Home » Articles » Business

Choosing An Event Management Software Solution

What should an event manager look for when choosing an event software solution? There are many solutions offered on the market, but some are broader and more technically advanced than others. Event managers must ensure that the investment they make is in their event software is future proof.
In other words, the software must have the ability to grow and adapt as the organisation develops and as advancements occur within the technology.

When looking for an event management software solution there are a few individual features that make some packages stand out from them rest: Integration with back end office systems. Being able to integrate the event management software into the existing solutions used within the business already makes for a more capable package. Business systems such as finance packages, CRM (customer resource management) solutions and HR solutions all contain information and data that must be updated with every event occasion. The finance system will need to process any invoices and payments, the customer data on the CRM solution will need to be updated with the customer's latest activity and the HR solution will need to update employee records if the event involves staff attendance. Automating this process through secured integration removes the chance of any errors and makes the process of updating other platforms far more efficient. Advanced event software solutions will have a flexible technical architecture, allowing them to integrate with all current and future office systems.

In order for event organisers to retain full control over the content and branding of the registration page they must be able to integrate the event software into their own website. This also gives delegates the benefits of using a familiar website. It should be easy and quick to create customisable booking forms. The booking forms should then be integrated into the back end office systems, updating the records and databases automatically as soon as a delegate registers online for an event. Event management software can also make organising repeatable events easy, by accumulating booking forms and other event tools as templates, ready to be used over and over again.

Sophisticated Email Marketing Tool. The event management sector now relies heavily on email marketing solution to manage their events. Emails are used to: Promote events; Send invitations; Update delegates on event changes and developments; Reach delegates for post event surveys. An email marketing tool that is supplied within an event software package must be technically advanced enough to be able to track major KPIs. These include statistics such as the number of opened emails and click throughs, unopened emails, deleted emails, most popular links etc. These tracking and measurements helps event managers to continually improve their communications helping to boost the level of delegate response with each email sent.

However, many email solutions within event software packages can go one step further. Integrating the email tool with the event software means that the registration procedure can be further streamlined. Possible delegates can receive an email invitation, click on the link and be taken directly to a registration page where their details have already been populated into the booking form. This method allows for a two click registration process one click to arrive at the registration web page and a second click to confirm the data is correct and to register for the event. Having this ability radically increases delegate registration numbers which is often a key measurement for many events in this current economic climate.

Reporting and Analysis. Improving the value of events and boosting delegate attendance can only be achieved through the measurement and analysis of each and every event held. This can often be a complex and time consuming effort and is frequently something that gets pushed aside due to the strict time constrains event mangers are functioning in.

Event management software can make the analysis and reporting of events very straightforward. Comprehensive OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) can automate the construction of standard reports and as such, should be part of all event software packages. These reports are built upon the individual requirements and requests of each event organisation not all companies place weight on the same KPIs and results. Appreciating what is important and what affects individual event success is the key to creating suitable and usable reports.

As a company grows and transforms, it is vital that the event software is able to grow with them. The OLAP reporting functionality makes it easy for event managers to simply create ad hoc reports and new report templates as and when required.

Event software OLAP reporting tools can also measure other event metrics such as: Delegate registrations vs. Attendance, Conversion rate of invites sent vs. delegate registrations. Delegate Lead Quality and Quantity. Expense to Revenue Ratio (E:R). Sales Cycle and Opportunities. Other key features that event mangers should look for in an event management software solution are: Resource Management Facility: Simply manage and allocate all resources through a comprehensive calendar feature, providing you with total control of all aspects of the event management process.
Invitation Management: Comprehensive, easy to use integrated invitation management tool.

Online Registration: Fully customisable online booking form ensuring your online registration process captures the most relevant information from your delegates.

Website Integration: Seamlessly integrate with your existing website without the need to re-design or re-brand.

Secure Online Payments: Allow your delegates to securely pay online with confidence, providing ease of automation.
Badge Creation: Produce personalised delegate badges pre or during the event simply through event management software.
Email Marketing Tool: Powerful, integrated and fully functional email marketing tool enabling event managers to send highly targeted email campaigns marketing to the relevant delegate audience.

Survey: Integrated and automated feedback management tool.

Integrated Reporting and Analysis Suite: Powerful reporting and analysis suite, enabling you to simply and quickly drill down to the event data in just a matter of seconds. - https://www.affordablecebu.com/
 

Please support us in writing articles like this by sharing this post

Share this post to your Facebook, Twitter, Blog, or any social media site. In this way, we will be motivated to write articles you like.

--- NOTICE ---
If you want to use this article or any of the content of this website, please credit our website (www.affordablecebu.com) and mention the source link (URL) of the content, images, videos or other media of our website.

"Choosing An Event Management Software Solution" was written by Mary under the Business category. It has been read 1634 times and generated 0 comments. The article was created on and updated on 29 February 2012.
Total comments : 0