Where Do We Go From Here? How COVID-19 Hit One Small Company and How They Are Hitting Back

The year 2020 has been dedicated to change. Through COVID-19, economic crisis, and a growing population of US citizens demanding meaningful societal change, there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. 

If you are in business, you are undoubtedly seeing some kind of impact. For many in the association and events industries, that means reevaluating value propositions. And for a subset of organizations, that means making some kind of (yes, I’m using the p-word here), pivot.

In an effort to better understand how this is playing out, I reached out to my friend, Jeremy Minnick, CEO and head of development for Map Dynamics, to talk about his experience. Map Dynamics supports event managers and they recently developed a new solution in response to the changes taking place in association events, moving from in-person to almost exclusively virtual, while people shelter-in-place.

[*You can learn even more about Jeremy and the Map Dynamics team by checking out the live interview I recently did with them for the Association Chat Podcast.]

KiKi L’Italien: What was your mindset when the impact of COVID-19 really started to hit the events industry?

Jeremy Minnick: That there’s an industry built around events and there’s no way it’s going away.  People will find a way to connect and it would be advantageous for everyone if we could find a way to make that transition easier.

KL: When did you first get worried about the business as news of the virus in the US was unfolding? What were you worried about? What were you hearing from clients and other businesses like yours?

JM: March 13th is the day we decided to work from home indefinitely.  It’s when all of it started to be real and the decision to make a new plan started.  I was first worried about our solvency because I have a Baby coming in June.  If we don’t provide something of value, we won’t survive.  At that point our clients were pretty quiet but I had already turned to the AssociationChat community and saw multiple conversations focused on “what do we do?”

KL: When did the idea arise to try something new? How did you brainstorm innovative ideas and design a product/service with legs? What role did the team play in all of that?

Did you have other ideas that were competing? Did you try to talk yourself out of it? 

JM: I did not. There was just the one idea and figuring out how it would work with our existing toolsets.

“Between passive reading and active video-ing is a lot of room for casual engagement.”

KL: What was that idea?

“Between passive reading and active video-ing is a lot of room for casual engagement.”

That was the idea. What came of it evolved as the product evolved.

[Author’s note: You can find out more about their solution, Event Home Base, on their website.]

KL: How did you know which questions to ask during all of this? What were the questions?

JM: In the very beginning I presented the “idea” and asked, “How do you feel about this?”  I wanted the question to be really broad because I was trying to gauge the emotional response to the idea before presenting anything specific or more concrete.

The next questions started to get deeper into specifics as answers would come in. If people were overall positive about that and agreed with the sentiment I would ask “what does that look like?”

The questions are all broad and posed to many people. Where I found consistency in the answers is where I chose to dive further into the detailsKL: What are the questions you are asking yourselves today?

JM: Are we doing enough? Will this work?

KL: What are/were the temptations that could have derailed the project’s progress? 

JM: Sleep. Frustration with not knowing the future and a strong willingness to just cut my losses. A business failing during this time would be acceptable. I could very easily just give up but I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to let me team down. 

KL: Jeremy, what happens next?

JM: We’ve put the product out there and are starting the marketing campaigns. As clients come in and use it we’ll listen to their feedback on how to improve and continue working to find the best fit.

KL: What is one word of advice you have for people who are looking at having to make changes to the way they do business now in order to survive and thrive?

JM: You can’t guarantee the future but you can commit action to reach the one you want. In times of uncertainty try to focus on what you can control and continue to put in the effort to work through the challenges.

Did the team feel the same way?

After talking with Jeremy, I wanted to find out more from his team. How did they fit into all of this? How had their lives at work changed? And how were they adjusting to changes on what they were producing AND changes in their personal lives?

I talked with Austin Childers, Community Manager for Map Dynamics, and Alexis Simoneau, account manager for Map Dynamics, to find out more.

KL: What were your roles at Map D like pre-COVID-19 and what are they today? What has changed?

Alexis Simoneau: Before COVID-19, I was traveling a lot going to association conferences and events in different states… post COVID-19, I’ve spent a lot more time tuning into webinars and other online events to learn as much as I can to support our clients navigating the switch from in-person to online meetings. I really miss traveling and spending time with our community in person, but I’m enjoying the challenge of working with everyone to find solutions where people need them.

Austin Childers: Before COVID struck, we were the events team for Map D and traveled across the country to attend events and keep our fingers on the pulse of the industry and see the needs of events and event managers first hand. 

Associations make up about half of our clients, and Alexis is our resident CAE and brings a strong Association perspective and focus on that to our efforts. As community manager, with a background in marketing and communications, I give strong consideration to associations but also take a broader view of it all. The roles are still the same in many ways, but participation has changed a bit while more events have gone virtual for the time being. 

One thing that hasn’t changed is our approach to account management. Both Alexis and I are also part of the accounts team where we support event managers by being their main point of contact from when they first reach out to us with questions, through training and event set-up, and we’re there for them when they’re ready for their next event, too.

KL: What ran through your minds when you first heard about this new project (Event Home Base)?

AC: I’ve been at Map D for almost two years now and have seen a lot of updates and progress with our product. I think what excited me most about the new project was the opportunity to take part in making a lot of BIG and GOOD changes fast – changes that would add more to our current clients experience, and better prepare us for what comes next.

AS: I was stoked. As someone with an association background and a heart for serving associations – I feel responsible to advocate for their needs, especially as it comes to technology. With so many meetings moving online, I was excited that Jeremy wanted to create something to help the event managers we serve. Today, I feel proud of what our system offers to help our customers and other associations with this transition. Jeremy has been great to invite feedback from our customers and other stakeholders to make sure this new system will work for them. I’m really proud of how we’ve responded and what we’ve come up with.

KL: Please talk about the product itself. What is it and what makes it helpful for your clients today? How did you determine the value it would have for people?

AC: When COVID-19 turned the events world on its head, we went straight to work to find new ways to support event managers. We spent weeks conducting product research with clients, partners, and leaders in the industry, and now we’re excited to announce a new virtual Event Home Base. 

Just as there’s no “one size fits all” venue to host events, there is no single virtual solution that works for all events. That’s why we’ve built new ways to integrate other virtual solutions into Map Dynamics. Your Event Home Base provides you and your attendees with a way to keep track of live sessions, connect with exhibitors, and engage with it all in a familiar way.

 With people spending more time at their desks instead of out and about on mobile these days, we also took a design approach to optimize the resources available on desktop. Attendees have more tools than ever to connect with speakers, exhibitors, and others.  

And the connection is so important for events. Whether it’s a random connection in a hotel lobby, a stroll by a booth at a trade show, or a seat next to a new friend in a learning session – connecting with others is what makes events so valuable. That’s why we’ve built new tools to ensure those discussions, discovery, and connection can go on whether your event is offline or online (and not end when the live stream does).   

KL: What are you hearing from clients you are reaching out to about this new offering?

AS: Many of our clients love it and appreciate having a solution to move forward with as they restructure their event content in a virtual setting. I’m also hearing some of our customers who have thought about completely canceling their events…with the option to offer an online event using something like Event Home Base, they can still offer timely educational content, a way for suppliers to promote their business, and space where everyone to come together during a time people really need it. 

AC: The number one thing we hear from clients is the need for attendees to be able to engage in meaningful ways. Our strongest suit before was probably helping streamline the sponsorship and booth sales process for events, which hasn’t gone away, but EHB now provides additional tools for attendees, speakers, and sponsors all to engage with one another in a way that feels natural, that can begin before an event does and go even after the event is over, and doesn’t have to end when a live stream does.

Want to reach out to Map Dynamics and find out more about their story?

Visit their website at www.map-dynamics.com or email them directly at build@map-dynamics.com.

Get daily Association Chat updates

Get the latest news, videos, podcasts, and more in your inbox every morning.