Lessons Learned from Nordic Business Forum 2017

Though the show may have ended two and a half months ago, our team has been working tirelessly to process all the feedback that we received. Nordic Business Forum 2017 operated on an unprecedented scale, in terms of venue size, logistics, and production. Most of the improvements that we made from 2016 were well received and appreciated by our attendees. However, there were clearly some details that we overlooked and, as a result, expectations that we did not meet.

For a full overview of the 2017 feedback statistics, see our infographic here. On a scale of weak (1) to excellent (6), our top-rated speakers were Rachel Botsman (5.46), Patrick Lencioni (5.59), and Nick Vujicic (5.74). Vujicic was a big crowd pleaser! If we look at a breakdown of the numbers, seven of our speakers received a mode of six, which is our all-time record. Customer Service also made waves with a very good (5.46) overall rating, receiving recognition both online and offline. We often heard guests remark on all the friendly faces that greeted them! We’d like to thank our wonderful staff and volunteers for making such a great impression on our customers. We truly couldn’t have done it without you. It was incredible to see how those two days out of the year impacted so many people and helped the majority of our guests close out the year with a bang! However, there were those who found themselves fizzling out.

Luckily, they told us why. It boiled down to three major lessons:

1. Our catering options did not always meet expectations

We had made some major changes to our menu from last year and introduced a variety of new flavors and protein sources to give your palette a little treat while at the event. But something clearly went wrong. Whether this was a lack of taste, quantity, visual appeal, or availability, we agree that the lunch and coffee breaks on Day 1 were not up to par. That’s first on our list of improvements to make for next year!

Solutions: The VIP evening’s menu featured game and it was very well received, so we’ve decided to continue that theme for our lunches next year. To address concerns about the serving size, we will make sure that our portions are not too small.

2. The responsibility-themed talks needed more business-ready content

There was an overwhelming consensus that we did not manage to tie the responsibility-themed sessions into business enough. While all of the information was based in fact, it did not always lead to solutions that companies can implement.

Solutions: We plan to model our upcoming conferences around the lessons that we hope you learn from our speakers and activities. By doing this, we hope to tailor and focus your experience and guide you towards ideas and people that are transformative. Your feedback has taken center stage in our discussions to reevaluate our priorities and, while saving the world is a must, delivering inspiring business content is our priority. We want you to be inspired to take action based on the outcomes of attending our conference.

3. Our seminar hall seating was not comfortable enough

There is no doubt that a conference like ours involves a lot of listening and a lot of note-taking, and we apologize for not giving you a more comfortable place to do all of that. Our three raised seating areas were particularly difficult to sit in for extended periods of time, so that will have to change!

Solutions: We will be upgrading our seats (significantly!) both in terms of width and comfort for next year. These new chairs, coming to us from a Central European provider, will make watching the show that much more comfortable, whether you’re on the floor or in the rising seating.

While the numbers are easy to measure and compare year on year, it is the open comments that are truly invaluable to the development of Nordic Business Forum. Thank you for being honest about your experience and for giving us so many ideas, suggestions, and comments.

We have learned so much from both the positive and constructive feedback that we have received. It has inspired us to re-examine our production and planning processes at a granular level. I don’t want to give too much away, but I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what we have in store for you next year.

On behalf of my team, I would like to thank you for being part of Nordic Business Forum 2017. See you in 2018!