Meeting Planners Are Struggling With the Fast Evolution of Event Technology - Skift - 1 views
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Meeting Planners Are Struggling With the Fast Evolution of Event Technology – Skift
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rnobl005 on 01 Jul 18Skift posted this article almost a year ago but I felt like it was still applicable today. It definitely speaks to this week's subject of integrating IT into a business and the time invested. Event related technological solutions have boomed in recent years but this article finds that meeting planners are having trouble navigating cloud-based event management platforms like Cvent. I actually had personal experience with this in my previous role - I was on the receiving end of the RFP meaning planners would want me to generate quotes for them. Unfortunately our venue didn't have consistent pricing rates so I would have to personally contact the requestor to learn more about their event, which defeats the purpose of the software. Eventually we just stopped using the system altogether but couldn't figure out who to speak with at Cvent to close our account - so to some planners it appeared as though we were flat out ignoring their business. What I found interesting about this article is that those planners also had issues with the system, specifically with the lack of clarity and poor response rates. Another point of contention is that planners are using technology post-event to measure ROI, but they are having a lot of trouble implementing this data to make future programming better. Mike Mason, VP of sourcing and hospitality solutions with etouches (another event management platform) discusses a new tool that allows planners to measure attendee engagement but admits that firms need to build in a better support system for their clients.
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Almost one out of two meeting planners today says that event technology is a primary pain point, according to a new study published by etouches.
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“Planners cite poor transparency and accuracy over pricing, along with lack of clarity and poor response rates, as their main pain point with venue selection.”
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the overwhelming pain point for planners is the length of time it takes to receive responses from hotels for their digital requests for proposals (RFPs), and the often inaccurate and/or omitted costs supplied within those responses.
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Post-event, 65 percent of planners say that they’re using technology to measure the overall return on investment (ROI), but at the same time, how they analyze and use that data to inform future event programming and design remains a challenge.
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Toward that end, Cvent launched a new Group Business Intelligence tool this summer, designed to provide real-time data and analytics of hotels’ group business leads, and those of their competitors, in a single platform, helping hotel sales staff prioritize incoming queries and score leads.
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it’s incumbent on event tech firms across the industry to do a better job managing expectations and delivering the support necessary to help planners use technology more effectively.
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we need to play a much more concentrative role in the process to help you benefit from it, because unless you benefit from it, and see the ROI, it’s just gonna be a pain in the butt
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With the exponential rise of digital RFPs, hotels are challenged with prioritizing the onslaught of proposals they receive, which is the root cause for the lengthy time it often takes to respond to planners.
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Loopd integrates bi-directional wearable smart badges, a mobile event app, and a cloud-based analytics engine. When attendees are using the Loopd badges, which can transmit contact information and any other kind of digital content, event organizers can track how attendees are moving through the event, and which programming is most popular.
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The tool is also intended to make it easier for hoteliers to examine leads, dissected by specific time periods, customer segments, competitor rates, response times, and peak night volume, helping calculate the potential value of each piece of group business with more context and business insight than before.