Event Operations: Avoid These 12 Pitfalls for Beginners

Regarding event operations , this article summarizes 12 pitfalls for novices, hoping it will be helpful to you.

1. Because one activity significantly increased the number of users, this method was used every time afterwards.

In fact, this is not a pitfall, because after all, once the user base is fixed, there are indeed certain operational strategies that have been tried and tested and can be used every time. However, it should be noted that the effect of activities is only short-term. Activities should not be abused in pursuit of good-looking data or to meet KPIs. If a product does not generate long-term value for users, users will eventually leave.

2. In order to achieve KPI, let’s organize an event.

Completing KPI is indeed exciting and can give you a three-minute sense of accomplishment, but never forget the meaning behind KPI. For example, an activity aimed at "increasing the number of active users" may have a KPI of "reaching 10,000 active users." However, if you only focus on achieving this 10,000 target and ignore the next steps behind promoting activity, you can easily fall into the swamp of "KPI-only theory."

3. The activity was launched without detailed testing

This is definitely a major hidden danger! Be sure to test! Don’t take it for granted that users will participate according to the process you designed, and don’t easily trust the capabilities of technology (of course, don’t say this verbally), be sure to test it! Once the activity is launched, it is discovered that there are insufficient functions, insufficient guidance, and incorrect links. Either a large number of inquiries and complaints are received, or users simply leave, or users get stuck at a certain link and the entire activity is in vain.

4. Wrong cost estimation

When doing an event, the first thing to do is to list the resources that can be used as rewards, and then confirm the cost. If there is a mistake in the cost estimate, it will be troublesome. If the estimate is too high, it will be better. If the estimate is too low, and the same thing is done with twice the budget, who will be blamed?

5. Give up if the budget is insufficient or the target is too high

Operations personnel must always have a strong heart. In order to improve indicators, there are always more solutions than difficulties. Even if the budget is insufficient, they must try their best. Think about it, could the activity process be more interesting? Can the campaign copy be optimized? What are the hot spots that I can check out recently? Are there any channels that you haven't tried before that you can try? What resources are not being fully utilized? Which platforms or products can we collaborate with to organize activities and share costs?

6. Following the wrong trend

Whether it is following social hot spots or creating your own hot spots, you must remember whether this hot spot is positively correlated with the core value of your product. If your product is targeted at an older demographic, don’t follow any hot entertainment gossip. If your product is targeted at young people, don’t organize any activities that recall the bitterness of the revolutionary era. As for some more controversial hot spots, such as the "Luo Mouxiao" incident some time ago, it is best not to follow if you don't have a foolproof strategy. There are also some outdated hot spots, so don't pursue them stubbornly just because of your personal preferences.

7. Focusing on event design and neglecting event promotion

Every year, Double 11 starts warming up several months in advance, and some merchants’ small activities will also inform users in advance through various channels to allow users to be mentally prepared and have expectations. On the contrary, if the promotion of the event is neglected, even if the event is well designed, the effect will be greatly reduced. It should be remembered that the target audience of the activity determines the publicity channel of the activity. If the target audience is urban white-collar workers, then if the budget is sufficient, the elevator advertising in office buildings cannot be ignored.

8. Not understanding the user structure and conducting the same activities for all users

This is another big taboo. Understanding users is a very important link. You must always know who your users are and what stage of their life cycle they are in. You should design a stepped activity plan based on different users to maximize the "exploitation" of your users. The strategies for recalling lost users and acquiring new users are often different.

9. Failure to provide adequate customer service training

Events can be big or small, but no matter what the scale of the event, customer service must be familiar with the rules. Customer service staff are the front-line personnel who interact with users. When you train them, you are likely to hear practical suggestions that you have never thought of. In addition, a detailed and standard customer service FAQ will greatly reduce the communication costs after the event is launched, and will also add a lot of points to your work.

10. Failure to monitor data in a timely manner after the activity is launched

It is ridiculous to take it for granted that the activities you designed are foolproof. You need to pay attention to the activity data at any time after the activity is launched. Even if there are no abnormalities, you should observe whether there are areas that can be optimized. Look more and think more about what problems are behind the current data.

11. Suspecting that the other party is a water army and struggling whether to issue a reward

In some new customer acquisition activities, even if you have taken measures to prevent water armies, there are still people who swipe away the prizes through normal channels, or some users can be identified as water armies based on the data, but their participation process did not violate any regulations. In this situation, whether or not to give out the awards becomes a dilemma for the operations staff. In my experience, if an event is likely to attract water armies, it must be clearly stated in the rules that the event has a prevention mechanism, please participate in a standardized manner, and at the same time state that the organizer has the right to freeze abnormal accounts. In case there are some fish that slip through the net, if the situation is minor, you can give the reward. If the situation is serious, you can contact the other party directly, carefully understand the other party’s participation process, judge whether he is the type of user you want, and then decide whether to give the reward.

12. Never review an activity

No matter how well you do in your activities, you must review and summarize them in time. Evaluating the effectiveness of an event and summarizing lessons learned can help you be better prepared for the next event, and sorting out an SOP for this type of event can make future work more efficient. In the early stages of planning, you must have the mindset of "definitely reviewing after it's over". During the execution of the activity, promptly note down any inconsistencies with the plan, or new ideas that arise, so that the next activity can be more effective.