In the digital era, the world of event planning software is the Wild West.
Dozens of software companies create products designed for event planners, with more coming out each year. The range of features they promise is staggering, and the competition to draw in planners can be dizzying to those who are just entering the world of event tech. How can event planners look beyond the dazzling marketing to get their money’s worth? How should they separate their business’ needs from superfluous features? And how can they narrow down their options to find the best fit?
Here’s what three event technology experts had to say about selecting the right event planning software.
Evaluate the Needs of the Business
When it comes to selecting the best software to meet their needs, the worst thing a planner can do is panic-purchase the most popular product on the market. All aspects of event planning require lots of research, and acquiring meeting planning software is no exception. To begin this process, planners have a few important points to consider.
The first thing is to assess their business. They should look at the types and number of events they plan, the number of attendees and the primary purpose behind these events.
“What an agency is looking for is very different than an in-house corporate planner versus a wedding planner or a social planner,” said Hanna Milani-Walker, director of event technology and registration at Key Meetings + Events.
An in-house corporate meeting planner who is responsible for planning one event with 50 attendees may not need the most robust software on the market. Meanwhile, an event planning agency that plans five events with thousands of attendees each year may need a complex combination of software to pull off their meetings successfully.
Then, planners should determine what exactly they’re looking for in a software. This can be determined by noticing pain points and room for improvement in their event planning process.
“It’s getting into the weeds and the details of exactly what you’re actually doing in your events, and then asking, ‘how can tech help us support our end goals?’” said Leanne Velky, who owns her own consulting firm for building event registration sites. “How can it lighten our load? How can it get us better data? How can it aggregate our data better for us and do some of the work for us?”
If an agency is great at pulling off annual events but finds it difficult to compile and present data to prove the event’s ROI to clients, they might consider looking for software that can aggregate and analyze attendee data. If a planner feels overwhelmed by answering attendee questions, customer support will be a critical function of whatever software they choose.
“It all starts with why you’re doing what you’re doing. And that comes back to the goal and what you are trying to achieve,” said Merijn van Buuren, founder of B2B event tech consulting company Eventprofs VISION. “Is there a specific element of your event that you want to highlight?”
Know What’s Available
Before they select the right software, meeting planners must face the daunting task of wading through the chaotic collection of event planning software.
The best-known all-in-one event software company is Cvent. Other popular examples include Eventbrite, Whova and Bizzabo. However, Van Buuren cautions just because something is labeled all-in-one doesn’t mean it will meet the needs of every type of event or every event planner.
“I’m a firm believer that all-in-one tools don’t exist, that it’s really all-in-one for a specific purpose,” said Van Buuren. “You see a lot of technology positioned as the all-in-one tool, but most of the time that means they have some sort of registration, event management platform, CRM system and an event app, and then they call it an all-in-one.”
The rest of the event planning software market is highly segmented and specialized, with many tools existing specifically for a single purpose. That includes software specialized in registration, venue sourcing, event networking, room block management and even virtual meeting software, among many other platforms.
“If you’re sold a low-budget option for an event tech solution and then you realize that that solution only solves part of the problem, then you have to end up adding more and more on anyway,” Velky said.
Instead, planners should regard software that appropriately addresses their business needs as a method to increase ROI.
Van Buuren recommends remaining flexible when it comes to purchasing software and being wary of long-term commitments: “Don’t get yourself into a five-year contract,” he said. “Even though in the demo everything seems perfectly fine, that doesn’t mean your needs won’t change.”
Vet Each Software
With so many options, it’s important for planners to know how to vet their software choices. If the choice comes down to a handful of companies that advertise similar capabilities, planners must know how to separate the software’s true functionality from its marketing. They can distinguish this through communication with the companies once they have an idea of the key features they’re looking for.
After identifying their needs and researching software that claims to meet these needs, planners can begin narrowing down their options. While many companies will claim their software can meet all these needs, sometimes they lack the experience to prove it. That’s why it’s good practice to ask for a case study during the RFP process and for access to testimonials from former clients.
“If they can’t produce a very relevant case study to what you are looking for, most likely they’re not the right match,” Van Buuren said.
Additionally, beware of unrealistic guarantees and lofty claims. One example Van Buuren gives is claims of 100% uptime — even the best-known software and sites in the world crash from time to time.
Another red flag is poor communication. If a company’s sales pitch is full of tech jargon, and they can’t or won’t explain it in plain language, that demonstrates the sale is more important than being a true match for a planner’s needs. Continue to ask detailed, specific questions to ascertain the validity of the software’s marketing claims.
Another must for the vetting process is to take the software for a trial run.
“All of them should be able to give you a full demo,” said Milani-Walker. “You can go and play around with it before actually purchasing it so you can make sure it’s easy to use.”
If a planner is still feeling overwhelmed with the process of choosing software, they can look to peers and experts. That can include event tech consultants and educators and other event planners with experience.
“If you don’t really know what you’re looking for, I would tell you to bring on someone who does,” Velky said. “But don’t panic and just buy something, because you you’re going to waste a lot of time and money. It’s way better to find a strategic partner and lean on people who are already in that world.”