Who Are Your Event Champions?

Your next 100 entries might not come from spending more money on advertising. They could come from the people who already love what you do.

Most event organisers know their regulars. But what about the ones who quietly keep coming back?

If you've been running events for a while, you'll probably know your regulars.

You see them at the start line. You chat to them. You might even know them by name.

They're the people who enter year after year, tell their friends about your events and are part of your event community.

But here's the question:

What are you doing about it?

And more importantly, have you dug into your participant data to find the regulars you don't know?

Because some of your best ambassadors could be hidden

You already know some champions. But what about the ones you don't?

Most organisers can probably name a handful of their biggest supporters.

Your participant database could contain hundreds of people whose loyalty and connections aren't obvious.

But the data might reveal that they've entered seven of your events, accumulated bundles of loyalty points, belong to a local club and have dozens of clubmates who have never entered.

You don't need to guess who your next ambassadors might be. Start by looking at the behaviour of the people who already support you.

Find the person hiding inside the club

Most organisers understand the value of clubs.

A local running club, cycling club or triathlon club could represent dozens or even hundreds of potential participants.

But instead of simply asking:

"Which clubs are near my event?"

why not ask:

"Who in those clubs already loves my events?"

That's a much better starting point.

Imagine Eventrac identifies someone like:

Sarah – Worthing Harriers

7 event entries
5 consecutive years participating
1,850 loyalty points
3 previous referrals
12 clubmates have entered
34 clubmates haven't

You might already know Sarah.

Or you might not.

But your data tells you something important.

Sarah could be your Event Champion.

Sarah has 100 people in her running club who know her, trust her and run with her every week.

If Sarah says:

"I've done this event seven times. It's brilliant. You should come."

that's a recommendation from a trusted source.

And that can be worth much more than another social media advert.

Find the people who haven't entered yet

This is where the data gets really interesting.

Suppose Sarah's club has 46 members who you've been able to associate with her club.

Twelve have entered your events.

Thirty-four haven't.

You've just uncovered a potential audience.

You could give Sarah a personal referral link and ask her to help introduce the event to her clubmates.

You could offer the club a group incentive.

You could reward Sarah for successful referrals.

And, because the activity is tracked, you can see whether it actually works.

Instead of:

"We think the club might be interested."

you have:

"This club already has 12 customers and 34 potential new participants."

That's worth acting on

What should you look for?

Eventrac will help you identify potential Event Champions by looking across the information already captured about their participants.

For example:

• How many events have they entered?
• How often do they return?
• Have they entered different events in your series?
• How many loyalty points have they earned?
• Have they referred anyone previously?
• Are they engaged with your emails?
• Do you know which club they belong to?
• How many other members of that club have entered?
• How many haven't?
• Do they share your event content with their members?

No single factor makes someone an ambassador.

But put the information together and patterns start to appear.

Turn loyalty into something bigger

Your most loyal participants are already telling you something.

They're telling you they like what you do.

Why not give them a way to help you grow?

With Eventrac's built-in loyalty, referral and marketing tools, an organiser can turn that loyalty into an opportunity.

Your Event Champion could receive:

• Loyalty points
• Discounts
• Event credit
• A free entry after reaching a target
• Exclusive rewards
• Club rewards when participation targets are reached

The reward doesn't have to be huge.

The important thing is making it easy for them to share and worthwhile for them to do it.

And it doesn't have to be running

The same principle works across endurance sports.

A cycling club could have its own champion.

A triathlon club could have someone who enters every race in your series.

A walking group might have a member who has quietly brought friends along for years.

A corporate team might have one person who organises everyone.

The common factor isn't the sport.

It's all about influence within their community.

Don't just manage your participants. Understand them.

Your participant database shouldn't simply answer:

"Who entered my event?"

It should help you answer:

"Who are my most loyal participants?"

"Who could influence others?"

"Which clubs already support me?"

"Which club members haven't entered?"

"Where are my next opportunities?"

And ultimately:

"What should I do next?"

That's the difference between storing participant data and using it to grow your events.

Your next 100 entries might not come from spending more money on advertising.

They could come from the people who already love what you do.

Find your Event Champions. Give them something worth sharing. And turn the loyalty you've already earned into growth.