In Spring of 2020, Visit Wichita found themselves in a now-familiar predicament for many DMOs. As COVID-19 cases began to rise across the country and around the world, many state and federal legislatures imposed strict rules around public gatherings. This, of course, meant that in-person meetings and events came to a standstill virtually overnight.

As the notices for cancelled and postponed events rolled in, the team at Visit Wichita knew they needed to find a way to display this information on their events calendar. Luckily, they were able to customize the Simpleview CRM to create a creative solution to this challenge. 

How has your organization handled the distribution of information in regards to events cancelled or postponed by
COVID-19?

Events are one of the largest drivers of traffic to our website and city. When the pandemic first started hitting us locally, event cancellations and postponements were coming from every direction (venues, performers, and even promoters). We needed to be able to effectively communicate the status so travelers could adjust their plans, especially for events that were rescheduled. Our quick solution was to add information for each event on its description with a link to the full announcement.

How did you utilize the Simpleview CRM to meet your needs in this scenario? 

We customized the Simpleview CRM to create an Event Status field that would automatically trigger messages for each event, depending on what status was selected. For example, if an event status was marked as “Canceled,” it would automatically add a red canceled banner to the event on the event widget and a default message at the top of the event detail page. This allowed us to adjust the event status much quicker with more prominent messaging.

What advice do you have for other DMOs facing similar challenges?

The ability to regularly shift from your DMO mindset to your target audience’s mindset is paramount. Don’t get so deep into the details that you forget to take a step back to truly understand what visitors need, how you can help, and if you are meeting that need.