Organizing and managing events is no easy task, and can be quite time-consuming whether that event is a conference, social gathering, or fundraiser. Luckily, there are some ingenious tools that you can use to make your work easier and guarantee the success of your events.
One of the most beneficial tools as far as the management of events is concerned is event management software (EMS). But there are lots of options on the market, which makes it challenging to pick the best EMS solution for your event.
As such, here is a quick guide on how to go about it:
Step 1: Define your needs and goals
Before you can even make a list of the options that seem to be a good fit for your events planning business, you will want to outline your needs and objectives. Some of the questions that you need to answer include:
- What type of event am I planning?
- What are the objectives of the events?
- What’s the potential number of attendees?
- What’s the size of the budget for the event?
- What factors are crucial to the success of the event?
By answering these questions and any others that are important to you, it will be easier to identify your needs and objectives, thus picking a tool that meets those goals. Perfect Venue is a great example of event management software that makes planning easier regardless of your needs and objectives.
Step 2: Evaluate key features of the software
When determining if an EMS software solution is right for your business, you also want to consider the key features that it offers. Some of the most important features to look out for are:
- Registration and ticketing: You want the tool to offer an easy way for attendees to register, buy tickets, and receive confirmations & reminders.
- Attendee management: It should be easy for you as the event organizer to manage contact information, attendance history, registration status, and other attendee data.
- Data and payment security: The EMS tool that you choose should offer a secure channel for payments and/or data transfer and processing.
- Event website: A good EMS has the right tools for creating excellent websites for events so that you can showcase the agenda, sponsors, speakers, and other important details about the event.
- Marketing and communication: It should be easy for you to promote your event and engage the attendees through various communication methods such as social media posts, emails, and in-app notifications.
- Analytics and reporting: To keep improving your service provision and event value, you will want to pick an EMS that offers detailed analytics and reporting capabilities.
Step 3: Pay attention to the user experience
When choosing an event management software solution for your events planning business, it’s also important to think about the user experience. You don’t want to get a tool that requires you to watch a number of tutorials or read detailed documentation just to figure out how certain elements work.
The event management tool of your choice should be easy to use and have an intuitive interface that allows you to perform important tasks. What’s more, it should have a module that allows for robust customer support and information resources so that you can get the most out of the tool.
Step 4: Evaluate the integration and customization capabilities
You will, more than likely, be using other software solutions such as CRM, project management, and email marketing software. As such, it’s important to check whether your event management software can be integrated with such tools. This will make your work easier and you will have a centralized source of information that ensure harmonized results.
In addition, the software of your choice should be customizable so that you can tailor it to your needs and branding.
Step 5: Check reviews and ratings
Before settling for an event management software tool, you should make the point of checking its reviews and ratings. You can find such reviews on third-party websites and social media pages of the company that offers it.
Make sure to read the reviews thoroughly as that can give you a good picture of what to expect when using the software.
To sum it all up,
After reading this short guide, you now have a better idea of what you should do to pick the right event management software for your business. While not every step in this guide will be important to your business, most of the steps mentioned above will get you a step or two closer to picking the ideal event management software.
So go ahead and get started on finding the right event management tool.
