10 Questions to Ask Before Buying Event Management Software: Question #8

We work with a variety of customers from small to mid-sized businesses to global organizations with thousands and hundreds of thousands of employees. But each customer – no matter how large or small – has very similar questions when it comes to buying event technology. We brainstormed the top 10 questions that we believe smart companies should ask before buying event management software. In this blog, I’ll spotlight the importance of each of the questions – and their answers – in a series of 10 posts.

Last week, we explored how event management software can improve your relationship with exhibitors. This week, we turn to managing hotel and meeting rooms as part of the event planning process. And we ask: “How will event technology improve my relationship with hotels?” Let’s face it; managing hotels can be a headache – unless the event management technology you are considering does all this:

• Manages negotiated hotel room blocks with easy creation of room blocks and sub-blocks that you can offer to attendees
• Displays hotel information with photos, maps and directions – and enable attendees to book or modify reservations via an online platform
• Offers specific hotels or room types based on attendee profiles

Smoothing the hotel planning experience should complement more strategic programs you have in place to manage negotiations with properties. In the 2012 Strategic Meetings Management Study, produced by Business Travel News, nearly one in four respondents said their companies have centrally consolidated all meetings purchasing functions. Of those, more than half said they have gained the benefit of leveraged volume.

If you’re considering buying event management software, tell us why tools to manage hotels are important to you!

Read all 10 Questions Smart Companies Need to Ask before buying event management technology!

Other resources: BTN’s 2012 Strategic Meetings Management Study

Next blog:  Question #9 – What is the true cost of event tech?

Written By: Don Munro

10 Questions to Ask Before Buying Event Management Software: Question #6

We work with a variety of customers from small to mid-sized businesses to global organizations with thousands and hundreds of thousands of employees. But each customer – no matter how large or small – has very similar questions when it comes to buying event technology. We brainstormed the top 10 questions that we believe smart companies should ask before buying event management software. In this blog, I’ll spotlight the importance of each of the questions – and their answers – in a series of 10 posts.

Thanks for following this blog series. In our last post, we discussed how event management technology can make attendees happy.  Here’s another question you should ask before buying event management software: “How can event technology deepen my relationship with attendees?”

In an ACTIVE Network/Event Marketing Institute survey of 2012 event tech trends, 94% of meeting owners said their top event need was to improve the attendee experience. Meanwhile, 85% said expanding customer engagement was their top concern.

When considering event management software, ask yourself if it helps you increase your ties to attendees via:

• Social media that creates blogs and other communities and lets attendees view YouTube videos
• Mobile event app so attendees can view and schedule sessions, download agendas, view daily news updates, participate in goal-oriented business games
• Data and insights allowing you to personalize the event experience for your attendees

Read all 10 Questions Smart Companies Need to Ask before buying event management technology!

Next blog:  Question #7– How will event tech improve my relationship with exhibitors?

Other Resources:

- The Connected Event – an analysis of technology use, best practices and benchmarks.

Written By: Don Munro

10 Questions to Ask Before Buying Event Management Software: Question #5

We work with a variety of customers from small to mid-sized businesses to global organizations with thousands and hundreds of thousands of employees. But each customer – no matter how large or small – has very similar questions when it comes to buying event technology. We brainstormed the top 10 questions that we believe smart companies should ask before buying event management software.  In this blog, I’ll spotlight the importance of each of the questions – and their answers – in a series of 10 posts.

How to improve the event experience for attendees? Make their lives simpler! In an ACTIVE Network/Event Marketing Institute survey of 2012 event tech trends, 94% of meeting owners said that “improving the attendee experience” was their top event need.

It’s a snap to simplify the attendee experience. Just make sure the event tech you’re considering buying can make it easy for them to:

• Register and engage with your event via:
  • Pre-populated forms for easy registration
  • Automated communication tools, such as surveys and messaging
  • To network with attendees via such tools as:
    • A portal that participants can use to search for and connect with others
    • To recommend, share content using a mobile app

Read all 10 Questions Smart Companies Need to Ask before buying event management technology!

Look for our next post:  Question #6 – How will event tech improve my relationship with attendees?

Other Resources:

- The Connected Event – an analysis of technology use, best practices and benchmarks.

Written By: Don Munro

10 Questions to Ask Before Buying Event Management Software: Question #4

We work with a variety of customers from small to mid-sized businesses to global organizations with thousands and hundreds of thousands of employees. But each customer – no matter how large or small – has very similar questions when it comes to buying event management software.  We brainstormed the top 10 questions that we believe smart companies should ask before buying event management software. In this blog, I’ll spotlight the importance of each of the questions – and their answers – in a series of 10 posts.

In this post, we’d like to talk about one of the most important questions you should ask before buying event management technology: How can event tech help me show cost savings?

In our previous post, we looked at how event tech can get you the ROI you need to justify your events.  Well, tracking and reporting savings is a key measurement of ROI. In the 2012 Strategic Meetings Management Study, produced by Business Travel News, nearly one in four respondents indicated their firms have centrally consolidated all meetings purchasing functions. Of those, more than half said they have gained the benefit of leveraging buying volume with suppliers. Plus, more than four in five noted they have a higher degree of budgetary control.

That’s great stuff. But being able to track, measure and report on savings is even better. When looking at providers, consider the following tech and how it can help you cut 10-25% off annual meeting costs*:

• Process automation. Event planning process automation can cut from 3%-6.5% from your outlay;
• Procurement automation. Electronic Request for Proposal (eRFP) tech can help you save 4.8%-8%;
• Automation to boost visibility & control. This can help you cut from 2.4% – 5.5% from your budget;
• Compliance & Risk. Look to pare 1.6% – 5% from your budget using this tech;
• Meetings Effectiveness. On-site event reporting on attendee satisfaction with speakers and sessions, as well as reports on lead generation, can pare annual meeting costs by 0.5% – 5%.

Tell us how you’re saving on meeting costs and achieving efficiencies! We’d love to hear your stories.

* Source: CWT Travel Management Institute’s 2010 study, “Meetings & Events: Where Savings Meet Success,” which polled 222 event planners worldwide, among other methods.

Check out all 10 Questions Smart Companies Need to Ask before buying event management technology!

Stay tuned for the next post:  “How will event tech make my attendees happy?”

Other Resources:

2012 Strategic Meetings Management Study, produced by Business Travel News

Written By: Don Munro

10 Questions to Ask Before Buying Event Management Software: Question #3

We work with a variety of customers from small to mid-sized businesses to global organizations with thousands and hundreds of thousands of employees. But each customer – no matter how large or small – has very similar questions when it comes to buying event management technology. We brainstormed the top 10 questions that we believe smart companies should ask before buying event management software. In this blog, I’ll spotlight the importance of each of the questions – and their answers – in a series of 10 posts.

 Thanks for following this series of blog posts! So far, we’ve discussed how event technology can help you do your job more efficiently and how it can get you the ROI you need to justify your events.  Here’s question #3: How can event tech help me grow my business?

According to the 2013 US CEO Survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, top executives have great expectations for business growth for the near future: 47% are very confident about prospects for revenue growth over the next 3 years. Talk about pressure!

When you’re considering buying event management software, do you think about how it will help you grow the business? For example, will the tech:

• Generate revenue by providing up-to-date status reports to ensure you meet service level agreements and confirm that exhibitor fees have been paid?
• Drive sales growth by providing an easy-to-use, lead-retrieval device with full contact information?
• Provide real-time information on sales leads during the conference or immediately thereafter?

How do you grow your business through your events? Share your comments below.

Check out all 10 Questions Smart Companies Need to Ask before buying event management technology!

Stay tuned for next week’s post: How can event technology demonstrate cost savings?

Written By: Don Munro

Join Us at HSMAI – Experience Event Management Software Solutions

The meeting and event planning industry’s premier show, HSMAI MEET Mid-America, is coming up later this month in Chicago, IL at Navy Pier. We’re excited to be there as a diamond sponsor and meet with attendees, where we’ll be showing our ACTIVE RegOnline™ and ACTIVE Conference™ event management software solutions.

Meet with Us

To learn more and see the software in action, sign up for a one-on-one meeting with ACTIVE Network (booth #419):

• Tuesday, April 23
• Wednesday, April 24

By meeting with us, you’ll receive our complimentary event management software buyer’s guide and be eligible to receive 10% off standard volume discounts for RegOnline.

HSMAI Educational Sessions – Our Top Picks

HSMAI MEET Mid-America is not to be missed! You’ll get to participate in two days of free education and networking opportunities to help move your meetings and events forward. Here are our top picks for the show:

April 23, 9:00AM – 10:00AM
Promote, Engage and Connect: How Social Media can Enhance Your Event
Kelly Cutler, CEO, Marcel Media
While collecting business cards in a fish bowl does still have value, leveraging the power of social media will enhance your connection with meeting and event attendees. Not only is social media a powerful tool to promote an event, it can and should be used as an engagement tool during the event, and a channel to maintain connections after the event. What can you do to take events to the next level? This session will address best practices, important tools and the key steps to developing an integrated social strategy.

April 23, 10:15AM – 11:15AM
360 Event Engagement Marketing: How PCMA is Doing It
Jason Paganessi, Vice President of Business Innovation at PCMA
Izania Downie, Director Strategic Partnerships, ACTIVE Network
This case-study focused discussion, will illuminate how event management technology is transforming the way the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) runs their own events. This session will discuss the key requirements to integrate digital and mobile technology with your full engagement marketing strategy for increased event success.

April 24, 9:00AM – 10:00AM
Extending the Life of Your Meeting Content…Before, During & After your Meeting
Juli Jones, CAE, Vice President, HSMAI
As meeting and event professionals, we and our teams spend a lot of time and energy (and some of our best thinking) developing educational content — whether large or small, live or virtual. Learn from your colleagues to stretch the value you get from your investment in educational content development.

We hope to see you there! Unable to schedule a one-on-one meeting? Leave us a comment and we’re more than happy to answer any questions you have.

Written By: Rebecca Yetzer

10 Questions to Ask Before Buying Event Management Software: Question #2

We work with a variety of customers from small to mid-sized businesses to global organizations with thousands and hundreds of thousands of employees. But each customer – no matter how large or small – has very similar questions when it comes to buying event technology. We brainstormed the top 10 questions that we believe smart companies should ask before buying event management software. In this blog, we’ll spotlight the importance of each of the questions – and their answers – in a series of 10 posts.

 
Last week, we started the series by discussing the question: How will event tech help me do my job more efficiently? Today, we pose question #2: How can event tech help me prove ROI? Did you know that 70% of best-in-class respondents to a recent Aberdeen Group study, “Strategic Meetings Management: A Handbook of Emerging Strategies for the Next Generation of Meetings and Events Management,” practiced post-event analysis, for example attendee satisfaction and execution against budget – versus 24% of all others polled?

Measuring ROI is very important for event owners because they want to prove the payoff of their events (for example, in increased leads, sales or more knowledgeable employees) to senior management. So, make sure the tech you’re considering answers executives’ queries about what ROI your events provide. Good tech will give you a consolidated picture of all kinds of ROI-related data, for example:

 
• Attendee type, year-over-year attendance, registrant profile data
• Session attendance
• Popularity of speakers
• Growth opportunities – sales leads, hot prospects
• Hotel spending on: Room nights, Meeting rooms, Food & Beverage

 
How do you measure event ROI? What results do your executives want to see most? Share your comments below.

 
Stay tuned for the subject of next week’s post: “How will event tech help me grow my business?”

 
Check out all 10 Questions Smart Companies Need to Ask before buying event management technology!

 
Other Resources:
- The Connected Event – an analysis of technology use, best practices and benchmarks.

Written By: Don Munro

Event Industry – What’s in a Name?

By Betsy Weber via Flickr

I recently attended the PCMA Corporate Programme at International Confex and was lucky enough to host the team from PCMA, along with some of the speakers, to dinner one evening. Now here were some serious industry leaders from both the US and Europe sitting around a table together. The conversation flowed between the joys of traveling to international destinations (mainly the inside of convention centers and hotel rooms) to US & European politics and the opportunity in Latin America, and then discussing which trade show were we going to meet at next. We continued to the hotel lobby bar for a nightcap, where the conversation took a sudden swerve thanks to my extremely right-brained colleague asking, ‘what is the officially accepted name of our industry?’This seemingly innocent and straight-forward question sparked a rather emotionally driven debate around the semantics of words to describe different ways of bringing people together.

One member of the group firmly believed that meetings and events covered it all. I, however, disagreed commenting on incentives, festivals, and public events. Another person piped up about an annual general meeting being called a convention, conference, and meeting – so what really was it? Someone even looked it up on Wikipedia! It struck me that if we as industry leaders can’t even agree, it’s no wonder that the rest of the world is confused.

It also made me recall a meeting I had back in my days as CEO of Eventia. A small contingency of industry leaders in the UK were invited to meet with the Minister of Culture, Media and Sport – the latest department that was made responsible for our fragmented industry. One of the most important things I took away from that meeting was the fact that the minister asked 1) how we define our industry and 2) who the official representation is for us. Of course we had our well-rehearsed answers ready for her; however, knowing the reality in my head, I came away feeling frustrated with the fragmentation of event management and wanting to do more to bring us together. I battled on in those years creating mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances between Eventia and various other industry bodies. However, one thing I did learn is there is still a need for niche representation across our industry. The issues that affect large complex conferences with thousands of delegates managing the exhibitor elements, speakers, housing, etc. compared to festival organizers or incentive trips are all quite different. Not to mention the considerations of a strategic meetings management program.

Do we really want to name the industry with something that would cover every possible type? Meeting, event, exhibition, festival, congress, convention, seminar, conference, incentive trip… and the list goes on. Would it really benefit us or would it become completely homogenized and lose relevance for all the individual sectors involved? I spent enough years trying to figure that out and I still don’t know the answer but it sure made for an interesting and long debate that evening.

However one thing is certain – no matter what the type of event – every organizer needs to have the right technology for meetings management to support their process and objectives. That’s why ACTIVE Network came up with the concept of SMART EVENTS^TM and I’m very pleased to say that we truly do have event management software to serve any type of event. So, perhaps in some way, I’m helping to fulfill my passion of bringing the industry together by promoting the intelligent use of technology to enable SMART EVENTS^TM.

I’m interested to hear how you, or your organization, categorizes the event industry. Feel free to share your thoughts on how you feel it is represented!

Written By: Izania Downie

Event Registration – Macworld / iWorld Checks in Event Attendees 5 Times Faster

How annoying is it to be stuck in a conference registration line that’s so long you miss the first session you’d planned to attend?

For years, long snake-like lines were an issue for Macworld/iWorld, the ultimate annual iFAN event. But, in February 2013, attendees, speakers and exhibitors checked in five times faster than in previous years. How’d that happen? Event organizers IDG World Expo used ACTIVE Network’s Conference^TM onsite Scan and Go technology and expert advice from ACTIVE’s a Professional Services team.

First Impressions: Event Registration Experience

Why is improving the event registration experience so important? Because that’s what the event industry wants: 88% of event producers, exhibitors and event marketers interviewed in a study, The Connected Event: Insight into 2012 Event Technology Trends, said improving the attendee experience was “important or very important. “

Look at other ways Macworld/iWorld benefited:

• Dashboards and timed reports enabled each stakeholder – from marketing, to registration to general management – to quickly  access the info they needed to optimize the show;
• One online self-serve portal and iOS lead retrieval made life easier for exhibitors. The Exhibitor Resource Center replaced four separate exhibitor solutions allowing exhibitors to sign-up, manage their orders and staff and access leads.
• Centralized content and data management reduced headaches for staff. Speaker submissions and exhibitor information were easily collected online and flowed directly into the online event agenda and Mobile App.

Read more about how ACTIVE Network improved the attendee experience and boosted efficiency for Macworld/iWorld show management and exhibitors.

Resources: *The Connected Event: Insight Into 2012 Event Technology Trends,” a study by ACTIVE Network and the Event Marketing Institute.

Written By: Don Munro

10 Questions to Ask Before Buying Event Management Software: Question #1

We work with a variety of customers from small to mid-sized businesses to global organizations with thousands and hundreds of thousands of employees. But each customer – no matter how large or small – has very similar questions when it comes to buying event technology. As a group, we brainstormed the top 10 questions that we believe smart companies should ask before buying event management software. In this blog, I’ll spotlight the importance of each of the questions – and their answers – in a series of 10 posts.

Doing My Event Management Job More Efficiently

The first question we address is “How will event tech help me do my job more efficiently?” CareerCast.com recently named “Event Coordinator” to its list of the “10 Most Stressful Jobs of 2012. So, event management software can pay off big because it increases your efficiency in taking care of event administration. That gives you more time to focus on creating the best content for your event, engaging your audience and strategically managing costs.

When sourcing for event tech, ask if the technology will help you simplify:

• Attendee registration – by setting up a website that enables attendees to register with speed and ease
• Attendee engagement –  via mobile apps and social media, so you can easily distribute updated event material and build attendee communities
• Event coordination – Managing hotel room blocks, the call-for-papers process, exhibitors, speakers, demos, setting up 1:1 meetings
• Data analysis – by providing online reports on metrics as varied as event spend levels, exhibitors visited, sessions attended, new leads generated.

What are some of the ways that technology helps you simplify event registration and other event administration tasks? What would you do with the time you save?

 Stay tuned for the next post:  “How will event tech help me improve ROI?”

Check out all 10 Questions Smart Companies Need to Ask before buying event management technology!

Other Resources:

- The Connected Event – an analysis of technology use, best practices and benchmarks.

Written By: Don Munro