Best Event Management Software

Event Management Software Guide

Event management software is a computer program that specializes in helping individuals, businesses and organizations plan, market and manage all aspects of their events. It allows event managers to organize multiple events at once, while also ensuring every detail is taken care of. This can include event registration, ticketing, payments, marketing campaigns and post-event analysis. Event management software helps users quickly launch events with ease by providing useful features such as drag-and-drop editing tools for creating custom websites for the event, form building for gathering important information from the attendees and even an inventory system for tracking items used in the event.

The primary purpose of event management software is to automate processes that are necessary for organizing successful events – from creating invitations to setting up a registration page on your website to sending out promotional emails about the upcoming event. Event management systems provide detailed analytics so you can measure outcomes like cost per attendee or open/click rates on emails sent out promoting your event. Additionally, they provide cloud storage solutions so you can store digital copies of documents related to your events without having to print them out physically. You can also integrate other third party services like social media platforms or payment processing systems into your setup if needed.

In addition to streamlining all internal processes involved with an event, the right event management system will also help customers have a positive experience during their time at an event by providing convenient ways to check-in using technologies like facial recognition or QR codes. Event organizers may also be able to incorporate things like online surveys into their setup so they can get feedback from attendees after they have departed or follow up with them afterwards via email or through text messages. A good quality system should offer easy-to-use dashboards which will allow you view real-time performance data on how well your events are running across numerous different metrics - allowing you make adjustments on-the-fly if necessary.

Overall, good quality event management technology has revolutionized how efficiently and effectively companies are capable of managing their events today - from reducing labor costs associated with manual labor traditionally required in these processes (such as printing tickets) as well as ultimately increasing overall customer satisfaction by making it easier for them to participate in whatever activities you may have planned out for them throughout the day!

Why Should Event Management Software Be Used?

There are many benefits to using event management software. This kind of software can systematize or simplify processes in the back-office with regards to running a specific event. These solutions provide cost savings, accuracy, and efficiency from the pre-event, the event itself, and the post-event. We will discuss the following benefits of the software below.

Consolidation of Different Teams

Event management software includes one platform that coordinates all activities and tasks for not just your event team, but for other teams including travel management, accounting, logistics, and sales and marketing. It’s easier to associate all of the connected items across your business. Changes made to one item, as an example, can activate alerts on similar items, guaranteeing that everyone has the most up-to-date information. Situations which necessitate quick coordination between teams include a change in menu, increase in attendance, or a shift in venue.

As well as vertically from the manager all the way down to the field worker, this platform can also make communication clear and open. Managers will be able to see all aspects of their event operations, while ground crews efficiently work in-sync, circumventing inconsistent or conflicting outputs.

Lower Overheads

Your event operations will have top-down and across visibility, making it easier to keep budget caps, which will lead to higher returns and savings and be able to control expenses. Event management software is even good with automating some event management processes, resulting in less time spent completing these tasks. Staff time will also be reduced.

Furthermore, a small team will be able to perform numerous tasks with the help of a solid event solution. Tools such as autoresponders and data management, self-service online registration, and a web-builder that’s coding-free can achieve many time-consuming back-office procedures in organizing events. You will not only save time but money by not having to solicit extra contractors.

Other cost benefits include cumulative spending in order to receive better deals from suppliers and helping your business find the lowest-cost venue for your budget by scouring online sources thoroughly.

Smoother Workflows in Your Event’s Entire Lifecycle

Some event management software solutions will help you plan and promote as well as assist you with on-site operations and post-event evaluations. There are tools included for reporting post-analytics and surveys, event marketing, and event management. The tools take the burden of building your own database off of your shoulders. One example includes online registration which allows participants to enter all of their information instead of you. Your database can be sorted for targeted email marketing. Similarly, you can conduct surveys on your database that will find insights based on no-shows, location, attendance and participation, the ability to run analytics, or conduct post-event analytics to assist you in improving your next event.

It’s also faster and more efficient to find suppliers with event management software because it can send out requests to different vendors quickly. Quotes can be received within a few minutes up to a few hours.

With clockwork precision, on-site tools can allow you to do a walk-through of your participants. Online registration databases can sort non-paid and paid participants while printing the badges out all at once. Internet-connected laptops or mobile payment make on-site payments easier to process.

Event Marketing That’s More Focused

Long-term promotion is critical to the success of any event. Depending on its sophistication, years and even months before the event takes place, the solution can assist you with media and blog placements, mailing lists, online communities, and aggregating social media mentions so you can begin to engage with prospective participants. There are some solutions which involve using communication channels to get questions or feedback from potential participants, or you can create a mailing list for targeted and staggered email marketing phases as the event date approaches. Dashboards can provide you with an overall view of the marketing KPIs of your event including media pickups, leads, and number of participants along with a social media engagement level (shares, likes, mentions). You will be able to see how near or far you are on opening day from your target with combined data on the promotion of your event.

Efficiently Managing Your Data

Event management software can run post-event and real-time analytic insights, organize online registration information and sort the information for different email marketing campaigns. Centralized databases allow users to access the same data, which will eliminate misinformation. Various parties would be notified quickly of any changes to the database such as the program, venue, or number of participants. Reports and documents would be consistently updated all throughout the organization. Likewise, the time that would be needed to create reports for different teams, documents, or lists would become more simplified as each team would be able to refer to just one file.

What are the Different Event Management Software Types and Features?

There are many different kinds of event management software which are categorized by their feature set. The majority of the features are considered a type by themselves as well as independently packaged.

1. Event Registration Software: This software helps event planners manage the registration process for their events, including online registration, managing attendee information, ticket sales and tracking payments.
2. Event Scheduling Software: Used to create an event timeline that outlines all activities and responsibilities related to the event.
3. Event Planning Software: Assists in the planning of an entire event from budgeting to event booking to scheduling tasks and resources necessary for success.
4. Venue Management Software: Allows organizers to search through different venues based on their requirements and book them quickly with no hassle.
5. Food & Beverage Management Software: Handles food ordering, preparation and delivery at large events such as conferences, weddings or other commercial events; it streamlines the catering process by automating the ordering system.
6. Attendance Tracking Software: Tracks attendance at a particular event or venue; it provides insights into preferences about specific activities or speakers in order to tailor future events accordingly.
7. Networking & Communications Platforms: Facilitates networking amongst participants at an event by providing a space for them to connect, exchange contact details and set up meetings with like-minded peers.
8. Audience Engagement Software: Automates the process of engaging with attendees and provides feedback or polls to gather valuable insights from the audience.
9. Ticketing & Payment Software: Allows event organisers to quickly generate tickets and monitor payments; it also helps them manage multiple ticket types and gain detailed insights into ticket sales and revenue.

What Does Event Management Software Do?

The next question people often ask is how event management software works. What does it do? The best way to find that answer is to ask about what the features are. These solutions will offer you tools to cover the stages of the arrangement, the event itself, and the after-event. We will identify some of these key features in this guide.

Tools for Event Marketing

The great thing about event marketing is all of the tools that are available for you to use. They can promote an event to solicit leads and reach a wider online audience. There are three different types of marketing channels including media and blog sites, email marketing, and social media. Some of these tools may vary, but the actual solutions themselves feature a basic event calendar, integrated mailer, and an event website mailer.

What the event web builder does is create the landing site for your online registration as well as your pitch. Similarly, many event solutions include plug-and-play builders that have drag-and-drop functionality, making it easy for anyone to create an event page without any issues. A few of these solutions include a mobile version, which is also a good thing to have in the age of smartphones. You will be able to access your web builder from any place, anytime.

For email marketing campaigns, mailers cull information from your online registration. You can send a variety of emails throughout all of the stages of your event with certain themes, fostering needs, sending a call to action or a reminder for early-bird specials, and encouraging feedback. You can brand your own mailers with merge fields personalized to give your message more engagement. As part of your media standards to backers, the mailer can display sponsorships or track data in real-time.

Integrated or built-in event calendars can show event-goers different programs planned across all of the event dates. Other solutions let participants click on specific programs or dates on the calendar where they are able to sign up for a space.

Registration For Online Events

The modification of entering registration information from a computer to participants is one of the best features event management software has to offer. Online registration makes all of this possible because participants can input all of their information straight into the database for the event. More sophisticated solutions permit multi-session or multi-track registration, allowing guests to sign up for the workshops or programs they would prefer to attend. These systems feature restrictions including a unique ID system or registration code for each guest to protect your data’s integrity against trolls and spam. On-site processing and event marketing can also be implemented into the database.

On-Site Event Management Tools

Onsite tools safeguard the fast processing and clockwork precision of guest appearances. In addition, cloud solutions can enable laptops with an internet connection to become self-service registration booths for attendees. Online or mobile payments empower guests to complete transactions with their own payment gateway or credit card, which allows your registration team to shift their focus towards checking their guests in. Labels and badges will be printed accurately from the main database.

Payments can be easily cross-checked from a portal online and invoices can be printed right away. The same goes for documents including agendas and brochures.

Some reports can be run in real-time on-site so you can keep a close eye on KPIs such as available slots, meal selections, revenues, and number of attendees. Live-stream tools can broadcast snippets of your event numbers or display all of the numbers to add some extra social engagement to your ongoing program.

Managing Your Database

Databases are a core function of all event management software packages. It pulls together analytics, mailing lists, on-site guest lists, and online registration. Be sure you look for export/import functionalities, cloud communication, workflow management, help desk, and sorting variants to extract different integration and metrics with strategic CRM business systems.

Managing Your Budget

Managing your budget is another very important feature that allows you to calculate your savings, re-estimate expenses, and monitor your funds. This module encompasses all of your transactions related to the event and accurately maintains your budget details from line items to high-level estimates for a precise ROI. The feature can track quotes or deals, payments being made, and also estimate the average cost per attendee to scale your estimates.

Event Reporting

Event management software can run analytics anytime before the event, during the event, and after the event is over. This will enable insights to help you make a sound decision. Some of these solutions will let you report in real-time to assess expenses, attendance, and other important metrics and make necessary adjustments to keep your event on target. Reporting takes on many forms including drill-down details or summaries that can be shared with sponsors, partners, teams, and stakeholders. It’s also possible to track trends with the event analytics module to assist you in building one of your best practice sets. Finally, you can make your reports customizable so you can focus on more important metrics for other events in the future.

Feedback Surveys

Some event management software solutions will let you produce feedback for your event which will allow you to gauge the failure or success of your event to help shape future events. Personalized surveys can be created for targeted attendees. The issues your attendees raise on your survey will help to improve your event, while the merits you received from your feedback can be built on and replicated for your next event. This tool can also sort out contacts in your database who are engaging and divide them into possible leads for your CRM enterprise.

Who Uses Event Management Software?

• Event Planners: Event planners are professionals who coordinate and manage events such as weddings, corporate meetings, conferences, parties, and more. They often use event management software to manage tasks associated with event planning such as scheduling speakers, coordinating transportation, and managing vendors.
• Venues: Venues use event management software to keep track of their available time slots for booking events. They can also use the software to follow up with customers regarding payments or any other inquiries they may have.
• Vendors: Vendors use event management software to manage their orders for items needed for an event such as catering, decorations, audio equipment and more. The software can help them keep track of their inventory and ensure that everything is shipped on time.
• Volunteers: Volunteers at an event often use event management software to check in guests or help with other tasks related to the event. It helps them stay organized and make sure they’re meeting all the requirements of their position.
• Attendees: Attendees at an event can often use event management software to purchase tickets or register for activities related to the event. This helps streamline the registration process so that everyone can easily check-in when they arrive at the venue.
• Speakers: Speakers can use event management software to stay up-to-date on events they have been invited to speak at. The software can also help them organize their materials or other items needed for the event, so that everything is ready ahead of time.
• Hosts: Hosts often use event management software to manage any activities associated with the event and track attendees’ RSVPs. The software helps them easily keep track of who has attended and who hasn’t, ensuring that everyone is taken care of during the event.
• Promoters: Promoters use event management software to promote upcoming events and manage any advertising or marketing associated with the event. It can also help them track how many people have attended the event, so they can adjust their promotion strategies accordingly.

Things to Think About When You Purchase an Event Management System

There are many reasons to ponder when you purchase an event management system. Of course, price is one important aspect, but there are some other important things to consider before you purchase such a system:

• Social media - It’s important to use social media to get the word out about your event. There should also be support for or integration with social media posts or a live social feed. In addition, you can stream on YouTube or Facebook to add more depth to the coverage of your event while inviting more participants towards the tail end of the program. Live streaming can be either uploaded for SEO or converted to recorded content.
• Service and support - When you receive a new event management system, learning how to use it can prove to be quite challenging. Support is necessary to help your team transition into running events faster and more efficiently with the new hardware. Vendors should always provide support 24/7 or with a response time that is no longer than 48 hours.
• Ability to scale - You might be managing small projects right now, but one day you might want to grow your business. In this case, you want event management software that will grow along with your business to be able to handle more attendees, provide support for larger events, and include more features for logistics, marketing, and other factors. The pricing plans available will help you make a more informed decision about the solution’s scalability.
• Integration - You will rarely use this solution for processes related to the event. There's a number of business systems that have an impact on the data and workflows of your event such as accounting for financial and cost management, a help desk for addressing tickets, mobile payments for on-site registration, workflow management to approve processes and create task lists, and travel management that books transportation and rooms for all of your guests.
• Functionality - If you want to cover a portion of the event or all of the event, end-to-end will prove to be quite valuable in terms of preparation, the event itself, and after-event stages. They are useful for recurring or large events too. However, there are some solutions that don’t provide all of the tools you need. These tools are perfect for users who may have specific requirements or for small projects. If you are on a shoestring budget, though, you should only subscribe to the important tools you need for your event.

How to Choose the Right Event Management Software

Selecting the right event management software is an important step when planning a successful event. Here are some tips to help you choose the best system for your needs:

1. Start by considering what features you need. Consider if you require tools to manage ticket sales, registrations, accommodations and other logistics. Also consider any unique features that would be beneficial and make your job easier.
2. Research various software options available on the market based on their specific features, integrations and pricing models. Read reviews from other users and compare ratings of each product in order to determine which one best meets your requirements.
3. Check the compatibility of the software with your existing systems such as email marketing or payment processing platforms, if applicable. Make sure the event management software can easily integrate with these programs so that you can manage everything from one central hub instead of having multiple applications open at once.
4. Prioritize user-friendly design over all else when it comes to selecting a system. A good event management software should be easy to navigate and provide intuitive tools for creating new events and managing registrations, payments, etc., without technical know-how or too much time investment into learning how it works before use.
5. Finally review customer support services offered in case you run into any issues down the road while using the program - check if they have a dedicated team available via phone or online chat for help during regular business hours as well as outside working hours should an urgent issue arise during an event planning process . Doing this will ensure all problems are quickly handled for a smooth running experience throughout event planning cycles!

What are the Benefits of Event Management Software?

Event management software provides many advantages to users, allowing them to plan and manage their events easily and efficiently.

1. Improved Efficiency: Event management software simplifies event planning tasks, such as creating guest lists, sending invitations, tracking RSVPs, and managing budgets. This eliminates a lot of paper work and manual labor that is required for traditional event planning. It also streamlines the process by automatically providing reports of updated budget information.
2. Cost Savings: Event management software can help businesses save money by reducing overhead costs associated with manual processes. It also helps businesses optimize their resources so they can focus on more important aspects of their events rather than wasting time on mundane tasks. Additionally, this type of software allows you to set up automatic payments for vendors or sponsors so that payments are made quickly and accurately.
3. Increased Productivity: By automating the administrative tasks associated with event planning, more time can be devoted to making decisions related to organizing and promoting the event. Event management software also helps streamline communication between staff members involved in planning an event, so everyone is working from a single source of information rather than multiple spreadsheets or emails.
4. Organizational Benefits: The ability to maintain comprehensive records for both past and future events makes it easier for organizations to better understand customer needs when planning future events. Event management software also allows you to track metrics such as attendee satisfaction levels which helps organizations plan better events in the future based on what worked well in the past.
5. Security & Compliance: Software systems help organizations ensure security by controlling user access according to role-based permissions settings or other credentials like passwords or fingerprint biometrics scans. In addition, these systems often offer data encryption services that safeguard confidential information against unauthorized access or tampering. This is especially important when dealing with sensitive financial data related to sponsorships or vendor payments.

Types of Buyers

Depending on the size of your business, it’s imperative that you choose the right event management software for your needs. There are several buyer types to consider:

• Large enterprises - These are companies that specialize in large events and host on-site events often. The events are connected to concurrent online events that work in-sync with their counterparts offline. Your business should look for features that will bring offline and online event registration into line. They should also consider an event management solution with a suite of modules they can pick and choose from according to their needs.
• Mid-size and small businesses - Mid-sized establishments operate with up to 100 employees who specialize in a particular area. These companies need to consider a system that is best-of-breed and specializes in their role. One such example are businesses that hold on-site or online events. If you’re holding an event on-site, you will need features such as sessions management, barcode scanning, badge printing, guest list management, on-site visitor management functionality, and venue management. If you’re holding an event online, you need features such as event reporting, event marketing, online registration management, and ticketing.

Event Management Software Trends

1. Mobile Event App Usage: With the availability of event apps on both Android and iOS platforms, there has been a surge in their usage at events. Event app technology can help organizers send out timely notifications to attendees, provide access to agendas, polls, and surveys as well as offer interactive features like Q&A forums and networking opportunities.
2. Automated Workflows: As event management software becomes more sophisticated, automated workflows are becoming standard for tasks such as registration, ticketing and check-in. This helps streamline the process for both organizers and attendees, reducing manual labor associated with these steps.
3. Cloud-Based Technology: Many event management platforms are now moving to cloud-based technologies which enable attendees and organizers to access information from any device regardless of location or time zone. This also allows for real-time analytics regarding attendee behavior which can be valuable in gauging the success of an event.
4. Social Media Integration: With most people now having social media accounts, many event management systems have integrated with popular platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to allow attendees to post live updates during events. This not only helps attract more attention but also allows organizers to measure engagement levels among different groups of users.
5. Virtual Events & Conferences: In light of recent travel restrictions due to COVID-19 pandemic, virtual events have become popular tools for hosting large scale conferences or meetings over the internet. Event managers can use various virtual event platform features such as live streaming capabilities, web conferencing tools, multimedia displays etc., to replicate a physical event experience online allowing people from all around the world to participate without needing to leave their homes.

How Much Does Event Management Software Cost?

The cost of event management software depends largely on the specific features and capabilities required. Generally speaking, basic event management software can range from free to several thousand dollars per month depending on the number of users and features included in the system.

For example, a basic ticket selling platform may only require that you pay payment processing fees plus a small fee for hosting services. On the other hand, more comprehensive solutions like corporate event planning platforms may require monthly or annual subscriptions ranging from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars based on the size of your organization and expected user activity.

Furthermore, some specialized solutions include additional features such as virtual events, analytics dashboards, or marketing automation tools which can add a premium to the overall cost of an event management software solution.

Finally, it’s important to consider what types of customer service and training options are offered with each solution before making your final decision about pricing. Some providers offer free support via phone or email while others may charge extra for live chat services or extended training videos and tutorials. Ultimately, the cost of your event management software will depend largely on the unique needs of your organization and how you plan to use the system.

What Software Integrates with Event Management Software?

Event management software can integrate with a variety of different types of software, depending on the needs of the user. For example, accounting and invoicing software can be integrated to provide automated payments and expense tracking. Social media integration can allow users to quickly promote their events online. Database programs can be used for customer relationship management and to store attendee information securely. Collaboration tools like Google Calendar or Microsoft Teams also help manage meetings and organize teams more efficiently. Finally, marketing automation platforms can be utilized to streamline marketing efforts and measure ROI from event campaigns. All of these types of software have the potential to increase efficiency when integrated with event management software.