The process of hosting an event is intricate. Numerous aspects need to be worked out and perfected. If you fall short on any of them, your gathering could end abruptly. Fortunately, event management software makes it a lot simpler to get the details right. Simply ensure that you invest in the appropriate solution. The best event management software on the market can assist with a variety of tasks, including managing guest lists and registrations, as well as keeping track of expenses, and producing reports after the event. They’ll even make it possible for you to monitor multiple events simultaneously from a single dashboard, which will make planning a lot simpler.
It can seem complicated to pick the best event management software, but it doesn’t have to be. You may find important event management software features in this article that you should take into account.
Key features of an event management software
Online event registration and ticketing
The event app or software must be integrated with this feature because ticket sales produce high revenue. Online event registration and ticketing functionality must be offered by the event management software. Additionally, the attendees should be able to readily see the ticket costs and other expenses in the software. If the event has multiple sessions, the software should even allow users to reserve specific sessions. If there is a seating restriction for any event, the software should make that explicit. Additionally, the software ought to make it simple for event administrators to list their event tickets on the backend.
Email marketing automation tools
Top event management service providers should assist you in creating fully branded marketing emails by using templates and customization options, just like with event websites. Your software should ideally also make it simple for you to duplicate email messages, allowing you to create email templates only once and quickly edit them for subsequent meetings and events.
After that, you’ll need your tool to allow marketing email automation so that the platform can automatically send out emails for things like post-event surveys, news and reminders about the event, and confirmations of event registration. You will save a tonne of time by doing this. Setting up your timelines in the dashboard is all that is required before letting the technology work its magic. If you already use more powerful marketing software, such as Hubspot or Marketo, for email segmentation, you should choose event management software that connects well with these programs to facilitate real-time data movement from one program to another.
Onsite check-ins and live event stats
Any high-profile event or conference’s attendee data yields a wealth of insightful information. It should come as no surprise that event organizers are increasingly searching for systems with integrated “deep reporting.” These platforms enable event planners to keep track of all event data, keep an eye on the metrics that are working (and those that aren’t), and take appropriate action. It is crucial that all attendee data is synced in real-time. Additionally, the event planning software should offer easy-to-use capabilities for onsite check-in. There should never be any issues when people register at the venue. For a complete event experience, the platform should offer both on-venue and off-venue services.
Multiple payment options
You shouldn’t manually handle event payments or take payments using a different piece of software. All aspects of the billing and payment process, including payment collection, invoice generation, and other crucial financial operations, should be handled by your event management software. You should consider the variety of payment method integrations when selecting your event ticketing platform. Make sure that it will integrate into the payment channels that your finance department prefers, or more frequently requires. The payment gateway should be simple to set up and shouldn’t need a lot of assistance from your IT staff.
White label branding
Unique and well-branded materials should be used for marketing. Your landing pages, emails, and other marketing materials will look generic even with the branding from your event registration management service provider. Your customers won’t be able to tell that you employed a certain program or template if you use the appropriate event software. They will only notice a clear, consistent message emanating from your brand.
Ticket customization
If you need an event registration system, choose a platform that lets you customize the tickets. You can stand out by using the function that allows you to customize your tickets. You can design themed tickets using this tool in accordance with the theme of your event. For instance, you’re planning a Halloween event. The witches and wizards are your motifs. You can include a witch riding a broom and a smokey cauldron in the design of your ticket. Your ticket is ready after you add the event information.
Social Media Integration
Social media is one of the most crucial components for every type of business in this digital age, and event management is no exception. An event management business can use social media to invite attendees and clients to comment on, like, and share their posts in order to increase traffic to their pages. The firm may advertise its services, publicize forthcoming events online, draw in new customers, establish relationships with sponsors, and do a lot more.
Security Assurance
An event management platform should make sure that all the data related to events and conferences is secured using a variety of techniques because the possibility of hacking and cyber threats cannot be ignored. The program must adhere to GDPR standards and provide reliable data encryption services. Additionally, it must not grant access to any unapproved suppliers or third parties. Therefore, it is important to reassure app users that they are protected from phishing scams, hacking attempts, hazardous viruses, etc.
Attendee management
The aim of event marketing is to get the appropriate target population to sign up as attendees. You need to make every participant feel important and take note of their demands if you want to have the right levels of impact. The experience that attendees expect to have at an event is what motivates people to purchase tickets, not only the event’s topic. You must have up-to-date knowledge about the participants and provide them with a conduit for conveying their thoughts via an event management software system. As a result, this must be a topic of curiosity before purchasing the software that makes such grand claims.
