The NEC rolled out a number of new measures at the recent Autumn Fair International that were designed to enhance the visitor experience.

The visitors experience began prior to arriving at the venue for the event, which was held 1-4 September, with the NEC having enhanced their subways with themed decoration and improved signage. Once inside, visitors entered a new dwell zone, complete with a piano, seating and extra power points.

Organisers i2i also benefitted from a dedicated Welcome Host – available for the first four hours of the show to help ensure a smooth start, and a welcome hamper, food outlet discounts, and celebratory champagne.

NEC marketing director Martin Clarke commented: “Although we know we’re the venue of choice for our organisers and visitors, we’re continuing to make improvements to demonstrate our flexibility, as well as creating a warm welcome and showing off our personality.

“That in turn will make it easier for our customers to succeed and for visitors to get the most out of their experience. We also need to continue to be “brilliant at basics”, focusing on the little things that make people want to do business with us and visit us again.”

Jason Stead, i2i’s client experience director said the venue is an integral part of any show’s success: “Exhibitors and visitors come to our shows for a specific purpose - to do business, and the setting in which that’s done can make a real difference. Ultimately, our aim as the client experience team is to get our exhibitors and visitors to arrive in a good mood and to leave in a better mood, and the venue has a major part to play in achieving that.”

Martin Clarke added that the customer experience was becoming more sophisticated across the entire hospitality industry, and The NEC was keen to keep pace: “We hope that through building an emotional attachment with the NEC brand we’ll also give the venue resilience in a changing market and enhance our stakeholder relationships.”

Jordan