing as a wrong spot, all Visitors will walk by every stall, and they will walk by more than once. So the answer was to draw the names out of the hat! And if two similar stalls were drawn together, the second name drawn went back into the hat. And yes: There were a few with fixed tables places, this was to do with proximity to individual facilities.
The show guides and pre-show-promotion advertised around one-hundred Community Members and the final tally was ninety-six. What is the reason for this? The simple answer is we had some no-shows. And yes! They had paid in full for their table. Exhibitors who failed to notify us about the situation will not stand at The Community’s shows again. Their future bookings are void. We have to make a stand in this situation, why is this?
Read the answer with care:
We choose to limit the numbers of Community members in each genre. Twelve Spiritual Counsellors, fifteen alternative healers et cetera. It would have been easy to double the number of readers and complementary therapists. Indeed we could have another ten crystal tables, and two businesses selling silver jewellery. The increased revenue would be substantial. It is our choice to limit the numbers to give The Attending Community Members a fair chance of covering costs and producing a profit.
When Visitors read a show guide or talk list, they expect to see the people on the list. And make no mistake we cannot afford to lose ONE Visitor. Or have a Visitor suggest we have failed to meet expectations. When we make a sincere commitment to Community Members to produce a balanced show, it is fair our fairness is reciprocated. Indeed as evidence of fairness, review the fact our fees are lower than other organisations. As repeatedly confirmed, we offer higher visibility and promotion than others. A no show not only lets The Community down, but they have also prevented someone else from attending: and diminished the Visitor experience.
Communication is Key. We are not ‘mind readers’ and without information, we cannot make adjustments to the lists or provide notifications of changes to Visitors. If needed we can send out an information email at midnight on the eve of the show regarding changes to the attendee list or talk schedule.
Readers may find the policy uncompromising; some would distort this comment as evidence we do not care about the Community: In reality, the reverse is accurate. The shows are growing and have achieved increasing Visitor numbers when others are suffering. There is no way we will damage the reputation of the shows in the eyes of Visitors and all Community Members spoken to about this policy are in 100% agreement.
Saturday achieved good Visitor numbers. Five-hundred and thirty people came through the door. Although there were more people in The Epic Centre on Sunday (we do not include return Visitors). On both days, the ebb and flow of talk schedules made the floor sometimes busy and occasionally slow. I will write about the talks tomorrow.
The two small stage areas were a great success, and many lessons were learned from this experiment. You can be sure we’ll continue with this aspect of show entertainment. The initial fear of too much noise expressed by those close to the stage areas was quickly dissolved. Do not forget we have years of stage work behind us, setting the correct sound balance is secret to the pleasure of watching a performance or listening to a mediation. As mentioned there have been lessons learned in this aspect of the Well Being Show and these areas will enjoy significant improvements in the future.
In conclusion:
The weekend’s show was a fantastic success. The vast blend of Community Members has left a phenomenal memory in the hearts of just short of one thousand people. All of us will enjoy the success of our work if Visitors choose to return with friends and family later in the year: or attend other LizianEvents Community driven Well Being Shows. From the feedback and compliments received at this Well Being Show, I suspect we can look forward to a thriving future.
As organisers, we have a long journey ahead. To keep the momentum, we have to increase the promotions and work for greater Visitor awareness. If anyone is in doubt we’ll not rise to the challenge they will be mistaken.
The Community should be rightfully proud of their achievements. As evidence of the success, your attention is drawn to increased Community bookings. The events are growing, and without a doubt, The Community is steering the Well Being Shows in the right direction.
Thank You for making this a landmark Inspirational Well Being Show
See You Soon
