I was at the T3 Advisor conference around this time last year, and I remember hearing that they were cancelling the 2020 Summer Olympics. At the time, I thought that seemed like somewhat of an overreaction. It amazes me how little we really comprehended back then.
Since then, we have all had to adjust our lives and our ways of thinking. Recently there has been a lot of conversation around when (or if) in-person events will start again—a rational debate.
We all want to behave and be good citizens, but from my standpoint we can’t get back to live events fast enough. That is why we are jumping on the upcoming T3 Conference bandwagon.
You might posit that virtual conferences are good, and technology is getting better, so why not ride that wave for a while longer? They are certainly safer. But virtual conferences are really, to steal a title from Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, or in this case, a tale of two audiences—advisors and vendors.
For advisors, virtual conferences can work. They can get all of the information they would normally get at a conference right from the comfort of their office (or living room, or bedroom). They can get their CE credits, virtually interact with their friends, hear some celebrity talk about finance; and all for a fraction of the cost. As an added bonus, they still have time to walk the dog, have dinner with their spouse, run some errands and sleep in. What’s not to love?
Granted, you don’t get to jet off to some convention center and take in the sights, hob-knob with the industry elites and pick up a bunch of trinkets, but that is a small price to pay. Overall, a virtual conference can often be as good as a live event for advisors.
On the other hand, for vendors, virtual conferences stink. We have “exhibited” at several virtual conferences, and it just isn’t a great experience. Without having advisors traffic through an exhibit hall to get food, drinks and whatever loot we clever vendors are tossing their way, they would rather walk the dog or have dinner with their spouse or run some errands.
How can they learn about the latest developments in technology, services and practice management if they can’t personally see a demo, interact with experts and truly engage in the experience? We have not seen a good way to really get in front of advisors with a virtual exhibit hall. One of the most effective sales and marketing tools has been removed from our collective toolbelts. And it isn’t just the vendors who are losing out on that. Without a more structured venue to showcase the latest tools and resources, advisors might miss out on something that can truly benefit them.
Humans are social beings, and ultimately, we are going to return to our human nature and gather in groups again. We need to do that safely and responsibly. Virtual conferences have got us through a very trying time, and have kept us safe, but we all need the human touch.
So, I am hoping that we will be ready for that soon and am advocating for in-person conferences. As an optimistic mid-westerner, I am going to go with the cup is half full and have faith that we are on the proper trajectory to allow a live, in-person conference this fall. We shall see, but I, for one, am excited about that possibility.
Chris Hastings is CEO of Panoramix, a performance reporting and billing systems provider.
