Event management solutions can help you become more efficient and put more time back in your day to plan future events. whether you plan to buy it or build one, it can streamline and automate your planning processes and increase attendance and turn your attendees into participants. Whether you are hosting one event or a series of events, a small gala dinner or a big conference, an integrated event management platform is your one stop solution to handle the event lifecycle. It is a magical potion that not only revitalizes you, but also your attendees, sponsors and even exhibitors!

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Event
Management
Software
Eventdex

2. Introduction to event management technology
Benefits of event management software
Buy or build: Is that the question?
Things to consider while buying event management software
Conclusion
contents
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3. Introduction To Event Management
Technology
The pace at which the meetings and events industry's landscape is changing is very evident
with the smartphone boom and the coming of event technology. If no two events are the same
and one size doesn't fit all, then how can your in-house systems support the different needs of
your events? A crucial step for any event planner is to take a decision if he/she wants to use
event technology to manage events. Microsoft Excel can help you manage simpler events like
a small board meeting, but for complex events that involve a lot of stakeholders, online
registrations, housing and travel and attendee engagement you may want to weigh your
options. Let's see what event management software can do for your events and how it can
make you look like a star of your events.
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Event organizer's job is stressful, with countless tasks to complete at an impossible pace.
Event planners are blessed with a unique gift of being able to visualize both the larger picture
as well as the minute details needed to execute their events. They are both a people person
and a task master, a quality which is extremely rare to find. However, human brain has its
own limitations and chances of errors can always creep in. No wonder Forbes in 2017 called
“event coordinator” the fifth most stressful job. With an endless task list to complete in such a
short span of time, event management software and systems have become a necessity for
event pros around the world. Of course, in house systems can help you manage tasks, but
these systems may not always help you achieve the level of sophistication your attendees
expect today.

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Benefits of Event Management
Software
While many organizations rely heavily on event management software to run their events,
others still depend on manual processes or disconnected systems. Event management
technology can streamline your entire event planning process, right from budgeting, event
registration and marketing to attendee engagement, post event feedback and event reporting.
Here are the top benefits of event management technology that we just cannot overlook:
Event management technology can streamline the
process of setting up and managing registrations. It
can also increase your registration numbers by
providing potential registrants a smoother and easier
event registration experience. You can also boost
attendance by spreading the word of your event with a
little help from social media and email marketing
tools. Event management software allows you to send
personalized emails based on the actions that your
registrants take.
Boost Event Registration
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Quick Attendee Check-In
Engage Attendees
Moderate Content For VIPs
First impressions create an ever-lasting impression. On the event day, use event
management technology to speed up the check-in process and eliminate long queues of
attendees. Event technology can replace your printed attendee lists with portable devices
like laptops and tables that can check in attendees just by a single click or swipe. It will
also instantly sync registrant data with your contact database.
Boost attendee engagement with the help of various capabilities of event mobile apps.
With mobile apps, you can host engaging games like scavenger hunt or even conduct live
Q&A and polling sessions. Some apps also allow you to leverage social media feeds of
your event posted by attendees. Display these posts live at your event and make your
attendees feel important and valued.
Event management technology allows you to moderate content according to the attendee
type. You can send special messages to important guests at your event and even alert
your attendees when special guests arrive. Technology can help you send customized
event fee as well as different offers or pricing for different types of attendees.

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To improve future events, event technology allows you to gather post-event feedback
from attendees. Technology simplifies the method of sending these surveys and records
results in an efficient manner. It also gives you a deeper insight to measure and
benchmark your events with past events.
Launch Post-Event Surveys
Measuring event success is a crucial part to determine which events performed better.
Whether your event aim is to boost sales by lead generation or provide memorable
attendee experience, event technology simplifies the way you track important event data.
With the help of event technology, you can see event results and create customizable
dashboards to show it to your c-suite and senior management. It also allows you to
analyze results and highlight what worked and what did not.
Measure Event Success
Now that you've understood the key benefits of event technology, the obvious thing that comes
to the mind is whether you should buy it or build it in-house. The next chapter draws a
comparison between the two to help you take a much better decision.

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Buy Or Build: Is That The Question?
The dilemma of buying or building an event management software is not new. Many planners
struggle to find the right business solution approach to implement it. Event planners need to
take several factors into consideration, including strategic goals, required software support and
external partners. Here are the top six reasons why you should buy an event management
software instead of building it in-house.
Before your organization even begins to build an
event management solution, you will have to do a
thorough research to determine the industry
standards. While knowing industry standards is
critical to your events' success, the process of
collecting data is time consuming and you already
have so much on your plate. You just cannot afford
to devote more time on this rather than spending it
on planning your events. On the other hand, buying
an event management software gives you features
specifically designed keeping in mind industry
standards and best practices.
Know Industry Standards
?

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Creating an integrated event management software is time consuming and requires tons
of expertise and resources. However, buying it can not only save your precious man
hours but also give you a much higher ROI in the long run. An integrated event
management platform not only helps you streamline and automate manual event
planning tasks, it adds more time in your day to help you plan your next event. The
platform covers the entire event lifecycle and provides an enhanced experience before,
during and after the event.
Integrated Event Management Platform
Reporting with an in-house system can be time consuming if not inaccurate. Proper
reporting requires years of right data to prove ROI and understand the performance of
events. An integrated platform, on the other hand, can provide easy access to several
customizable reports with key metrics. With the right metrics, get the necessary insights
to understand your events better and improve them year after year. The platform saves
all your events information to help you analyze your events year on year, quarter on
quarter or even month on month!
A dedicated team of developers are always working on enhancing the user experience of
an integrated event management platform so your events are always up to date with the
advancements in the meetings and events industry. The team not only upgrades existing
features, but also introduces new features and functionality alongside better user
interface. In contrast, updating an inbuilt event management technology can incur
substantial recurring costs of maintaining and adding new features to software and
websites.
Robust Reporting
Frequent Upgrades

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Against popular belief, an event management solution can integrate with several leading
software solutions and CRM and marketing automation solutions. Moreover, in most
cases a technical team of highly skilled people work closely to monitor the platform to
ensure stability and security. In contrast, building a web-based system with a backend
database can be quite expensive and tedious and you'd require more staff in the team to
ensure a stable and reliable database backend.
Integrations And Reliability
An inbuilt event management system can develop a snag and hiring addition staff is an
expensive and temporary solution to the problem. Having robust documentation and
training as well support are imperative for the success of your software. On the ip side,
most companies that provide an integrated event management software have a
dedicated team of people always there to help you when you need them the most.
Companies provide online, phone, chat and email support so that customers can reach
out whenever required.
Customer Support
These were our top six points that you should consider while choosing to buy or build an
event management software. If you consider buying the software then the next chapter will
help you with the key things to consider while buying an event management software. With so
many options available in the market, it is easy to get lost and end up with a solution that
doesn't really work for you and your events. Read the next chapter to understand and know
the common pitfalls event managers need to avoid before spending their money on a thing as
important as an event management software.

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Things To Consider While Buying
Event Management Software
While many organizations rely heavily on event management software to run their events,
others still depend on manual processes or disconnected systems. Event management
technology can streamline your entire event planning process, right from budgeting, event
registration and marketing to attendee engagement, post event feedback and event reporting.
Here are the top benefits of event management technology that we just cannot overlook:
Key points to consider for pre event activities
While having a robust event technology is critical for your
event success, the easy accessibility and user interface of
the software is equally a must. The event management
solution has to strike a balance between functionality and
accessibility. There may be software solutions that are easy
to use, but those often have limited functionality. In
contrast, a highly sophisticated system may have all the
functionalities you need, but might not be easy to use.
Therefore, look for a solution that is easy to use and has all
the features that you need to plan awless events.
Is Your Event Tech Provider User-Friendly?

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The right event tech provider should have all the event marketing and promotion tools to
support targeted marketing campaigns and increase visibility, attendance, and
engagement. Your event marketing solution should be able to send automated
personalized emails based on contact information. With the right tools, you can create a
buzz around your events and deliver memorable events year after year.
Does Your Tech Provider Have Essential Event Marketing
And Promotion Tools?
For event pros, budget management is absolutely necessary to prove the ROI of their
events. However, tracking budget and meeting spend can be time consuming and
inaccurate if done manually or with a makeshift technology. A comprehensible budget
management solution can help you collect accurate budgetary information, manage
savings, increase event ROI, and take informed business decisions.
Your event management technology should be customizable to deliver personalized
registration process for your attendees. It should be able to reect your brand and design
across various channels like event websites, mobile apps, name badges, etc. Try to look
for an event tech that can differentiate between clients, VIPs, prospective leads or a
business development partner. A comprehensive event management technology creates
different registration paths and pricing based on the attendee criteria.
Can Your Event Tech Help Track Your Budgets?
Is Your Attendee Registration Process Customizable?

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Key points to consider for onsite activities
Attendee check in without proper technology can be very frustrating and result in long
queues. During your event tech evaluation process, ensure you check how your future
tech provider can check attendees at your events and collect registration fees. There are
several tech providers that can allow attendees to self-check in, saving valuable man-
hours for your event staff.
Tracking attendees at sessions is important to measure the ROI of your events. This will
help you analyze which sessions and speakers were a hit amongst attendees and give a
detailed digital footprint of attendees' interests. When you know what your attendees are
interested in, your sales team can follow up with them based on their interests, thereby
closing more deals for your company.
Attendee engagement should be one of the top considerations when looking for an event
tech provider. To give your attendees a world-class experience, your event management
technology should offer relevant, engaging and personalized experience. One such
solution doing the rounds today is mobile apps. With mobile apps you can eliminate
printed, and often misspelt, brochures and event schedules. With mobile apps, you can
also provide engaging content to attendees with inbuilt features like gamification, live
polling and interactive Q&A sessions.
How Do You Check In Your Attendees?
Can Your Event Tech Track Attendance?
Can your event tech boost attendee engagement?

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When evaluating event management software, see what event tech can do to highlight
the sponsors at your event. This will increase sponsorship opportunities in different
aspects of event planning, including emails, websites, name badges and mobile apps.
The more channels you use to promote your sponsors, the more value they'll get from
your event. The happier your sponsors are, the more they'll continue sponsoring your
events for years to come.
If you hosts large conferences, consider an event tech that can help exhibitors capture
and score leads, gather the right information, take notes against each lead and forward it
to their sales team for follow up. The right event management technology will help you
see exhibitor lead counts in real-time, the booths attendees are attending and the most
visited booth on the oor (only in the cases of tradeshows). These insights will help you
ensure exhibitors get the lead ow they want.
Can Event Tech Provide Event Sponsors?
Can Exhibitors Capture Lead Information?
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Key points to consider for post event activities
Due Diligence is equally important
Before you select any event management software, ensure that it provides you key
metrics and trends to help your team take the right decisions on ways to improve your
future events. The right event management platform can help you understand event ROI
and give you standard reporting options. With standard reports, extract customized
reports depending upon your organization's needs and goals.
A comprehensive event management solution should help you manage all aspects of
your event, including managing budgets, finding venues, checking in attendees and
collecting post-event feedback. An integrated platform that can handle the entire event
lifecycle will increase your efficiency by streamlining and automating event planning.
Check for event management software that integrates with your internal systems to have
a complete, action-driven insights. This will save those precious man hours used in
manually updating information from one system to another and also reduce any typos
and data miscalculation.
How Robust Is The Reporting And Analytics Tools Of The Event Tech Solution?
Can The Event Technology Handle Your Complete Event Lifecycle?
Is Data Integration With Your Internal Systems Possible?

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Event technology has been evolving and so has your event needs. Choose an event tech
partner that have enough resources to keep up with latest events industry trends. Make
sure you understand how their staff can help you improve your events over time.
Your event tech partner should not only provide software solution to streamline your
events, they should have a clear long-term vision of where the events industry is headed.
It's absolutely crucial to know the track record of the company and feedback of their
products before making any investment. Doing this will safeguard your interest and
ensure your continued success.
Does Your Technology Company Have Enough Staff To Meet
Your Growing Needs?
What's The Track Record Of Your Event Tech Partner?
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Conclusion
Event management solution can help you become more efficient and put more time back in
your day to plan future events. Whether you plan to buy it or build one, it can streamline and
automate your planning processes and increase attendance and turn your attendees into
participants. Whether you are hosting one event or a series of events, a small gala dinner or a
big conference, an integrated event management platform is your one stop solution to handle
the event lifecycle. It is a magical potion that not only revitalizes you, but also your attendees,
sponsors and even exhibitors!