How to Select the Right Event Management Technology (Part 3)

If you’ve ever been in the market for a new technology, you know how many options there are. It can make your head spin. What do you need to look for? Which one will be the best fit? How do you know? In the first and second parts of our series, we’ve been discussing the critical questions to ask when you’re in the market for event technology. Now, we’re picking up where we left off: “What tools do you have to increase attendee engagement?” You’ve attracted people to your event. Now, how do you give them a first-class event experience? Attendee engagement can be a challenge for event professionals, and should be a big consideration when evaluating event management providers and reviewing whether they have tools to foster this engagement. A popular tool in the industry today for offering relevant, engaging, and personalized event experiences is mobile apps. They eliminate the need for outdated printed brochures and schedules. Instead, attendees have easy access to their personal schedule, interactive event maps, attendee messaging and networking, social media feeds and gamification, polls, and feedback surveys in the palm of their hand. Some providers also offer tools to project live social media activity on screens at their events to encourage more engagement. There are many mobile event app providers, but the most impactful one will have seamless data flow from your app to the rest of your event management platform. “What benefits can we provide event sponsors through your system?” To maximize the value that sponsors receive from your events, make sure to highlight and measure the advertising benefits across multiple event touchpoints. Consider sponsorship opportunities in your email invitations, event website, registration process, social media, and name badges. A mobile event app is also a great way to deliver multiple advertising channels that will increase sponsors’ impressions and exposure. Learn about the breadth of sponsorship opportunities a provider offers, including:

• Splash pages
• Banner ads
• Sponsored listings
• Surveys and polling

“How will exhibitors be able to capture lead information?” Exhibitors are the lifeblood of many conferences and tradeshows and can be a large revenue driver for your organization. Whether exhibitors feel like they connected with qualified buyers and built new relationships will be a large determinant if they decide to return to your event next time. How will an event management provider help your exhibitors? Discover if a provider has tools for exhibitors to capture leads, collect the right information, rate leads, input notes, and send them off to their sales team for follow-up. Your event team should be able to view exhibitor lead counts in real time, which booths attendees are visiting, and the flow of traffic on the floor. You can use this insight to ensure exhibitors receive the lead flow they need. “What reporting and analytics are available to measure the success and ROI of our events?” Today, event management is both an art and a science. Precise measurement and a deep understanding of key metrics and trends will allow your team to make informed decisions about how to improve your events. We’ve found that understanding event ROI is becoming increasingly important for executives and other event stakeholders. In a potential provider, look for standard reporting options for efficiency and the ability to create custom reporting based on your organization’s specific needs. Additionally, consider how event information should be delivered to your internal stakeholders. Check if a provider has options for executive dashboards or auto-delivered reports. “How do you integrate data from your event management systems to our other internal systems?” To provide truly actionable data-driven insights, the information in your event management system should seamlessly integrate with your other technology systems. This could include your Customer Relationship Management (CRM), marketing automation, email marketing, travel and expense, or web conferencing systems. Know what out-of-the-box integrations a provider offers and whether their Application Program Interface (API) is able to connect to your other software and internal systems. Download our free Event Management Buyer’s Guide to help your organization make the right event technology selection.