2018: Our Industry's Year in Review
[in-duh-stree]
1. the aggregate of manufacturing or technically productive enterprises in a particular field, often named after its principal product.
2. any general business activity; commercial enterprise.
The financial services and insurance industry has an important role in everyone’s day-to-day life, which makes the role of a meetings professional that much more impactful. Remembering the ultimate purpose behind your meetings and events can help motivate your team and strengthen your mission and purpose. In this Education Essentials, we'll provide you with a year-end recap, strategies for staying successful in 2019 and opportunities for growth in the New Year.
A Year in Pulse Surveys
FICP's Pulse Survey is intended to provide timely and relevant information to those across the meetings and events industry. Highlights from the Q2 2018 Pulse Survey include:
- Those experiencing increases in the size and number of meetings being planned continued to increase in Q2 2018, with 37% and 48%, respectively, indicating this change.
- Significantly more meetings professionals were planning domestic incentive programs than international ones, and the planning cycle for international incentives is longer.
- Nearly half of meetings professionals reported no change to business practices as a result of the uncertainty in the fiduciary regulatory environment or a lack of applicability of those regulations.
- Most meetings professionals (83%) indicated they used event-specific apps to enhance the attendee experience at their meetings and events.
Read more on the Q2 2018 Pulse Survey and don't forget to complete the Q4 2018 Pulse Survey by Friday, December 28. Watch the video below to see what we accomplished together in 2018.
FICP's Pulse Surveys weren't the only reports to show positive growth in the industry. Budgets and qualifiers were on the rise in 2018 according to the Incentive Travel Industry Index. It also revealed an increase in use of all-inclusive destinations and wellness activities at events. Read the full report here. For a full recap of this year's reports, check out the new Industry Research page.
Strategic Planning in the New Year
The holidays are a great time of year to enjoy downtime with family and friends, reflect on challenges and successes from the current year, and start setting goals for the next year. As you reflect on 2018 and set goals for 2019, ask yourself: Am I planning transactional meetings or am I creating transformational meetings with a purpose that are aligned to my company’s goals and objectives? Learn more from Jessica Brown, Hello! Destination Management and Suzanne Loreto, MassMutual Financial Group about how you can set yourself up for success in 2019.
At the 2017 FICP Annual Conference, graphic artists captured the takeaways from Nick Sargen's talk on Global Economic Drivers affecting the F&I meetings industry. Want more? Check out Nick's FICP Short where he shares how meetings professionals can stay on top of their organization's strategic goals.
The Volunteer Experience
In this FICP Short, Allison Cooper, Vice President of Conference Experiences at LPL Financial, Erin Longo, Director of Conference and Meeting Services at Prudential, and Lynn Schwandt, Senior Event Planner at Thrivent Financial, share what volunteering means to them.
Interested in supporting FICP's mission and vision in 2019? Become a volunteer! To opt-in to the volunteer pool, complete your profile on TheNetwork. Your Volunteer Profile helps FICP match you with future volunteer opportunities for which you are both qualified and interested. With one click, be added to FICP's Volunteer Pool and receive email alerts when a new opportunity becomes available.
Plan to Strengthen Your Brand in 2019
FICP is full of thought-leaders. At the FICP Annual Conference last month, we introduced an initiative to help you recognize the benefits of sharing your know-how and telling your stories, as well as our plans to help you do so responsibly and effectively. First in our series: What's in it for you? Actually, quite a bit. FICP has numerous opportunities to share your thoughts throughout the year via TheBlog, social media and with our official media partners. Interested in participating? Contact communitymanager@ficpnet.com for current opportunities.
Wondering About Blockchain?
Here are a few articles that help demystify this industry buzzword:
#TBT - Hearing from Our Leaders
Shelia Cleary, National Life Group, moderates a discussion with James Tracy, Director of Consulting Group and Practice Management for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, and Paul Mears, President of Hello! Destination Management, at the 2018 FICP Annual Conference.
Access Great Content Daily
Follow FICP on Facebook and Twitter to get important updates and timely articles. Here's what you may have missed this month: