Choosing the right occasion know-how on your affiliation is essential for creating participating occasions and conferences on your members. However with so many alternative distributors in the marketplace, making an attempt to make sense of all of your choices is usually overwhelming.
That’s why asking the proper questions upfront is crucial to discovering a supplier that aligns with the objectives and targets of your occasions program.
Searching for steering in selecting your affiliation’s occasion know-how supplier? This information will equip you with 16 key inquiries to ask potential distributors, making certain you discover the proper associate and the perfect occasion platform on your affiliation.
The Significance of the Proper Occasion Tech
Delivering an distinctive attendee expertise is significant. Occasions play a key function in participating your members, producing income, and attaining organizational objectives. However attendees have turn out to be extra intentional with how they spend their time, requiring associations to craft much more memorable experiences that inspire participation.
The excellent news is that the proper occasion know-how can empower you to ship higher occasion experiences, enhance member engagement, and obtain your general targets.
16 Key Inquiries to Ask Occasion Tech Distributors
Within the planning part, you will need to take a detailed have a look at your occasion’s targets and perceive what completely different stakeholders hope to achieve from their involvement.
Occasion know-how has turn out to be indispensable to make knowledgeable impression in your members and ship worth to your sponsors and exhibitors. By asking occasion tech distributors the proper questions, you may confidently navigate the method and make an knowledgeable determination.
Need extra recommendations on find out how to consider occasion tech suppliers? Obtain the Occasion Expertise Purchaser’s Information for Associations now.
1. Can your occasion platform assist me obtain [specific goal]?
Begin by figuring out the particular objectives you wish to obtain, equivalent to rising member engagement, driving extra income from occasions, or serving to members earn CE credit. The forms of occasions you run will decide which options and capabilities you want from an occasion tech vendor. Ask the supplier how their answer can instantly tackle your wants.
2. Is that this product designed for affiliation occasions like mine?
Not all occasion know-how options are created equal. Some could also be designed for particular industries or occasion codecs. Make sure the supplier’s product is versatile sufficient to assist your assembly and occasion necessities.
3. Are you able to share case research of comparable organizations utilizing this product?
Case research present priceless insights into how the answer has been carried out at comparable occasions and the outcomes that had been achieved. They will additionally assist you to persuade different stakeholders of the know-how’s worth and assist get your price range accepted. Ask the seller to share related case research or buyer tales so you may higher perceive the product’s capabilities and potential influence.
4. Will the platform combine with my current instruments?
Your affiliation possible makes use of an affiliation administration software program (AMS) or a CRM device.Selecting occasion administration software program that seamlessly integrates along with your current tech stack makes it simpler to handle your occasion knowledge and create a constant expertise for attendees. Ask concerning the supplier’s off-the-shelf integrations and their skill to facilitate customized integrations and any related prices.
5. How can the platform assist me promote my occasions and register attendees?
Step one to operating profitable affiliation occasions is getting your members (and potential members!) excited to register and attend. Meaning you want an attention grabbing occasion web site that encourages members to register, entices non-members to enroll, and makes it straightforward for them to take action through the proper registration answer.
Customizable registration types are essential for capturing related attendee knowledge and accommodating completely different participant varieties–particularly for big occasions with a wide range of attendees (e.g., members, non-members, sponsors, exhibitors, and audio system). Study concerning the supplier’s registration capabilities, together with fee choices and potential processing charges.
6. How do attendees entry the platform?
Make sure the occasion platform is instantly accessible for all your members and attendees. Ask about supported gadgets, apps, and internet browsers, in addition to any limitations on the variety of admins or customers.
Make certain you perceive how attendees can entry the platform and which gadgets are supported (i.e., iPhone, Android, pill, laptop computer).
Occasions provide a priceless alternative to drive non-dues income on your affiliation. Ask concerning the platform’s capabilities to advertise your sponsors and companions. As an illustration, does it assist banner adverts? Can your sponsor corporations create sturdy profiles?
Discover how the platform can facilitate sponsorships, equivalent to by way of extra model publicity alternatives or prolonged content material availability, and the way simply it could actually assist you to show sponsor ROI.
Or, does this platform provide extra instruments you may resell to your exhibitors and sponsors? Many associations provide Exhibitor Lead Seize to earn non-dues income and offset the price of operating their occasions.
8. What engagement and networking options do you provide?
Interactive options like reside chat, nameless Q&A, polls, and exercise feeds can considerably improve attendee engagement and enhance networking alternatives. Consider the supplier’s engagement options and guarantee they’ll assist occasion objectives.
9. How user-friendly is the platform?
A user-friendly platform is crucial for making certain excessive adoption charges amongst your attendees. Ask concerning the platform’s intuitiveness and consider its UI your self to resolve how steep the training curve shall be for various teams of attendees.
10. Does your platform assist ongoing member engagement?
One in all your occasion objectives is prone to enhance member retention. It’s best to ask potential occasion tech suppliers if their platform can be utilized to drive member engagement within the downtime between giant occasions. Learn the way you need to use their platform year-round to proceed to offer worth to members, preserve them engaged, and promote your annual convention so that you don’t have to begin your advertising again from zero annually.
For instance, can the platform assist you to drive member engagement by providing a persistent house for networking and studying? Can you utilize it to host movies, interactive livestream periods, and smaller networking or coaching occasions?
11. Is your platform compliant with knowledge safety requirements?
Knowledge safety and privateness ought to be a prime precedence when dealing with attendee data. Ask the supplier about their safety measures and compliance with trade requirements equivalent to SOC 2.
12. How can I defend my content material?
Should you plan to share priceless content material or assets by way of the occasion platform, it’s important to grasp the supplier’s content material safety measures, equivalent to entry controls, passwords, or login necessities.
13. How does your pricing work?
Occasion know-how pricing fashions range from supplier to supplier, and could also be based mostly on the variety of customers, or the variety of occasions., Some distributors might provide subscription pricing, or cost additional for added options. You should definitely uncover any add-ons so that you could be assured the seller’s pricing aligns along with your price range and necessities.
14. Do you provide any extra companies?
Many suppliers provide extra companies to their occasion platform, equivalent to reside attendee assist, graphic design, knowledge administration, or occasion manufacturing. Ask about these companies and their related prices, as they will help alleviate the workload on your workforce.
15. What sort of assist do you provide, and when is it obtainable?
Dependable buyer assist is essential, particularly throughout your occasion. Ask concerning the supplier’s assist channels (chat, e-mail, telephone), availability hours, and any extra coaching or assets provided.
“I’d say the most important good thing about utilizing EventMobi is the assist. [Our EventMobi Event Specialist] was actually educated and fast. A whole lot of issues are time-sensitive if one thing goes mistaken, and she or he was there each time. She was additionally a terrific useful resource for artistic concepts on find out how to greatest use the app to realize our occasion objectives.”
— Rachel Lyon, Supervisor, Convention & Occasions, CSAE
16. What’s in your product improvement roadmap?
Expertise evolves quickly, and also you’ll wish to make sure the supplier is dedicated to steady enchancment and innovation. Ask about their product improvement roadmap and any upcoming options or enhancements that might profit your occasion.
Selecting an Occasion Expertise Supplier Shouldn’t Be Overwhelming
Your occasion know-how can considerably influence the end result of your occasion. Partnering with the proper occasion know-how vendor will permit you to create the proper attendee expertise, from the second they register to how they take part in periods or interact with content material post-event. By asking the important questions listed above, you’ll acquire priceless insights into every supplier’s capabilities, options, and general match on your occasion objectives and targets
Should you’re out there for an occasion know-how supplier that may assist your group’s objectives on your occasions program, get in contact to study extra about whether or not EventMobi is the proper occasion platform for you!
Inquisitive about studying extra about EventMobi? Ebook your personalised demo of EventMobi’s occasion administration platform right this moment!
