Epic Events Podcast with
Sarah Kill

From 70% to 95% Satisfaction: How Carers UK Engages Unpaid Carers with Hybrid & Virtual Events

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  • Sarah Kill

    Sarah Kill is the Event and Marketing Manager at Carers UK, the national charity for unpaid carers supporting up to 11 million people across the UK. With years of experience organizing and executing events across hybrid, virtual, and in-person formats, Sarah manages everything from large-scale conferences and awards dinners to networking receptions and parliamentary report launches.

About the Episode

How do you turn around an event program that’s barely keeping sponsors and attendees happy?

Sarah Kill faced that exact challenge as the solo event manager at Carers UK. She was running conferences and awards dinners, but her events were stuck at 70% satisfaction. The breaking point came when a key sponsor couldn’t access their own speaking slot on event day, and tech support left them on hold until the moment passed.

That was the wake-up call she needed. In this episode, Muhammad Younas chats with Sarah about how switching to vFairs skyrocketed her event satisfaction from 70% to 95%. She shares how the platform helped her retain sponsors year after year, boost attendance, and run everything solo.

Get the inside scoop on the platform switch that turned things around, the immersive features that had delegates asking for customizable avatars, and the reporting system that gave her the data to prove ROI.

Key Takeaways: 

  • Audience retention depends on people actually being able to access your platform. If they can’t get in easily, your satisfaction scores will tank.
  • When you’re a solo event manager, you can’t waste time chasing vendors for answers on event day. You need support that responds in minutes, not hours.
  • Immersive virtual experiences matter. Delegates at Carers UK asked if they could customize avatars because the platform felt that close to being at a live conference.
  • Reporting is everything for nonprofits. You need to show sponsors exactly where delegates clicked, what they downloaded, and how many booth interactions happened.
  • Switching platforms after a disaster can actually improve your results. Sarah went from 70% to 95% positive feedback after making the change.
  • Poster halls can work online. Sarah replicated an in-person poster session virtually so partners could share best practices, something she hadn’t seen done elsewhere.
  • Track delegate experience metrics like login times, time spent on the platform, and resource downloads to prove value to stakeholders.
  • Retaining sponsors year after year comes down to showing them clear ROI with solid data they can use.