Events do not happen just like that – there is more to it than meets the eye. As a person working in the event planning industry, I always seek to better understand the needs of event planners. And this time around I was fortunate to shadow a friend who was planning an event for her company. The job certainly did not look easy. And to my surprise, she was managing every detail on loose papers – from event registration, checking in attendees, collecting business cards, distributing flyers to managing the logistics.
As I watched helplessly, I could sense her desperation to get things right and please her attendees. Even though the event was a huge success eventually, I realised how difficult it is to run an awesome event. I personally had fun, but felt sorry for my friend who was running frantically from one menial task to the next.
Here’s the lesson I learnt – the secret of delivering a successful event is to understand that you can’t do it alone. Even the most seasoned event pro can be overwhelmed with the tasks associated with event planning. And that’s where event technology plays a critical role – it’s an invisible weapon in any planner’s arsenal. Event technology automates manual processes, allowing planners to multi-task, become efficient and further grow his business.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways technology is helping event planners to take complete control throughout the event lifecycle.
Improves Efficiency – Studies show a 27%* increase in productivity when using an event management software. An effective event technology like Cvent provides a suite of tools that automates venue selection and event planning processes, saving 15%* cost and increase event attendance by 20%*.
*(Frost & Sullivan Event Planner Study – 2013)
End to End Execution – Technology can handle the entire event lifecycle from start to finish – from finding venues, setting up budget and event marketing, to easy check-in process, onsite attendee engagement and post-event analysis. It’s almost like an extension of your planning team.
Clearer Understanding of Event ROI – To determine the success of any event, it’s imperative to conduct a post-event analysis. The comprehensive reporting and tracking capabilities of an event management system can help you calculate ROI, identify leads and determine attendee satisfaction, giving you definitive cost to benefit ratio results.
Learn the pros and cons of building an event registration and event management system internally.
