People care what others like them are doing.  Sometimes it is to get a sense of belonging.  Sometimes we compare ourselves to others to compete.  Sometimes it saves us time to know what others have tried or recommend.

In any case, this fact is really helpful to marketers.  Lots of exhibitors base a decision to enter your event based on whether their competitors are there…either consciously or unconsciously.  Your attendees do too, which is why many events let you see if not names, titles and company names of other registrants on their website or emails.

Look below for a great example of using information to change behavior as studied in the utility field.

Studies in Norway and Finland found that when customers received neighborhood comparisons, together with frequent electric bills and meter readings, they reduced their energy use by 5%-10%.

—Home Energy Magazine Online, May/June 1997

What if you received 10% more registrants because you announced who else was coming?  Or used audience segmentation to tell your CIOs what classes other CIOs signed up for, and to tell your purchasing department managers what other purchasing department managers did?

Having trouble getting people to travel?  Tell the prospects in California how many other Californians are planning to attend.

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