A recent survey conducted by a leading provider of event management software asked UK based event managers what was their preferred tool for managing and planning their events˳ The most common tool by far was event management software with 67% of the votes˳ Coming second and third were spreadsheets and ‘other’ respectively˳
Spreadsheets are a tried and tested way of managing events – they can track budgets, monitor resources and can be an effective way of creating and managing lists˳ The main benefit of spreadsheets as an event management tool is the low cost associated with them˳ The majority of event managers have access to spreadsheets and they are a widely accepted document format˳
However, there are a high number of drawbacks if event managers decide to use spreadsheets as their main event management tool˳ Common issues include:
Poor efficiency: Using spreadsheets is not a very efficient method of managing all the aspects of an event˳ It is likely that event managers will be using many different spreadsheets, all with dozens of tabs, holding a huge amount of data˳ Managing all this data within spreadsheets can be confusing to an outsider, and time consuming for all users˳
Lost data: Spreadsheets are only as safe as the server/system they sit on˳ If they are kept on a computer hard drive, there is a risk that all the data will be lost if anything happens to that computer or laptop˳ Spreadsheets are also prone to freezing/stalling and unless the event manager is accustomed to saving on a regular basis, there is a high risk that data and work will be lost˳
Trouble keeping data up to date: Many events have multiple event managers, all using the same spreadsheets to organise and plan various areas˳ Problems arise when managers update spreadsheets without informing the other event mangers that the spreadsheet has changed˳ If event managers take a copy of the master spreadsheet and work on that, the master soon becomes out of date˳ There are also issues when more than one event manger needs to access the spreadsheet at the same time˳ Only one editable copy can be opened, causing the others to be ‘read only’ – removing the ability to make updates˳
Hard to create reports to measure success: A key part of event management is the ability to analyse event success˳ It is vital to have the ability to understand what makes a particular event successful and what needs to be measured in order to analyse event performance˳ Using spreadsheets makes this a difficult task˳ Although creating graphs and charts can be easy on spreadsheets, the amalgamation and sorting of the data can be an extremely complicated and time consuming task˳ It is quite often the case that when using spreadsheets, the activity of measuring event performance is forgotten or dismissed˳
Lack of management information: Similarly to the difficulty in creating reports to analyse performance, there is also a lack of management information overall˳ For companies organising many events a year it’s important to be able to have a clear picture of these events as a whole; understanding delegate numbers, budgets and other KPI’s across all events can help shape event strategy in the future˳
These issues create too many problems for organisations with many events to plan˳ For this reason, numerous event managers are now turning towards professional event management software to help manage their events˳ These software solutions have been designed specifically for the event management industry and contain a range of comprehensive, yet easy-to-use features˳ Common features include:
· Website Integration: Seemless integration with your website gives delegates a smoother, safer journey and ensures you stay within your corporate brand guidelines
· Online Registration: Creating fully customisable online booking forms on your own website, capturing the most relevant information from your delegates
· Online Payment Processing: Allow your delegates to pay online in a safe, secure environment
· Invitation Management: Make sure you are targeting the right prospect delegates with an integrated invitation management tool
· Email Marketing: Powerful, integrated and fully functional email marketing tool to send highly targeted email campaigns to delegates and prospects
· Badge Production: Save time by producing personalised badges quickly and effectively
· Resource Management: Simply manage all your resources though a comprehensive calendar
· Integrated Reporting and Analysis: Ensure you can determine the true ROI of your events though a powerful reporting and analysis suite – quickly and simply drill down to the event data in a matter of seconds
· Event Survey: Create integrated, customisable and automated surveys for effective feedback management˳
Event management software tools also have the benefit of multiple deployment methods˳ Many companies choose options such as Software as a Service (SaaS) or hosting to keep costs and internal IT involvement down˳ Alternatively companies can still purchase the systems outright, but still gain the benefits on long term, ongoing support˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?Event-Management-Software-Tools-to-Manage-and-Plan-Events&id=4650821
