Mitigating and Managing Crisis
As a boutique agency, Ritz Events was often challenged to solve problems for their clients. On one such occasion, a client found their registration numbers all skewed up due to an error with their CRM tool. In order to report the actual attendance, the Ritz team found itself scrubbing the database on a daily basis, four weeks prior to the event. The work was both time-consuming and labour-intensive, due to which the team found itself struggling to manage their other events. They realised that this inefficiency and inaccuracy in reporting would cause more problems if they didn't come up with an effective solution for it soon.
As the demand from clients for pre-event and onsite registration grew, they decided it was time to get an event management software that was robust, yet simple and versatile.
A Name That Sells Itself
The Ritz team was keen on getting an event management solution with a brand name that would sell itself to their clients. Destiny brought Cvent to them. “We saw Cvent in action while working on an IT client's event. Using the client's licence, we tested out the platform and were amazed by how powerful it was! … We were impressed with Cvent's capability as a multi-purpose diagnostic and communication tool that enhanced and amplified our backend capabilities with ruthless efficiency,” exclaims Louis Lin, Business Development Manager at Ritz Events Asia. Their end clients in Singapore and abroad were all already familiar with Cvent's prowess, and this sealed the final decision for them. In 2016, Ritz Events decided to bring CVENT on board as their event management technology partner.
Totally in Control
With their new event management solution, the Ritz team was able to cleanse all erroneous email entries (around 17%) and highlight undelivered emails to get a clean database of invitees & confirmed registrations. For invitees who hadn't registered yet, the team was also able to set automated email confirmation upon completion of registration.
With a proper system for database cleaning and registration reporting in place, the Ritz team managed to completely impress the client with their effective and efficient management of the problem. “We had been given two days to sort out the initial mess, and when we were able to deliver in just one day, the client gladly handed over full control of their event's registration to the Ritz Events team,” states Lin, adding, “The following year, the same client reached out to us to execute their event's registration from the planning phase.” The punctuality and accuracy of their daily event reports made the biggest impact, as their client was now able to easily follow up on event attendance. “We were dead sure of the registration numbers at any point of time and this state of being in complete control was assuring to everyone involved in the event planning process,” says Lin.
Where earlier Ritz Events used to spend half a day on reporting, they currently spend less than an hour — and the entire process is now managed by just one person! They have started spending their newly-found spare time in developing content and messaging for their event emails — time which they previously spent worrying on which stakeholders to start communicating with. “Event registration can be a minefield if not planned or executed properly. Intercepting registration that has already started and regaining control of a ‘mismanaged' registration process is a risky job… With Cvent, we were able to achieve exactly that and showcase a rare and elevated form of troubleshooting skills — which is the hallmark of a world-class boutique agency,” concludes Louis Lin.