Shopping for event management tools: How to get internal buy-in when you’re considering a move

Event Management
Event Trends

May 16, 2023

Getting buy-in from the executive team for new technology, like event management tools, can be challenging. Plus, you won’t be the only one using it. So how do you get your co-workers on board for change, too? Even if your existing processes are broken, people tend to want to stay with the devil they know vs making a change. But there are strategies you can use to increase your chances of success.

Here are some steps you can take to get you closer to getting buy-in from stakeholders:

Write a compelling business case

Before approaching stakeholders, you need to have a clear understanding of the benefits the new technology system will bring to the organization as a whole. Identify the key pain points that the technology will solve for different users in your organization. Try to quantify the benefits in terms of time saved, cost reduction, increased revenue, and/or improved customer satisfaction.

Creating a compelling business case is crucial to getting buy-in for new technology, as it helps decision-makers understand the benefits and ROI of the new tool.

Here are some steps to create a compelling business case for a new event management tool:

1. Identify the problems

Start by identifying the problems that the new event management tool could address, ideally beyond just your own issues you’re struggling with. This could be a pain point within the organization like the:

Need to improve efficiencies when creating and managing events across multiple teams
Desire to lower the cost per event
Need for a more professional-looking and branded experience for potential attendees
Opportunity to reach new audiences

2. Describe the solution

Once you have identified the problems, describe how the new technology solution will address them. Be specific about the features and benefits of the technology and how it will help solve the company’s problems and/or capture new opportunities.

3. Identify the stakeholders

Identify the stakeholders who will be impacted by the new technology, including executives, other employees and teams, customers, and partners. Describe how the event management tools will benefit each stakeholder group and how it would compare to what you’re doing now to manage events.

4. Estimate the costs

Estimate the costs of implementing the new technology, including hardware, software, training, and support. Be as detailed as possible without spending too much time on demos and sales calls until you get buy-in. Also, consider the total cost of ownership over time. A range of potential costs is usually enough for the ultimate decision-maker to give you the green light to continue researching new event management tools (or the red light to stay with the status quo).

5. Estimate the benefits

If you can, try to estimate the benefits of the new technology. Think about potential increased revenue, cost savings, improved efficiencies, and/or improved customer experience. Use data and analytics to support your estimates if you can. This can be time-consuming, so many people give anecdotal insights as a first pass and then dig deeper upon request from upper management.

6. Calculate the ROI

Calculate the return on investment (ROI) of the new technology investment, taking into account the estimated costs and benefits. Make sure to show how the ROI aligns with the organization’s financial goals and objectives. Again, rough numbers can point decision-makers in the right direction. Just be sure to document how you arrived at your numbers particularly if they are rough estimates, so expectations are set appropriately.

7. Develop a risk assessment

Develop a risk assessment that identifies potential risks and challenges associated with the new technology investment, and a mitigation plan to address them. You may want to ask a few of your colleagues who may also be touched by the new tool what potential risks they perceive as well. The more you involve others in your initial planning, the more likely you are to get them on board with change.

8. Present the business case

Present the business case to decision-makers, using data and analytics to support your arguments where possible and always share how you arrived at any estimates. Be clear, concise, and persuasive, and be prepared to answer any questions or concerns that decision-makers may have.

By following these steps, you’ll show your company that you’ve put the necessary time, thought and research into why you need new event management tools and processes. You’ll be able to create a compelling business case for tools within an event management platform that will increase the chances of getting buy-in from decision-makers. Remember to focus on the benefits and ROI of the investment. Also, think about how it will help the organization achieve its goals and objectives.

5 bonus tips to help you get to YES

While the steps above will help you write a compelling business case for a new event management tool, there are some additional tips that can help you get closer to a “yes”! Here are five bonus tips to help you get there:

Know your audience

Different members of the executive team and other teams within your organization will have different priorities and concerns. When presenting your case for the new technology system, tailor your message to the concerns of each team member. For example, the CFO may be more interested in cost savings, while the CMO may be more focused on improving customer experience. Your technology team will be most concerned about how long it will take to implement and what resources you’ll need from them. Everyone will be concerned about data security.

Communicate the long-term benefits

When presenting your case, make sure to communicate the long-term benefits of the new technology. This can include how it will help the organization stay competitive, improve efficiencies across multiple teams and save time in general, plus support revenue growth with simple registration processes and secure payment processing. Everyone wants to hear that their jobs will be easier with new tools and processes. A new event management tool is no exception.

Know what you are competing against

As you know, organizations make many of their internal decisions based on budget. Knowing the budget available and understanding other potential priorities can help you prepare for objections related to other expenses. Whether it is new technology for other departments or different expenses – having this understanding will put you ahead of the game when presenting your proposal. Remember, the more you can show long-term cost savings and improved ROI, the better your chances are of getting the budget.

Get support from key individuals

Identify key individuals within the organization who will benefit from the new technology and get their support. This can include department heads, project managers, or team leads. Having their support can help you make a stronger case to the executive team.

Develop a strong implementation plan

The executive team will want to know how the new event management tool will be implemented, what the timeline will be, and what resources will be required. Develop a detailed implementation plan that outlines these details. Be prepared to answer any questions or concerns the executive team may have. A quick glance at some of your potential event management tools will give you an idea of:

Who has complicated and costly implementation processes
Which are DIY
Which can get you up and running quickly and easily with limited-to-no additional implementation fees

Conclusion

Getting buy-in from the executive team for new technology and event management tools requires a strategic approach that addresses their concerns and focuses on the long-term benefits for the organization.

Writing a compelling business case is an important step to support buy-in. It helps to clarify the need for the investment, provides a clear justification for the investment, enables informed decision-making, helps to allocate resources effectively, and facilitates communication and collaboration.

If you’re considering new event management tools for your organization, talk to our team to see if Attendease can help. If so, we are happy to support you with whatever you need to get buy-in from your internal stakeholders.

Navigating the Top Challenges of Corporate Event Marketing

Event Management

May 9, 2023

Corporate event marketing has become a critical component of customer acquisition. Corporate events facilitate in-person relationship-building, boost employee satisfaction, and foster a sense of community amongst the attendees. Plus, they allow you to tease upcoming changes to your business, such as new product releases or partnerships.

Despite the unique advantages of corporate events, marketing them can be challenging. Unlike cut-and-dry statistics, such as email click-through rate or social media engagement, measuring corporate event marketing ROI can be difficult as it’s not always clear where attendees come from. Event marketers also need to acquire the right target audience, set their company’s event apart, and master robust event data software.

Fortunately, corporate event marketing doesn’t need to be daunting. With a little planning, research, and tech-savvyness, you can achieve your goals and sustainable growth. Let’s explore some of the top challenges event marketers face and how you can overcome them.

Challenge #1: Finding the Right Target Audience

The best marketing campaigns are tailored to audiences that would benefit the most from attending your event and buying your products. However, it can be difficult to customize your messages to the interests and needs of many attendees, especially when you host an event with an array of keynote speakers and products on display. Fortunately, you already have some tools at your disposal to help you structure your messages and pinpoint your target audience.

The best assets you have are your data management systems. Pull data from your CRM to better understand what your average customer looks like. Determine how old they are, their net worth, what they usually purchase, their interests, and other relevant information to your business to make a profile. This allows you to step into your audience’s shoes to make tailored marketing messages. Also, if you’re marketing an event that your company hosts repeatedly, use your event registration software to understand who signed up in the past and how you can attract them again.

These insights help you create marketing collateral that resonates with most of your customers based on data.

Challenge #2: Setting Your Event Apart

The point of corporate event marketing is to get attendees through the door of your event. To set your business apart from others in your industry, you need to highlight why your event is unique and what your attendees can achieve or gain from coming. For example, here are some ways to set your event apart:

Leverage your partnerships. If your event is centered around supporting a nonprofit partner for your CSR campaign, you can let your audience know that all proceeds will benefit their cause.
Advertise the event’s unique activities or theme. For instance, if you’re advertising a corporate golf event, mention that it has a $500 prize pool or other special activities to encourage more signups.
Incorporate a virtual component. It’s never been easier to host your event partially (or fully) online and involve attendees from across the world. Besides increasing attendance, OneCause’s guide to hybrid events states that virtual event components are also more cost-effective and eco-friendly. Simply create and send out a meeting link via Zoom, WebEx, Google Meet, or another virtual conferencing platform so people can participate online.

By effectively communicating the value of your event, you’ll attract newcomers to your event, acquire them as customers, and keep them coming back for more.

Challenge #3: Competing in the Digital Space

For corporations, standing out in the digital world is key to broadening your audience. That being said, making intriguing and unique marketing content in the oversaturated online space can be challenging. So, how do you go about marketing your corporate event amongst the sea of other competing businesses online?

First, assess your SEO status. According to Fifty & Fifty, less than 1% of searchers look for results past Google’s first page of search engine results. Updating your current website and pages to be SEO-friendly allows you to rank above your competition and achieve more visibility. Start by researching the simple changes you can make on your website in the short term to make it SEO-friendly, such as adding alt text to images and being deliberate about keyword inclusion. Then, revise your long-term content strategy by creating new and revising old educational blog posts on your website.

Next, look into online advertising opportunities. Establish where your target audience spends their time online and buy social media and Google Ads to spread the word about your event and company. If you have room in your budget, trying these methods can guarantee more exposure online.

Challenge #4: Measuring Your Campaign’s ROI

Unlike other types of advertisers, event marketers face the unique challenge of gauging ROI and campaign performance. After all, it’s more difficult to determine which attendees came from email appeals versus social media marketing versus your website.

To overcome this roadblock, start by asking your attendees directly. After they’ve signed up online, include a drop-down list of your marketing channels for them to tell you how they found your event. Take it a step further by including separate URLs that redirect visitors to your signup page based on the platform they’re on. This allows you to track your conversion rate for each marketing channel.

Challenge #5: Using Event-Centric Tools

Marketing an event requires a different approach than other forms of marketing. While digital marketers can rely on specialized tools to execute digital marketing campaigns, event marketers have limited options for suitable online platforms for event marketing.

To streamline the lead acquisition process while maintaining functionality, use sophisticated marketing platforms with intuitive integrations and features so you don’t have to transfer information between your CRM and event management platform manually. Some popular marketing tools that your event marketing software might integrate with include Hubspot, Salesforce, Marketo, and Google Analytics.

Corporate Event Marketing: The Bottom Line

Despite the obstacles that many event marketers have endured, the tide is changing. By following the tips above and evolving with the changing landscape of event marketing, especially regarding virtual events and digital outreach, your company can improve lead generation, thought leadership, and brand awareness. With the right tools and strategies, navigating the challenges of corporate event marketing can be more manageable and rewarding than ever before.

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3 Questions You Should Be Asking About Your Event Data Analytics

Event Management News

May 8, 2023

This is an exciting time to be digging into the event data analytics generated from your events. With so many new tech tools and sophisticated insights, event planners can be very strategic in increasing the ROI from conferences, trade shows, and events.

To get started and instantly learn more about your attendees’ interests and behaviors, here are some important questions you should be digging into:

Question 1: Where Do I Find My Event Data Analytics?

Event analytics can be found in several different places. Your event website, registration platform, and your virtual event platform (where applicable) will all provide you with important data regarding performance and visitor interactions.

Your Event Website

Data from your event website will tell you a lot about your marketing. Is your message clear? Is all the relevant information about your event clearly and readily available on your site? Are people finding what they’re looking for?

To get answers to these questions, check things like how long people stay on your site, how many pages they visit, and where they go next after they leave your site. Also, what pages are they spending the most time on? Are they the ones they SHOULD be spending the most time on? Or is this a sign that your content is confusing to them?

The goal is to get people to stay on your site and spend time researching and navigating to the links you’re sending them from each page on your event website.

Ultimately, the end goal is to get them to convert and register for your event. Those conversions can happen in many different tools, depending on your event tech stack. We’ve separated registrations out since not everyone manages them from their event website CMS tool.

Your Online Registration Platform

There are many different tools you can use to take and manage your event registrations. (We wrote this blog on event registration software if you need help finding the right tool for you.) However you manage them, the data you can pull from them will help you understand more about the attendee experience. You’ll also be able to understand if you’re targeting the right audience with your event.

If users are making it partway through your registration flow and then bailing out, that could have a few meanings. Maybe your registration flow is too long. The flow could potentially get confusing. Or worse, maybe it’s broken! These are all things you need to follow up on and look into in order to ensure people are making it through your registration flow.

If users are bailing from your form, maybe it’s too long. Or maybe you’re asking questions people aren’t comfortable answering so early on in your ‘relationship.’ Only ask for the minimum amount of information you need to get the user registered. You can ask them more questions about themselves AFTER they’ve registered.

If your website visitor numbers are high, but conversions are low, consider doing some testing on different elements of your page and form to increase conversions. Wordstream is a great website with data-backed blogs on landing page optimizations, among other marketing tactics.

With Attendease, you can choose to just use our online registration tool as a standalone feature, or you can use it with our full suite of event management tools.

Your Virtual Event-Hosting Platform

If you’re hosting virtual or hybrid events, there’s a lot of juicy data to be had to help you understand how your event performed in your virtual event platform analytics. Check for engagement statistics when you share polls, Q&A, and chat, for instance. What percentage of people are engaging? How often are they engaging? What types of things are they engaging, more or less, with? Does the drop-off rate increase as your event goes on? What sessions are people staying to the end for?

The types of event data you can dig into with virtual events seem almost endless. You can use what you discover from your virtual event data to improve future virtual and hybrid events.

If you’re using a comprehensive event management platform such as Attendease, all of your event data analytics can be found in one place.

TIP: Another (free) source of important online performance data is Google Analytics. Google Analytics is available to you no matter what type of event planning software you use.

Question 2: What Data Can I Get From My Email Outreach?

You can learn a lot about your pre- (and post-) event marketing by digging into your email analytics. There are endless email automation platforms on the market that event organizers use. The easiest way to manage it is to have email automation capabilities available in your event platform. Another way is to find one that integrates easily with your event platform.

Check for open rates on your emails first. Of all of your emails sent out, how many are getting opened? The more people who open your emails, the more you know you’ve found the right audience. And if a lot of users are clicking on the links in your email, that’s an even better indication you’ve hit your mark.

Open rates can also often mean that you just hit the nail on the head with a great subject line. What you really want is people clicking through on the registration links in your emails.

Check for unsubscribe and ‘marked as spam’ rates next. If you’re getting a lot of these, you’re emailing the wrong people. The good news here is that this can ultimately help your open rates in the future. The more people you get off your list who will never open your emails, the better. The bad news is if too many people unsubscribe, it could hurt the future deliverability of your emails, as you’ll get marked as spam by email providers.

TIP: Don’t send your emails out to everyone in your database. Segment your list and only send it to people you truly think would be interested in your event so you don’t ruin your email deliverability.

Question 3: Why Is The Net Promoter Score So Important?

Feedback from event attendees is key in gauging the success of events. A robust event management platform will allow you to easily gather useful data, such as the “Net Promoter Score” from your attendees after they have experienced your event. This particular analytic is a gauge of loyalty and customer satisfaction. Net Promoters are your most important influencers and well worth knowing inside and out.

TIP: Net Promoters are your loyal fans who will sing your event’s praises to their friends and colleagues. They generally account for about 80% of your referrals. Net promoters can also help you close new sponsors or exhibitors with their passion for your business.

Event data analytics will provide you with actionable information and deep attendee insights. Data on how your prospects and attendees interact with your marketing efforts will help refine your future marketing outreach. Get ready to take action on these insights. You’ll be able to translate them into responsive marketing strategies and create your most attended event yet!

For more about how to develop an analytics-rich event strategy featuring your event website, registration, and event apps, download our FREE Ebook Event Analytics: The Fundamental Guide to Executing Your Event Right

Attendease is a cloud-based marketing automation solution for corporate event managers and teams. We’re a modern, feature-rich event software that enables you to manage a wide range of events of all types and sizes.

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The Hidden Costs Of Using The Wrong Event Technology (Or None At All)

Event Management

May 2, 2023

No one in the event world likes to change their event technology. When you’re used to doing things a certain way, the thought of trying something different can be scary – even if what you’re currently doing isn’t really working for you.

We’ve talked to many corporate event planners stuck using clunky, outdated software. We’ve also talked to corporate event planners who still use spreadsheets to project manage and keep track of their event analytics (if you’re making the scream emoji face, we are, too).

What’s kept these event professionals from making a move to something better?

Here are a few reasons:

Time needed to learn a new tool
Cost of upgrading
Lack of buy-in from the top

If you’re feeling stressed out by a lack of event planning support, and these roadblocks stand between you and your most productive self, this post will help get you unstuck. We’ll address each obstacle head-on so you can make the case for getting the needed resources.

Time Needed To Learn New Event Technology

Suppose you use multiple tools to manage landing pages, emails, and registrations. In that case, you’re constantly downloading reports and updating spreadsheets, or you’re spending a lot of time on the phone with customer support; you’re spending your day performing repetitive tasks.

You will never see a return on that time, and what’s worse, you will likely feel constant frustration knowing there’s a better way. When considering the hidden cost of maintaining the status quo, consider it like renting an apartment vs. buying a house.

Sure, learning new software takes time. From onboarding to watching a few how-to videos or consulting a knowledge base or FAQ page when you try out a feature for the first time, you must dedicate some time to learning the new system. But the time you spend learning is an investment; once you’ve mastered a platform, you won’t have to go through the onboarding process again, and all the time you save is yours to keep.

Consider that technology has come a long way, and there are many tech solutions available that are user-friendly and easy to learn. For example, some of EventUp Planner’s enterprise customers were able to launch multiple events across the world within a month of signing up with the new platform.

Cost Of Upgrading

Naturally, pricing will play a significant role in getting approval for new event planning software. If the solution you’re looking at costs more than what you currently pay, you’ll probably meet with resistance. But the cost of doing nothing is actually more expensive in the long run.

Here’s the key. When making the case for an upgrade, focus on the benefits and how they translate to savings. You may be excited about event cloning capabilities, marketing tool integrations, added functionality, customizability, or better attendee experience. However, to justify a more significant upfront investment to your boss, think about the following:

Does the new event planning software replace any tools you are currently paying for?
Will access to automation allow you to manage more events (therefore driving more revenue)?
Can you reduce reliance on your marketing/design team (freeing their time to work on lead-generating activities)?
Can you cut down fees per ticket sold charged by some event tech platforms?

It’s much easier to argue for paying more for better event technology if the ROI is higher than your current one. Oftentimes, the ability to launch just a couple more events per year will offset any upfront cost increase. Doing the math will help you make a far more compelling case for upgrading your current event management system.

Lack Of Buy-In From The Top

As we’ve discussed above, framing your argument for investing in better event management tools in terms of time and cost savings is one effective way to get buy-in from decision-makers at your company. Another is to present them with the results from other businesses using the platform you’d like to switch to.

Change is much less risky when well-known organizations have tried the software you’re pitching and have had tangible success. Rather than worrying about the cost of making a mistake, your boss will realize that inaction means leaving money on the table and that taking action can have other benefits (like being regarded as an innovator and a changemaker within your organization).

Here are a couple of ways to incorporate social proof into your software proposal:

Include testimonial quotes from other corporate event organizers focusing on time or cost savings. You can find these testimonials on the organization’s website or from comparison tools like G2Crowd.
Share case studies where the event planning software has had a positive impact on large-scale revenue

This will make it easier for your boss to get aligned with your plan to upgrade your event technology.

Being an event planner is a stressful job; there are many things you can’t control, like vendors or deadlines. But you can advocate for better resources and the ability to spend your time on the things that matter most. All it takes is a dedicated focus on what matters most to your boss and the understanding that the cost of doing nothing far outweighs the cost of taking a chance on new event technology. If you want to learn if EventUp Planner (formerly Attendease) is a good fit for your organization, download our Platform Overview.

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5 Reasons It Might Be Time to Change Your Virtual Event Management Platform

Event Management
Event Trends

April 27, 2023

Your virtual event management platform is at the heart of creating amazing experiences. With the rapid development of new technology, event planners and organizations need to stay up to date with the latest advancements to ensure the best possible experience for your attendees. So naturally it’s important to continually evaluate whether your current platform can provide the functionality needed for hosting successful virtual events—both today and into the future.

In this blog, we’ll explore five key reasons why it may be time for you to consider switching to a new virtual event management platform.

1. Your current virtual event management platform is outdated

In the past several years, virtual events have undergone significant changes. Developers shifted their focus to virtual event platforms in response to the pandemic and, in its wake, the tools available for hosting virtual events are more advanced than ever.

If you invested in a platform prior to the pandemic and it hasn’t kept up with the changing needs of the industry—or if your platform received half-measure, bolt-on features throughout to try and compensate—you may be at a disadvantage. Many of the original webinar platforms have not evolved into true virtual event platforms and are still only suitable for hosting basic webinars. Even with a “basic” webinar these days, attendees expect more than they did pre-pandemic.

Evolved platforms provide streamlined, seamless virtual event experiences from end-to-end and have been developed with today’s industry in mind.

2. Attendees have come to expect first-class virtual or hybrid events, and won’t accept anything less

During the pandemic, organizations quickly discovered the benefits of transitioning to virtual events. In fact, 84% of organizations who ran virtual events during the pandemic stated they spent less than in-person events prior!

With more organizations making the switch and having extra room in their budget to innovate and push the boundaries of virtual events, expectations have increased for both attendee experiences and the virtual event platforms that provide them. The landscape is constantly changing.

With fierce competition in the virtual event management platform industry, some companies are working hard to create tools that stand out from the rest and address everyone’s pain points. However, other legacy platforms continue to rest on their laurels even though they may not offer all the features and functionality that people need, all because it can be difficult for organizations to adopt and integrate new technology.

The reality is that people on all sides—from your team to your attendees—now expect an elevated experience. This includes an easy-to-build and easy-to-navigate event website, professional marketing tools and automation, and a seamless ticketing experience.

3. Your platform might not be as secure as it needs to be

When it comes to hosting virtual events, the security of your platform should be a top consideration.

Many modern virtual events management platforms allow you to require registration prior to an event and have security measures to ensure only those users attend an event when the time comes. Registration enables the host to have an accurate attendee list and control who can (and cannot) attend. As an added benefit, it also allows for better planning and organization of the event. By being able to restrict the event to only authenticated users, you can prevent unauthorized access and allow only individuals with login credentials or pre-approved access to attend.

Security measures often extend into the event environment itself via passcodes and waiting rooms. By setting a passcode, the host can prevent uninvited individuals from joining the event. Waiting rooms are yet another useful security measure that allow a host to vet attendees before admitting them into the event. These are particularly useful for large events where it may be challenging to monitor all attendees effectively.

By selecting a platform with these security features, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your virtual event is safe and protected from potential disruptions or unauthorized access.

4. Your platform might not follow accessibility best practices

If you’re considering shopping for a new virtual event management platform, it’s important to consider the accessibility needs of your attendees. Audio descriptions, captions, and transcripts are three aids often featured in modern platforms that can greatly improve the experience of attendees with hearing or visual impairments during your event.

Captioning is an important accessibility feature that provides verbatim written text of your event in real-time. Offering a similar functionality to subtitles in film and television is crucial for attendees who are deaf or hard of hearing. They can also be helpful for non-native speakers or in noisy environments!

For attendees who’d like to read your content after the event vs. watching live, transcripts are another great accessibility feature. They allow attendees to take part in your event at any time.

Accessibility features should not only be limited to people with hearing loss, however. Your next virtual event management platform needs to also accommodate attendees who are blind or have low vision. For these attendees, audio descriptions can provide narrations that describe crucial visual details in a video. This allows everyone to feel they are a part of your next inclusive event.

5. Your attendee engagement tools might be outdated

Engagement tools are a crucial piece of a modern virtual event. They enhance audience participation, interaction, and overall experience, making virtual events more engaging and effective. On the flipside, outdated tools can result in disinterested attendees who may complain about your event or not return for future ones.

Offering a fully branded experience from end-to-end, today’s virtual event management platforms are built to wow attendees at every turn. Older platforms may have a few basic tools to engage your audience. You’ll find it’s easier to build excitement and drive engagement when your event offers streamlined tools like 1:1 Chat, Polling, Q&A, and Lucky Draw features to keep your audience active.

Conclusion

A modern virtual event management platform is essential for delivering epic meeting and event experiences over and over again. If your current platform is outdated, lacks comprehensive security measures, fails to meet the latest accessibility requirements, is missing up-to-date tools for audience engagement, or doesn’t meet attendees’ first class expectations, your organization could be missing out on crucial features that elevates event experiences from “meh” to “wow”!

If you’re considering a new platform, look no further than EventUp Planner (formerly Attendease).

EventUp Planner helps you deliver modern, exciting virtual event experiences with all the security and accessibility features your organization needs.

You’ll be able to:

Host single or multi-session virtual events
Choose between live, pre-recorded, or on-demand sessions
Provide a seamless attendee experience using the fully integrated EventUp Planner Virtual Studio
Deliver branded online sessions with fully featured set up and in-session tools

Book a call today and discover how EventUp Planner helps optimize your event management!

Navigating Important Event Analytics Hidden in Your Registration Site

Event Management

April 26, 2023

Event analytics can be found in obvious and not-so-obvious places. One undervalued place is your registration data. Buried inside your event technology platform is a whole constellation of event registration analytics just waiting for you to explore. And you won’t believe the kinds of insights waiting for you there. For instance, information that can help you improve your marketing and event planning efforts. Also, data that can help increase your overall registration, both for your current event and in the development of future event marketing campaigns.

Event Analytics in the Registration Funnel

First things first when it comes to event analytics. Visitors pour in to your site from your event marketing. Your goal is to turn as many of these people as possible into event attendees by enticing them to register for your event. If at least 25-30% of your visitors become registrants, then you are doing great! This percentage is known as the registration conversion rate, and obviously you want this to be as high as possible.

But there are a few steps along the way to reaching the goal of a solid conversion rate. First, many visitors to your event website will never do more than lurk around for a while. Fair enough. Next, some will venture a little further into the registration funnel and begin the process of signing up for your event. Great! These are people who are interested in your event and responding well to your event landing page.

Should You Forget About Incomplete Registrations?

Now, here’s where we hit the next level. Some of those folks mentioned above will go all the way to the end of the registration process and become fully registered event attendees. Ding ding ding!!!! Success! But a fair amount will abandon the process part of the way through. This could be for a number of reasons including:

The instructions were not clear
Th user realized the event wasn’t really for them
They discovered that the pricing was too high for their budget

In any case, these incomplete registrations become the next part in your registration funnel. You can address the abandoned or incomplete registrations by reaching out directly to these folks in a series of emails. For instance, gentle reminders that their registration hasn’t been completed yet. Another option is to offer assistance with the process. Lastly, you could even offer a reduced rate to entice them to commit to your event.

Studies have shown that a concerted effort at targeting these abandoned registrations through personalized outreach can convert at least 20% of your incomplete registrations to completed. It’s a fairly easy way to boost attendance among the people who have already shown interest in your event. This is often much easier than trying to find new potential attendees who don’t already know about your event.

Event Analytics Insights

Examine your registration conversion rate and launch a campaign to re-energize incomplete registrations through direct outreach to improve your event analytics. A strong re-engagement campaign is definitely worth the time and energy. It will likely boost attendance at your current event and it will give you plenty of actionable data to apply to all your future events.

Here Are Some Tips To Improve Conversions:

If your conversion rate is low, then perhaps you haven’t targeted your audience properly.

Have you properly identified and effectively reached out to the correct buyer personas for your brand? Is your social media messaging on point? If your conversion rate is exceedingly low, then it would pay to revisit these aspects of your marketing campaign to ensure that you have focused your efforts in the right place.

Take another look at your event website, and in particular your event landing page.

Is it well written, clear, accurate, and exciting? Does it inspire you to want to get on board and register for this fabulous event right away? If not, then see how you can improve the content until it really shines.

Review and test your pricing

Is it possible that you have overpriced your market? If you think this could be a factor, then you can try offering a discounted rate to your incomplete registrations and see what kind of a response you get. If more than 20% of the people you contact register after the price has dropped, then you can bet that was a key factor in them not completing the registration process in the first place.

Event Analytics Takeaways

Your event management software is designed to not only perform a key role in the event planning process, it’s designed to give you feedback in the form of analytics to help you iterate your process as you go along, and learn lessons for future events. Event planners take heed, you have a great tool at your disposal to help you boost attendance at your events, as long as you take the time to respond to the information it gives you.

For more information on how Attendease can help you make the most of a robust event website, contact us here.

How to Conduct a Needs Assessment to Find the Right Strategic Event Management Software

Event Management

April 24, 2023

Finding the right strategic event management software can be an overwhelming and challenging task. But with an ever-present demand for innovative event experiences, the consequences of choosing the wrong platform can make events more complicated and demotivate your team (womp-womp).

Conducting a needs assessment is a vital first step in selecting the right event management software platform for your organization. Without a thorough needs assessment, you risk investing in software that doesn’t align with your goals, leading to inefficiencies, increased costs, and unsuccessful events.

For this reason, in this blog, we’ll discuss how to conduct a needs assessment and why it is pivotal to making the right decisions for your organization.

Why do a needs assessment?

When searching for a strategic event management software platform, it’s important to ensure that everyone’s needs in your organization are addressed and accounted for. This ranges from team members who will be using the tool daily to those helping with implementation and integrations, plus other key stakeholders, teams, supervisors, and C-suite executives.

A needs assessment shows you’ve done your research. It’s rare for a single tool to solve every problem for everyone. However, if you can thoroughly explain why you chose a particular software, how it’s an upgrade from your existing tools, and identify solutions for any issues it may not address, it will help your organization understand your decision-making process. In summary, presenting a needs assessment helps everyone feel part of the process and makes it significantly easier to get buy-in.

How long does a needs assessment take?

Organizational decisions take time, and presenting a needs assessment to get the ball rolling can, too. Many variables can affect the length of the process, depending on how many different stakeholders are in your organization, the size of your organization, how many people will be using the tool, and how long it takes to coordinate all the relevant meetings. At any rate, the process doesn’t have to drag on!

To keep things short and efficient, hold meetings within a specific week and set deadlines for all feedback. In cases where people cannot meet, make it so they can provide written answers to the questions—but only if they cannot meet. Face-to-face almost always gets results quicker. Additionally, it often opens up important discussion points you hadn’t originally accounted for.

Even if you believe someone may not be able to attend, invite them. For this reason, you avoid the possibility of eleventh-hour feedback and everyone who needs to be involved in the assessment is given an opportunity to contribute right away.

What teams to involve and who to involve from each team

Conducting a needs assessment requires involvement from various teams to ensure all bases are covered. It’s important to involve marketing, events, software development, accounting, operations, HR, and any other teams that may end up using the tool.

In addition, it’s crucial to speak with both end-users and their managers, along with any key stakeholders who have been involved in software contract signings historically. It’s also recommended to ask all parties involved if they could think of anyone else who might use the tool or be impacted by it, in order to have a comprehensive understanding of the tool’s potential reach.

Sample questions to ask each group & how to get answers:

Preparing a needs assessment requires asking the right questions to identify your organization’s needs. For this reason, we’ve put together some of our favorite questions below:

Questions for potential users of the tool:

What are your current tasks related to managing our events?
How do you manage them? What tools do you use currently?
What do you like about your current tools and/or processes?
What do you not like about your current tools and/or processes?
What does your ideal strategic event management tool look like?
What are some must-haves in a new tool?
What are some nice-to-haves in a new tool?
Do you foresee any potential roadblocks?

Sample questions developers:

If we need to add integrations between a new event management tool and other existing tools, what would that process look like?
If I have an integration request, how far in advance do I need to submit a request?
Can you estimate the length of time it would take to integrate a new platform within our organization?
Who would I need to get sign-off from to get my project prioritized?
Do you foresee any potential roadblocks?

Questions to ask managers of potential users:

From your perspective, what are must-haves for new event management software?
What are nice-to-haves?
What are your concerns/issues with the way your team currently manages events?
Do you foresee any potential roadblocks?

Sample questions decision-makers:

What do you believe to be an appropriate price range for new strategic event management software?
What’s your limit in terms of the length of time it should take for everyone to get up to speed on a new platform?
What are your concerns?
If everyone agrees on the platform, would there be any reason for you to want to hold off on signing a contract?
How much do you want to be a part of this process?
Do you have any specific deadlines you want to meet in terms of when to sign a contract and when all team members need to be onboarded?
Can you confirm your price range?
Do you foresee any potential roadblocks?

As we touched on earlier, in-person meetings are the best way to gather answers. These meetings allow you to ask clarifying questions and get additional context you may not be able to get over email. If in-person meetings aren’t possible, surveys or emails can be used but should be saved as a last resort. In all cases, set a firm deadline and adhere to it.

What to do with the information you gather

Staying organized is key when gathering information for your needs assessment. Everything should go into a Word document or PowerPoint, organized into a simple one page per person document with a summary of their questions and answers.

Once you’ve completed that, create a summary that includes collective top priorities, nice-to-haves, roadblocks, questions, and concerns. Present your findings to the group of respondents along with any additional stakeholders involved in the decision-making process. Just as with the needs assessment itself, you’ll gain more valuable insights in person—so, if possible, this presentation should be in the form of a meeting rather than a document!

Pitfalls and challenges

Putting together a thorough needs assessment isn’t without its challenges.

Firstly, it can be challenging to meet with everyone you want to meet with. To overcome this, inform those who can’t provide feedback by the deadline that you do value their input. However, if they don’t meet the deadline, assume they trust you to make the right decision without their input. Continue to prioritize in-person meetings as they will save you stress in the long-term, even if they can be taxing in the moment.

Finally, remember that it’s difficult to get people to think about all the details in the initial planning stages. It is essential to get people to think through details early to avoid stressful eleventh-hour suggestions. You can achieve this by telling them to pretend you’re about to sign a contract, asking them if they can think of anything else to contribute that you haven’t thought of, and asking open-ended questions.

Conclusion

We understand finding the right strategic event management software solution for every situation can be tough. For this reason, we created EventUp Planner, the event planner’s Swiss army knife.

EventUp Planner un-complicates even the most complicated events with seamless and easy-to-use:

Agency-grade event websites
Event registration and ticketing
Multi-event management tools
Event marketing and automation
In-person, virtual, and hybrid event management options

Book a demo today and see how EventUp Planner can ‘wow’ your organization and help you deliver better events than ever before!

Getting the Most Out of Event Email Marketing: A Mini Guide

Event Management

April 14, 2023

Event email marketing is one of the most powerful online strategies to promote your events. By sending well-crafted marketing emails, you can regularly check in with your audience, increase registrations, secure sponsorships and speakers, and grow your brand visibility.

This guide provides everything you need to consider when creating an effective email marketing strategy for your event.

Event Email Marketing Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Before you prepare promotional marketing materials to boost your event, you must familiarize yourself with the key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure campaign performance and success. Here are some metrics you should consider measuring for your campaign:

Open Rate: Rate of subscribers who open your emails. Divide the number of people who opened the email by the number of people who received the email.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): Number of subscribers who open the email and click on the content that links to their following action, such as navigating to your registration page. Dive how many clicked on your email by how many people opened the email.
Unsubscribe Rate: Rate of people who unsubscribe from your email sends. Divide the number of unsubscribed users by the number of emails delivered, then multiply that number by 100 to get a percentage.

As you track metrics, use these insights to optimize your email strategies and improve your performance. For example, keep track of your unsubscribe rate and adjust your actions if the percentage becomes too high. Consider sending messages less frequently or increasing the value of the messages to the users.

Consider other KPIs according to the goals you need to accomplish. For example, you might also track:

Ticket sales
Event registrations
Sponsorship inquiries and signups
Speaker inquiries and signups

You’ll have a more focused perspective of your marketing results when you track indicators relevant to your event goals. Keep an organized record of these metrics to identify areas of potential improvement. Incorporating this data into your event marketing strategy will ultimately lead to more effective methods of promotion that resonate with your audience.

Event Email List Segmentation

Sending the right message to the right person at the right time is the best way to guarantee the success of your event email marketing campaign. Use an email append service to ensure your contact information is correct while focusing on the details of your messaging and branding.

While an email append will ensure you send messages to the right people, you should also consider the steps you can take to send the right messages. Different groups will require different messages to feel motivated by your content.

MemberClicks’s guide to event planning recommends identifying shared characteristics of your audience members to determine how you can create relevant email lists.

For example, you’re trying to secure sponsorships for your upcoming event and want to send targeted messages to various companies. Here are a few lists you can create to attract more sponsorship interest:

Companies who demonstrated interest in sponsoring one of your events in the past have yet to do so.
Companies who sponsored your events in the past but haven’t sponsored any recently.
Companies who sponsored your last event.
Companies who would be a good fit to sponsor your event.

The beauty of segmenting your lists is that you can personalize and craft targeted messages. This may yield more responses than a generic email. Similarly, you might also segment your attendee list, for example, by job title, industry, and ticket type.

Email Subject Lines for Event Promotion

Once you’ve determined who your audience is, you’ll need to decide how you’ll grab their attention. When sending your message through email, a well-crafted subject line can define the success of your entire campaign. Without an attractive reason for people to open your email, your contacts may end up not even reading what you say.

Studies show that shorter subject lines yield higher open rates, but you should also consider wording that generates curiosity and inspires action. Here are some strategies and ideas for subject lines to promote your event:

Fear of Missing Out: “Last day to grab your tickets to the ABC Conference!”
Curiosity: “Lineup for the ABC conference is out!”
Funny: “All-you-can-eat muffins (and a great conference too)”
Vanity: “Become a better marketer in 1 step!”
Greed: “2 for 1 tickets. One day only. Go!”
Sloth: “3 steps to become a better marketer”
Pain Point: “How to drive more sales through email marketing.”
Retargeting: “The ticket in your cart is about to expire.”
Personal Subjects: Hey John, will we see you there?”
Straightforward Subjects: “ABC Conf 2018”
Top Subject: “Upgrade to VIP”

As you consider ways to draw readers to read your message, be as specific to your audience as possible. Rely on your metrics to determine what is most important to your recipients, then use this information to craft targeted subject lines that will pique their interest.

Email Call to Action (CTA)

If you want readers to take action (and we know you do!), tell them what you want them to do. Less is more regarding email structure, so focus on one clear call to action in each message. The best way to do this is by adding a button to your email.

For example, if you want to urge readers to visit your event registration landing page, create a button for your email that links to your webpage.

Follow these tips to create a call to action that your readers can’t ignore:

Use a color contrasting with the other colors on the email to stand out from the rest of the page.
Pay close attention to the copy you add to the button, ensuring it has a clear message. For example, avoid generic messages, such as “click here,” and write something more direct, such as “Get Early Bird Tickets Today.”
Add the button close to the top of the email so users don’t need to scroll down to see it. Consider adding one call to action button on the top portion of the email and another one on the bottom.

You might test out different button colors, messages, and locations to see which performs best. Ensure your calls to action are cohesive with the email’s overall design.

Event Email Design & Branding

Your company likely creates branded materials for all of its outreach efforts. For example, a hospital might create branded eCards to wish their patients a quick recovery. Branding helps an audience associate the message with your organization, and the same can be said about events.

One of the primary objectives of running an event is to generate brand awareness and create a memorable experience. Make sure your email design is consistent with your event branding. Consider these elements for your email design:

Color
Imagery
Language
Layout

Keep your organization, event, and email branding consistent to generate excitement over your event. A loyal audience will gladly support an event associated with your organization, and new audiences will have better insight into your work when they experience your brand through an event.

Event Email Content

Although the email’s design and user interactivity are essential, its content is the most crucial part of your promotion. Use the content to set the stage for the action you’re asking your audience to take. For example, consider these key messages when planning your event email marketing calendar:

Save the date message
Early-bird tickets on sale
Notifying of price increases
Promote speakers
Promote workshops
Accommodation, transportation, and tourist attractions
Special offers
Photos and videos from previous events
Sneak peek of the key takeaways from the event
Post-event survey
Follow up with a discount code for the next year’s event

Promotion of each of these tasks will be dependent on their timing. For example, you’ll want to send a save-the-date message early enough so your attendees can mark their calendars and clear their schedules. Reduce the stress of managing your timeline by putting together a calendar to help you outline and schedule the critical pieces of information that you need to communicate with your audience.

You can also incorporate relevant themes for your messages. For example, construct a short message to follow up with attendees after an early December event. Then, use eCardWidget to create and include a fun holiday card, wishing your attendees a fantastic close to the year.

A Strong Event Email Marketing Strategy Yields Event Goals

Event email marketing is definitely a science, but it’s not a difficult one to master. Follow the steps in this guide, and you can put together a solid email strategy to meet your event goals.

Event Marketing Automation At Your Fingertips with EventUp Planner (formerly Attendease)

Promote your meetings and events with integrated event marketing automation tools. Easily launch and promote your events, interact with registrants, and track your campaigns, all from one place. The EventUp Planner marketing suite is a planner’s best friend. EventUp Planner will automate repetitive tasks, creating efficiencies for you and a more personalized experience for your audience.

Streamline and automate communication.
Deliver fully branded experiences.
Gather data that matters to you.

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Supporting Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives: 7 Event Ideas for Businesses to Consider

Event Trends

March 13, 2023

Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is broadly defined as a company’s efforts to improve society in some way. These corporate efforts can be as small as implementing an environmentally friendly policy change or as large as managing a major event.

Corporate social responsibility is not mandated in the U.S. Rather, it’s an extra effort to make the world a better place by benefiting the community as a whole. CSR efforts can look different depending on the company, but the overall goal is the same—to increase positive social value.

In this article, we will cover the benefits of corporate social responsibility and offer 7 CSR event ideas for your company to try out today. Let’s get started!

What Are the Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility

From a company’s perspective, CSR can sometimes feel like an extra task to check off, but a robust CSR program can reap some significant, tangible benefits beyond the obvious of helping to fill a need in society. These benefits express themselves along several different dimensions:

Increased employee engagement. Double the Donation found that 71% of employees prefer to work at a company that participates in philanthropy. Advertise your corporate social responsibility initiatives to recruit and retain a passionate, engaged workforce.
Increased customer loyalty. A company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives act as a major differentiator for current and potential customers. In fact, customers are more likely to become long-term brand ambassadors if they support your give-back efforts.
Positive public perception. Supporting corporate social responsibility initiatives is one of the best ways to further your company’s public image. A company that invests its resources to further social good stands out against its competitors.

Aside from corporate advantages, CSR positively impacts nonprofits and communities. Nonprofit organizations receive grants, donations, and volunteer hours from companies to further their missions. In turn, local and global communities feel the positive ripple effects.

Top 7 Corporate Social Responsibility Event Ideas for Businesses

There is certainly not a lack of need when it comes to economic, educational, or philanthropic causes. Because there are so many corporate social responsibility opportunities, choosing to support meaningful ones that align with your corporate values is essential. Think about it this way — your CSR initiatives are evidence of your company’s ethics at work.

Here are some examples of simple yet purposeful corporate social responsibility event ideas for your company to try out to get your feet wet in the philanthropic world of giving back:

1. Launch a Sneaker Recycling Program

How many employees have an extra pair of running shoes? They or their growing family will most likely have a couple of extra shoes to spare. Partner with a fundraising provider like Sneakers4Good to raise support for an organization of your choice.

Simply collect gently worn, used, and new athletic shoes. Then, use Sneakers4Good’s pre-paid shipping bags to ship the collected sneakers to the Sneakers4Good warehouse. From there, the athletic shoes will be distributed to micro-entrepreneurs in developing nations. Sneakers4Good will also send your company a check for your sneaker-collecting efforts, which you can then donate to the nonprofit of your choice.

Consider hosting a competition by rewarding the employee or corporate team who has collected the most running shoes over a defined period.

2. Plan a Matching Gift Drive

Initiate a matching gift drive as a part of your corporate philanthropy efforts. If you’re new to matching gifts, it’s a philanthropic program through which companies match their employees’ donations to nonprofits, usually in a 1:1 ratio. However, some companies match gifts in a 2:1 or even 3:1 ratio.

Matching gifts encourage employees to donate to a nonprofit of their choice with a promise of 1:1 corporate donation backing. Employees are generally free to choose which nonprofit to contribute to, and companies reap the benefits of maintaining their corporate social responsibility image while letting their employees take the steering wheel. It’s a win-win for companies, employees, and selected nonprofits.

3. Host a Virtual Corporate Social Responsibility Webinar

Not sure which corporate social responsibility event idea is right? Research several corporate social responsibility events and have your employees complete a survey concerning which causes they’d like to know more about from you. Also, host a virtual corporate social responsibility webinar to explore different causes and initiatives directly with them. (Note: You can do this using Attendease Virtual Studio!)

Compile your list of survey responses and invite the corresponding nonprofit leaders to talk at an organized webinar. Give these organizational leaders time to discuss their mission and what your company can do to help. During the webinar, plan to answer questions and explore corporate social responsibility event alternatives.

4. Host an Environmental Clean-up

Make your city sparkle with a dedicated corporate social responsibility clean-up effort. If your office is near the coast, this could look like spending an afternoon fishing plastic off sandy beaches. If your office is located in a relatively spotless part of town, consider reaching out to neighboring cities and lending a helping hand.

Partner with local parks to plant trees and assist with their trash-free initiatives. Or use your outdoor corporate social responsibility event as an opportunity to celebrate Earth Day.

5. Participate in a Nonprofit Fundraising Event

Raise funds and awareness by participating in nonprofit fundraising events. From online challenges to in-person parties, there is a wide range of potential events to consider. Your company can also join in a pre-made event or plan your own on behalf of a charity.

Potential fundraising events could include hosting a trivia night, fundraising 5K, a field day competition, a used book drive, or a silent auction. The event options are endless! Added bonus, if you’re an Attendease customer, you can use Attendease to register people for your event.

6. Volunteer at an Animal Shelter

Are your company employees animal lovers? Volunteer at a local animal shelter as a part of your corporate social responsibility initiatives. Most shelters have Corporate Service Days to coordinate your volunteer hours.

Go online and fill out the related company volunteer request form. Note that many forms also require a donation as a part of your volunteer efforts.

7. Offer Micro-Volunteering Opportunities

If your company can’t commit to full days of service, try out some micro-volunteering opportunities. These volunteer events are short-term, low-commitment events or tasks that help nonprofits get ahead. They could look like attending a virtual event such as a silent auction, providing nonprofit survey feedback, sorting cans at a food drive, or providing pro-bono professional services as part of your regular work.

Corporate volunteer grants are another low-effort corporate social responsibility alternative. These corporate giving programs encourage volunteerism by donating monetary grants to nonprofits where their employees regularly volunteer.

These grants communicate to prospective employees, customers, and competitors that your company is invested in backing social good causes.

Social Responsibility Opportunities Exist Everywhere

How will your company use CSR initiatives to back its reputation? Environmental, ethical, educational, and philanthropic event-related opportunities exist everywhere. Share this list with your employees to gauge interest and get started planning your next corporate social responsibility event today.

Accessible Event Registration Platform – Make your events inclusive to all attendees with these accessibility best practices.

How to Provide a Seamless Virtual Event Experience – Level up your next virtual event from start to finish with this guide.
5 Strategies to Improve Your Virtual Corporate Events – Make your corporate virtual events stand out with these 5 tips.

Simplify the Complexity of Managing Your Meetings and Events with a Powerful Suite of Tools

Make your attendees gather with ease. From small to large and complex events – plan and manage all of your events in one flexible platform – Attendease.

Learn More!

About the Author: Wayne Elsey is the founder and CEO of Elsey Enterprises (EE) and a Forbes Business Development Council member. Among his various independent brands, he is also the founder and CEO of Sneakers4Funds, which is a social enterprise that helps schools, churches, nonprofits, individuals, and other organizations raise funds while helping to support micro-enterprise (small business) opportunities in developing nations.

5 Must-Haves in Your Corporate Meeting Registration Software

Event Management

February 28, 2023

Today’s events, and some of the corporate meeting registration software that supports them, are more complex than ever. But planning and executing doesn’t have to be nerve-wracking if you’re using the right tools.

In many cases, event software has also been proven to have never been more accessible or flexible. With so many options available on the market, finding that perfect solution can still be challenging. If you’re not sure where to begin, simply follow this guide and you’ll be delivering outstanding events in no time!

Here are 5 key things you should look for in your corporate meeting registration software to maximize your efficiency and success.

1. Ease of Use

Even though technology is ever-present, each person’s comfort level is different. Having a single platform champion on an otherwise discouraged or overwhelmed events team isn’t a recipe for long-term success. That’s why it is important to choose corporate meeting registration software that everyone on your team can use.

Remove internal bottlenecks by finding software that is quick to onboard and easy to use (i.e. has a user-friendly interface and doesn’t require coding). Once team members see how easy it can be to do their work—and how much less stressed they’ll be doing it—they’ll be all-in, and your whole team will be firing on all cylinders. Not to mention that, with your entire team empowered to use the tool, each person’s time and resources can be allocated more effectively.

By reducing your team’s pain points, you’ll reduce the time it takes to launch your events—creating campaigns within weeks of onboarding, not months. Suddenly, a previously overwhelming portfolio of events becomes easy to manage and takes far less time!

2. Comprehensive Features

Corporate meeting registration software helps you manage all your internal meetings and corporate events from start to finish. However, a smooth event experience is much more than just the day-of, so your choice in software should reflect that. Comprehensive features empower you at each stage of the event lifecycle so that you can rinse, repeat, and start fresh—all without breaking a sweat.

Event promotion features capture attention, foster engagement, and empower attendees to learn more. A consistent brand experience across channels builds trust and credibility with attendees, in turn heightening their excitement and encouraging them to sign up and, ultimately, show up!

Maintain pre-event buzz and build anticipation with a flexible and intuitive notification system, options for profile personalization and agenda customization, and easy-to-manage content engagement. When combined, all of these things help attendees look forward to the main event.

Strong foundations help make the day-of experience smoother than ever. Features like easy event and session check-in, live agenda updates, and engagement options ensure a seamless experience.

Your event has to end eventually, but that doesn’t mean the excellent attendee experience has to! Keep the positive impression going with instant replay access and downloads, convenient survey options, and portal access that keeps attendees engaged and excited about future events.

3. Customization Options in Registration Software

Tons of software features may look great on paper, but those features don’t mean anything unless they help you achieve your goals. One of the most important things you can do when looking for the right software is to reflect on and define what you actually need—AKA requirement gathering.

A platform with all the bells and whistles may look like the best choice at first glance, but in reality it’s rare to need or use even half of those fancy features. Event teams who go down this route often end up paying more for features and less for functionality.

That’s why it’s important that the software you choose allows you to tailor the meeting and event experience to your specific needs and goals. This includes being able to customize the registration process, the meeting agendas, and more.

The best meetings and events build trust and credibility with attendees because they offer a cohesive and consistent branded experience. Easily customizable, white-label software ensures the highest level of perceived quality for attendees—before, during, and after the event.

4. Exceptional Customer Service

Integrating new technology can inevitably raise questions, challenges, and issues. If you choose a corporate meeting registration software company with a reputation for excellent customer service, however, no challenge is too big to overcome.

Whichever company you choose, you’ll want to ensure that their onboarding and support teams always have your back. After all, finding a team that can be relied upon to help you achieve your goals is worth its weight in gold.

Some companies go above and beyond by assigning you a single dedicated representative to champion your account. When you have a dedicated Customer Success Manager whom you’ve built rapport with—and who can offer consistent support when you need guidance—you’ll have confidence in your software and feel empowered to deliver outstanding events. (Not to mention you’ll never have to repeat yourself to a different person each time you call or chat in for support.)

5. A Cost-Effective Corporate Meeting Registration Software Solution

Finally, your corporate meeting registration software should be cost-effective for your organization.

Be sure to do your research and compare the price structure of different platforms to find what works best for you. Some event software platforms will seem inexpensive at first, only to charge per registration fees, percentages of ticket sales, or scale fees upwards based on the number of attendees or events you create. Needless to say, these costs add up.

Compare the price structure of different platforms to find a cost-effective solution for you. Oftentimes, you will find that a flat-fee solution will be the best option. After all, you can’t put a price on cost-certainty.

Conclusion

The most important thing to keep in mind is to know what you actually need and to prioritize that when browsing different options. Don’t get distracted by shiny objects—going for platforms with tons of “cool features” when you don’t actually need them won’t support your goals, and will just overwhelm your team (and increase your costs). Look for a platform that helps cut down on time and stress so that your team can focus on doing what it does best: delivering epic events. If you’d like to know more about our capabilities and how Attendease can support your events and your team, contact us for a demo.