Last week, Novarica held its first InsureTech Startup Community Town Hall on the topic of preparing for the InsureTech Connect (ITC) conference, originally scheduled for this week. One of the key issues brought up was the limited amount of time attendees would have to use the platform before the conference.
Timing is Everything
During the call, some participants received emails about ITC’s postponement. The event will now take place on October 19-21. It was amazing timing for the announcement, and the InsureTech Startup Community members on our call were relieved to hear the news.
A statement posted on the ITC website confirms that the conference organizers thought the same thing as the startup community on our call: they had not given enough time to prepare. From the statement: “In our quest to deliver something new and better for the virtual world, we did not give you time: the time to see who else is attending, the time to set meetings, and equally important, we did not give you the time to learn the platform you will use to make ITC a tool for moving your business forward.”
The InsureTech Connect conference has grown into the largest conference in the insurance industry and has transformed from a focus on startups to a broader technology and innovation gathering. In a year where many conferences have been canceled or pivoted to virtual platforms, the industry is hoping that ITC will provide interesting content and important networking opportunities. Postponing the event should allow ITC organizers to provide a better experience, and those attending will now have more time to prepare for getting the most value from the conference.
Taking Time to Prepare
How should the vendor community—startups and incumbent providers—prepare for ITC? Here are some thoughts based on the announced ITC conference platform features:
Networking – 1:1 Meetings, Integrated Video Chat
- Put together a list of priority contacts for setting up meetings and for the sessions that interest you. Have this list ready for when the networking capability is released to be early to request appointments. Consider potential partners, clients, and prospects for your list.
- Personalize your initial contact as much as possible. Take time to review information available via LinkedIn and company websites. Generic emails will usually elicit no responses.
Exhibiting – Expo Hall, Customized Booth Experience
- If your company has decided to have a virtual booth, be sure to have someone available for visitors during the Expo hours. A common complaint about some virtual events earlier this year was that no one was at the “booth”—at best, a missed opportunity and, at worst, a poor impression of your company.
- Have a takeaway available to answer questions about your product or service. Visitors to your booth will appreciate it if you keep the discussion short and offer to send them more information. No one likes to get trapped at a booth, in real life or virtually.
- Those exhibiting may have more information on ITC’s plans. Please contact me if you’d like to discuss other aspects of the booth experience.
Gathering – Partner Events
- These events can be a great opportunity to connect with those you can’t meet in the one-on-one capability of the platform or to make new contacts at companies that may interest you.
- If hosting an event, be sure to update any invitations you sent for the original event and be prepared to invite others once the platform opens.
- If not hosting an event, check with your partners and contacts to get an invitation to their events.
Attending – Personalized Agenda, Interactive Sessions
- Once the detailed agenda is available, look for relevant sessions of interest to your target market. Be sure to plan on time to attend a few of these sessions and a keynote presentation or two during the plenary sessions. A few key thoughts from these sessions are great conversation starters when following up with contacts after the conference.
Failing to Plan Means Planning to Fail
Experiences at virtual meetings earlier this year have been mixed, and results have been generally poor. ITC has had the advantage of some time to prepare a different experience; they have communicated that they’re serious about making it work. Time will tell, but a large part of whether the conference will be a success for you and your team is in the preparations you make now, how effectively you use the time during the conference, and how diligent you are in your follow-up.
If you’d like to discuss your plans for ITC, please contact me.
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