While event managers would like to be able to focus on one event at a time, realistically, this is not the case. If your organization holds conferences, meetings, and offers professional development throughout the year, on any given day you are responsible for managing several events at once. Registrations and payments are flowing in from one event while you are still publishing information and scheduling speakers and exhibitors for another. It’s at this point that event management software becomes a vital tool for event managers that are juggling multiple simultaneous events. How can event software help keep all the balls in the air? Here are three ways that juggling multiple events is a breeze with event management software.
Compartmentalization
Being able to manage multiple events at once requires a bit of compartmentalization. Splitting up each event into its own universe of data allows you to seamlessly move from one event to the next without having to worry about event “registration pollution,” which is accidentally mixing registrants or event data from one event to another. With an event management system, each event can have its own database segment, allowing you to view registration forms, payments, and reports separately for each event. If you need to see the payments from one event and the registrations for another, your event system should be able to seamlessly sift through event specific detail information without you having to go through a great deal of effort. An investment in event management software can allow you to slice through the necessary data of your events easily and focus on any event specifics at any given time.
Get Others Involved
Event managers know that they are typically not the only ones involved in running an event. For example, organizations that provide professional development may require the event manager to set up the event, but the professional development coordinator needs to have access to attendee lists and other reporting as well. In a university setting each department might have its own coordinator that needs to be involved in the setup of an event, without seeing what other departments are doing. Getting others involved in the process can be simple with an event system that has the ability to manage login permissions and user access. For example, the event system administrator would be able to login and manage all aspects of all events, but other users could be given permissions to only view reports or monitor registrations for specific events. This type of permission based login structure allows multiple users to share a single system, and have access to the data that they need. The benefit is more distributed access and independence of operation for those running events, and reduced stress on the system administrator. And because the people who need control locally have the access they need, different modes of access results in better support for an event.
Recycle Your Assets
One of the most time consuming tasks for event managers can be the initial set up of an event, and when you are required to set up and manage multiple events you may feel like you are doing the same thing over and over again. Creating complex forms that repeat multiple questions with the same payment options over and over again doesn’t make much sense, especially if you use the same type of form layout for different events. An event system should allow you to copy your forms or create form templates to ease the burden of creating the initial registration form. Once you have spent the time to create the template you can use it over and over again, saving you time down the road. Another asset you can recycle is your attendee lists. After your event is over, attendee lists can be used to administer post event surveys, allowing you to know how to improve your future events. Additionally, your previous event attendees are potential future event attendees. With an event system you can use your lists to market your future events by utilizing the database that stores the registration contact information.
An event system can enhance your workflow so that managing multiple events is much easier. When considering an investment in an event system, be sure to look for software that will give you a good return on your investment, one that saves time, saves money, and reduces the stress level of your staff. If you are considering an investment in an event system and are not sure where to start, be sure to read our blog post “3 Key Agenda Functions Your Event Software Needs” and to download our whitepaper “6 Questions You Need To Ask Yourself About Event Software Vendors”.