Tag: ROI

Infographic: The ROI of Event Data Integration

Posted on 25th February 20169th May 2019 by Eventsforce

We have talked a lot about data integration (Why is Data Integration So Important for Your Events) and APIs (Top 5 Things to Think About When Dealing with APIs) over the last few weeks. It is a topic that is hotly debated across the events industry as more and more organisations try to find new ways of increasing the ROI of their event technology investments.

Integrating your event management software with other business systems within your organisation can bring a host of benefits. It can save you time by reducing manual data entry. It can eliminate errors and inconsistencies that commonly cause problems in communications. It can cut costs and make your team more productive – and more importantly, it can unlock the true value of your event data by putting it in the hands of the people who need it.

So how does it work and what does an integrated system look like? For a quick overview on some of the key integrations that make sense for your events, have a look at the infographic below (or click here to download):

Top 5 Things to Think About When Dealing with APIs

Posted on 15th February 201617th December 2018 by Eventsforce

Many experts are predicting 2016 will be the year of APIs and integration for the events industry. The concept has been around for a while but is gaining momentum as more and more organisations see the benefits of integrating their event data with other systems. If you’ve already worked with APIs, then you know why they are important. But some of us may well be wondering: What are APIs and why should I care about them?

Simply put, an API – or Application Programming Interface – is a way for two pieces of software to talk to each other and exchange information. For example, when making a purchase online, the website sends your credit/debit card information through an API to another application, which confirms that the details you have provided are correct. You can think of it as a piece of software that functions as a door or window, if you want. From the perspective of an event planner, it’s the mechanism that allows your event management system to share data with your event app. Or it’s what allows your registration software to share delegate details with your Salesforce.com CRM system. Or even payment confirmations to your finance package.

Top 5 Considerations When Dealing with APIs

Integrating your event management software with other business systems within your organisation will bring you a host of benefits (see our blog post: Why is Integration So Important for Your Events). A well designed event app, for example, is one that integrates with your event management system to offer real-time accurate content, not just during the event, but before and after as well. Central to this design is figuring out which systems needs to talk to each other, which fields within the app need to be updated and how often this needs to be done. And this is where APIs come in.

1) Putting the Right Data in the Right Place

When integrating your event management system with other applications, you need to decide how the API will pull and share information between the two systems. So if you’re integrating your registration software with the Salesforce.com CRM solution, you should decide which questions from your registration page (names, address, telephone numbers) should be updated in Salesforce and vice versa. This ‘field mapping’ process is important as it ensures that the right data goes into the right field of each system. So your event app, for example, may use ‘preferred names’ for addressing delegates but your event registration system records first, last and preferred names. By mapping the ‘preferred’ name field between the two systems, the API ensures that the app addresses the delegate as his preferred name ‘Johnny’ – instead of his full name, John Smith.

2) Choosing the Direction of Your Data Flow

The next thing you need to decide is whether this sharing of information is a one or two-way process. With event apps, the flow of information is usually one way where data from the event management system – like event agendas and delegate schedules – is pushed into the event app. With CRM, finance or membership systems, it makes more sense to synch data in both directions. So you’ll be able pull invitations lists from your Salesforce directly into your event management system – similarly, any changes to a delegate’s profile will automatically be updated in Salesforce.

3) How Much of Your Data Should You Share?

Another thing to consider around your API is the filtering of your event data. By default, your API may expose all your data to the integrated systems. Your finance team, for example, may want access to all your event data but your event app may only need access to data around one particular event. You may want to create one app for your exhibitors and another for your delegates – by setting the right filters within your API, you can make sure that only relevant event data gets shared with your other integrated systems.

4) How Often Should You Synch Your Systems?

This is an important question that can determine your API ‘pipeline’. Mobile apps, for example, consume a lot of data from event management systems, especially on the day of the event. That data needs to be constantly refreshed to ensure delegates have access to up-to-date information around the event. Finance or CRM packages, on the other hand, have a low but constant usage of event data. Data synching in this case can be set for once a day. Your event tech API provider may charge you for the amount of data you are consuming between your different systems or they limit the amount of data you are running through your API – so make sure you choose one that won’t limit your data use.

5) Determining Data Access & Security

Once you have decided which systems to integrate with your event management solution and set the parameters of your API, you (or your system administrator) can obtain an API key – often used instead of usernames and passwords. This key is one way of enabling integration by providing your event app and other third party applications access to your event data, and vice-versa. It comes in the form of a computer-generated password that can be revoked (changed) if lost or compromised. If you don’t revoke it, your event data is vulnerable as it is left exposed to anyone who has access to this key.

Make sure you know who has access to your API key and try and limit the numbers. When you do need to share it with other technology suppliers (like an event app provider), do so by phone instead of email, as it’s more secure. Also, if you’re integrating with more than one system, make sure you have separate API keys for each integration. This way, if one of your API keys gets lost or exposed, you can revoke the key (which disables the integration) and set up a new one. If you have one API key for all your integrations, then you break all the integrations at the same time, which can result in some costly downtime until you’ve sorted it all out.

Conclusion

Taking time to make these key decisions around your APIs will determine the success of your integration. While most event tech vendors provide APIs for their software, many also have established partnerships and API integration capabilities with tried and tested software solutions (Salesforce.com, Sage, Insight Mobile). This is helpful as you’ll be able to get things up and running without investing the time and money into any coding work that allows data to be pulled from one system to another. And if these API relationships don’t exist, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. By making sure your suppliers can provide you with the necessary advice, recommendations and workflows for integration means the whole process can take as little as a few days at a fraction of the cost.

Get to know Eventsforce’s integration and API system, plus how it can unlock the true value of your event data, by clicking here.

Written by Paul Harris, Eventsforce

Fun Runs or Concerts? Which Fundraising Event Is Best for Your Nonprofit?

Posted on 18th August 201517th December 2018 by Eventsforce

Major fundraising events can generate significant revenue for nonprofits—but they require careful planning and higher upfront costs than non-event fundraising campaigns. To learn more, our friends at Software Advice surveyed nonprofit event planners, asking questions about the planning ease and return on investment (ROI) for eight types of special events, to help fundraisers determine the best event for their nonprofit’s size and budget. This report highlights their findings and makes for very interesting reading.

Key Findings:

Respondents say fun runs and walks are the easiest events to plan, generating moderate to high revenue for nonprofits of all sizes.
Small nonprofits are at a disadvantage compared to larger nonprofits: Respondents say the upfront investment for an event is a strain on resources.
On average, a-thon events have the lowest cost per dollar raised (CPDR), and thus are suitable for all nonprofits. Concerts have the highest CPDR, requiring a larger budget.
CPDR, number of new donors and number of attendees are the most popular metrics to measure event success, used by 83 percent, 80 percent and 75 percent of respondents, respectively.
Respondents say that software, including fundraising and event management applications, speeds up event performance analysis and improves experiences for both staff and attendees.

For the full report please click here.

Event Technology Integration is a Top Priority for Associations

Posted on 21st July 201531st May 2017 by Eventsforce

Talking tech today is… Daniel Slavin, Business Development Manager at Eventsforce

Daniel is well known and respected for being able to shape association events and conferences through the intelligent and accountable use of event technology. With valuable experience helping associations meet their organisational goals, Daniel demonstrates to associations how event technology can maximise the value of their conferences and how associations can effectively measure their conference ROI using the reporting data that matters.

You recently attended Technology for Associations Congress – is it fair to say all of the associations in attendance were keen to learn about how technology could help them?

Yes, and this is an understatement! The very nature of the event brought technology to the forefront. There was a clear understanding amongst the attendees that technology is essential to helping a progressive Association succeed, whether this is by expanding their membership, understanding existing members better, or putting on even better conferences. The reason behind all of this is to enable them to deliver the best possible service to their members who form the backbone of any Association.

As someone who has worked with Associations, helping them use technology in an intelligent and cost-effective way, their enthusiasm for the technology available wasn’t a surprise to me at all and it was great to see so many Associations showing keen interest in the solutions that we are able to offer here at Eventsforce.

Some people believe that Associations are technology averse – what would you say to these people?

I’d say that in the past these sort of views may be true. In some Associations any sort of investment is seen as a ‘cost’ but this cost is often viewed without the corresponding ‘benefit’. Technology is placed in the same bracket. Yes there is a cost to technology, in terms of both time and resource, but this doesn’t exceed the benefits offered such as the time-saving elimination of admin and repetitive tasks, making processes faster and more accurate, enhanced reporting for real conference understanding. There is also the peace of mind in knowing that all of your systems are comprehensively and securely integrated. But things are changing, and this change has been driven by the Associations themselves.

As I mentioned previously, it’s all about the members. In all areas of their lives they want ‘more’, ‘better’ and ‘faster’ They rightly ask, ‘Why shouldn’t our Associations give us these as well?’ The Associations I work with have embraced technology as a solution to meet these challenges head on, and the more technologically averse are being dragged forward whether they like it or not simply because they can’t afford not to.

Were there any particular topics that the Associations were keen to focus on?

The interest in technology was wide, but I noticed three topics emerging that seemed to be of key importance to Associations in general:

Understanding conferences better to demonstrate ROI and deliver better service:

Associations wanted to understand their conferences better, moving beyond the basic metrics such as how many people attended or what their anecdotal feedback was. The reason for this, and I make no qualms about stressing this point again, is because they want to deliver the best experience to their members. If they don’t understand what worked at a conference and what didn’t then it makes it much harder to learn and improve, or show that the conference delivered real ROI. Remember, Associations aren’t exempt from having to justify their expenditure and prove ROI! The key to this understanding is effective reporting. Associations need to be able to create and manage reports on a wide range of conference data, and they need to be able to do this quickly and easily. Saving, sharing and scheduling reports are also a ‘must-have’ as is security and restricted access.

Integrating new technologies with existing systems

Just because an Association is interested in procuring new technology doesn’t mean it isn’t currently already using technology or intends to discard existing technology. A new solution needs to integrate with existing systems such as CRM, Finance and Marketing systems, or mobile apps, and it needs to do this with a minimum of hassle and disruption. APIs, which allow one application to query and manipulate the data within another application, are key to this and must be ‘two-way’ to allow the flow of data in both directions. An effective API makes integrating new technologies with existing systems a relatively simple task, and can never be overlooked when choosing a new technology to make use of.

Improving their abstracts management process

Continuing the theme of integration, I heard from many Associations that they were keen to not only improve their abstract management process but also integrate this with their conference registration systems. They needed a way of integrating papers and registrations whilst at the same time managing submissions, reviewing and distributing, with the end goal being saving time, reducing errors and improving organisation. This was great to hear for me as I was able to talk to them about Eventsforce Abstracts, which is the ideal tool for these requirements.

Which technological challenges do you feel Associations will face in the future and how will these be resolved?

In the future, the question won’t be if Associations are using technology – they will be. The question will have moved on to how they are using it and if it is meeting their expectations. Associations will place greater emphasis on finding the right technology supplier, one that will be there for the long-term, adopting a partnership approach. Usability will also be high on the agenda forcing technology to become easier to use and easier to integrate.

To learn more about associations or any other event-related matter, contact Daniel using the details listed here.

Event Technology: How to Increase Adoption Across Your Whole Organisation

Posted on 16th July 201514th September 2016 by Eventsforce

New technology solutions that provide better ways for people to collaborate are constantly emerging and you may want to invest in a new solution for your organisation. However, the adoption of new technology can be daunting, perhaps even overwhelming. Adoption is usually the hardest part in the implementation of new tech solutions. You may invest in a solution for better collaboration but that’s difficult to achieve if your organisation isn’t using it properly or at all – so how can you encourage your organisation to leverage the tech solutions you want to introduce to the workplace? We have some ideas for you.

Establish goals and determine fit

Answer the question: why should they use it? Before you invest in a new solution or try to introduce a new solution, consider how it will fit in with your organisation’s day-to-day activities. Work with your team to establish objectives or goals that you hope to achieve through the implementation. As the solution is being integrated into the workplace, find a way to consistently measure the effectiveness of the solution in achieving the goals established. Adoption rates will go up as reluctant individuals in the organisation see that the new technology solution is worth the effort to adopt.

Collaborate with the provider

You want a solution provider that is willing to continuously provide updates and support based on feedback. It is important that the provider of the tech solution is willing to work closely with you and your team to establish a good implementation program and ensure that the adoption rate is high.

Schedule training

Once you’ve invested in the tech solution that best fits your organisation – be sure to provide training. Even if the new solution has an intuitive design, providing training can greatly increase individuals’ comfort levels with it. Training can be in the form of webinars, tutorial pages, or onsite training workshops.

Lead by example

It may be difficult to increase technology adoption across the whole organisation all at once. Consider building a group of evangelists for your new technology solution within your team/organisation or begin by having team/group leaders adopt the technology first to encourage change amongst the team members.

There’s no one-size-fits-all technology solution – take into consideration the individuals in your organisation and help them see how the new technology will be beneficial in their work. Leveraging a new technology solution can increase the overall effectiveness of your workforce but adopting the solution should not have to be an excruciating process.

Sources:

Why Event Management Software Can do Wonders to Your Marketing Efforts

Posted on 30th June 201514th September 2016 by Eventsforce

Marketers are often overwhelmed by the myriad of technologies they can choose from in order to best perform their roles. Often, these technologies themselves are marketed as “magic bullets” meant to instantly increase productivity, increase leads, and ultimately, increase sales. However, whether a technology can accomplish these goals depends not only on the technology but how it’s used by your marketing team, educational team, and leadership.

Why Augment Your Marketing Activities with an Event Management System (EMS)?

Marketing in and of itself is an involved and complicated activity. When executed properly, it’s fingerprints can be seen at every step of the event planning process. From the website to the email campaign, the marketing strategy’s influence is always heavily integrated which means that every one of these aspects must be monitored and tracked. An enterprise-level event management system provides benefits for members of your marketing team by saving time, keeping things organised, and assisting in the collection and application of user data.

Promote

Event management systems provide a variety of integrations which allow the software to serve as a base camp for marketing activities. Tools such as branded websites, email campaigns, and referral systems (all of which can be used in addition to your social media and print marketing) serve as promotional arms of an overall campaign, drawing potential attendees in. Every good marketer knows the value of a well-designed and well-written landing page in converting an interested party into a fully registered and excited attendee. Event management software provides users with templates and an interface with which your team can customise and perfect your event’s website and registration pages.

The added feature of being able to brand your digital promotions simplifies the job of marketing even further as it saves your marketing team the time and effort of creating something from scratch and the branding itself serves to help attendees associate your branding with your event.

Organise

By maintaining a base of operations for your marketing activities within your software allows for all incoming data to arrive in one place with the proper tags and categorisations. Too often, the data collected from email forms and registrations is simply dumped into an Excel spreadsheet to be sorted and dealt with at another time. However, event management software can help to organise and sort your attendees’ information as it is submitted.

Analyse

Once your attendees’ information has been collected, what next? Time for the really important work. Your collected data holds the key to a wealth of knowledge about your entire organisation’s performance in relation to your event. What worked? What didn’t work? Who was our target audience? Who did we actually attract? Who did we miss? How can we keep our attendees engaged even after the event? Reporting is an invaluable feature in any event management software as it can help to provide you with the answers to these questions and then some! By answering these questions using the data you’ve gathered and presented with the software’s reporting tools, your marketing team can create a detailed presentation in order to help company leadership make future decisions regarding your event.

A good event management software system may not be a “magic bullet” for any organisation, but it could very well be the magic touch that, when properly leveraged, can help your team reach the next level and ultimately result in more successful events.