Whether you’re spinning lots of plates or wearing many hats, when you work within a SME (Small to medium sized enterprise), multi-tasking is simply part of the job. In this kind of “all hands on deck” environment, no task is too big (or too small) to go unnoticed (or unfinished).
When it comes to handling events — whether you’re coordinating with vendors or seeking to run a smooth operation on the day — the idea of integrating event-tech into your workflow might seem daunting; you, after all, are not an event planner and this is just another task on your never-ending list of things to do. Add in any concerns you hold about budget and resources — or worries about having the technical knowledge needed to successfully deploy it — and it’s easy to write off the implementation of event-tech as one task too many, one endeavour too far.
But as we’ll explore, the incorporation of event-tech into your SME’s operations is an effort well worth making. Whatever your worry — whatever your concern — we’re here to show you how event-tech can make your job easier and your events more successful.
“I’m worried that event-tech will break the budget.”
For SME owners, operators, and employees, the bottom line is, well, the bottom line. Given this, it’s natural to be cautious about spending, especially when budgets are tight. However, investing in event-tech doesn't have to break the bank; after all, with so many event-tech providers now offering scalable pricing models, SMEs can choose a solution to fit their budget. On this note — while the initial financial outlay involved in purchasing an event-tech solution shouldn’t be taken lightly — it’s worth bearing in mind this is an investment that will pay dividends in terms of time, efficiency, and effort well into the future. Consider, for example, how automated registration systems can immediately reduce the need for manual data entry, thus saving money and freeing up your team’s time and effort to focus on other more important tasks.
“…. OK, but I’m not an even planner. Is event-tech for me?”
As someone who works within the SME environment, you turn a ‘can do’ attitude to a variety of jobs every single day. It’s true: You might not be a specialist event planner. Today’s event-tech platforms and solutions are specifically built to be user-friendly. As such, they feature intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces to help you get up to speed quickly. As an aside, if you’re able to invest a little bit of time and effort into familiarising yourself with your chosen platform, you’ll soon find that event-tech can go far in streamlining your processes and enhancing your ability to manage each and every occasion.
“Event-tech will exhaust my resources.”
A SME’s people — its staff, its employees, and its owners — are undoubtedly its greatest assets. But in an environment where multi-tasking is the norm, maintaining new technology can seem like a resource-intensive task, especially if you're already stretched thin. On this point, it’s worth considering that many event-tech providers offer robust support services, including setup assistance and ongoing maintenance, thus always ensuring that a problem shared is a problem solved.
Plus, once you’re familiar with the platform, creating a new event takes less than 30 minutes. Seemingly daunting tasks like creating landing pages, links, tickets, etc., now become things that can be launched quickly.
Benefits of event-tech
While we’ve endeavoured to address the major concerns of SMEs who might be considering how — or even if — they should incorporate event-tech into their operations, it’s also worth looking at the tangible benefits that this kind of technology can offer your organisation. Consider all that there is to gain from:
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Improved efficiency: Event-tech can be efficiently used to automate repetitive tasks — especially registration and data management — to save time and minimise the risk of errors.
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An enhanced attendee experience: Offering easy access to event information and an array of interactive features, event-tech tools — and specifically, event apps — can create a seamless and engaging experience for your attendees. Even if they can’t attend in person, hybrid event-tech solutions ensure that all attendees can enjoy the same quality of experience.
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Data-driven insights: Event-tech is an invaluable tool for providing data and analytics. It offers insight into attendee behaviour and preferences, enabling SMEs to make informed budgetary decisions regarding any proposed future events.
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Scalability: Transformation and growth are an inherent part of the SME ecosphere. Agile and dynamic, event-tech is built to scale up alongside your organisation, ensuring that you have the tools you need to manage larger and more complex events as your organisation grows.
From budgets and resourcing to innovation and agility, the growth of SMEs rests upon many different factors, many different considerations. But as we’ve seen, event-tech — with its inherent and elastic ability to enhance event operations within organisations of all sizes — can be a force for good, one that only serves to ease and enhance the road to event success for you, and for your attendees.