The Best Event Management Tools
The event management software market in the US is a $6.36 Billion market With hundreds of software programs and tools, starting to research the best event management tool for you can seem like a daunting task. There’s software for everyone to fit their budget, goals, skill sets, and technology stack.
How to Choose the Best Event Management Tools
Take your time in selecting an event management tool. Regardless of costs, you will be spending time on implementing and managing whatever software you choose. Your time is precious. Here are a few tips to consider when selecting your event management tool.
- Determine your budget. Maximize your time and concentrate on solutions that fit your financial resources.
- Focus on your objective. There is a tool for everything. Determine what problems you are trying to solve. Focus on what you need the most help with.
- Set up Demos. Definitely ask the software company for a demo so that you can have a tour. A good company will be able to address your specific needs so that it is very clear how they can help you.
- Ask for a free trial. Just like when you are buying a car, give your event software a test drive. See if the user interface seems intuitive. Try it from an attendee viewpoint to make sure it’s the experience you want for your attendees.
- Look at reviews. While review sites like Capterra are helpful, search social media and industry community discussion boards to see what other planners are saying about the software you are reviewing. Leading meeting planning community forums:
PCMA Catalyst
ASAE Collaborate
MPI Community
National Meeting Planner Facebook Page
Check Out the Top Event Management Tools
1. EVA – Events Management Platform
Allows you to host all your in-person, virtual, and hybrid events under one platform. Easily change your event from a live event to a virtual event and vice versa. EVA’s platform collects data from all the attendee engagement happening on your event site. Use the data to build a more strategic event plan. You’re not alone in the process, Team EVA will be with you every step of the way providing you with a dedicated team to help you when you need it the most.
2. Everwall
Integrate your digital news into your event. Incorporate your social media interaction with Everwall. Whether in-person or virtually, social media walls provide attendee engagement opportunities before, during, and after your event
3. Monday
Event planning has many moving pieces with many people with different roles and responsibilities. Manage your project and teams with Monday’s project management tool. Create your own template customized to the way your organization works or start with one created by others. Keep your events and teams on track.
4. Aventri
Event technology has moved just one type of event. Aventri provides a software tool to manage your hybrid and virtual events. Integrations powers up this event management tool.
5. Boomset
So much effort goes into planning an event. Software like Boomset can help with your on-site event experience ranging from on-site checking, badging, registration, and more.
6. Cadmium
Cadmium offers a whole suite of event management tools including registration, exhibit management, e-posters, on-demand libraries, and virtual event programs. You can choose one or several products that meet your organization’s and event needs.
7. Cvent
Cvent offers a comprehensive set of event management tools. Check out Cvent’s Marketplace to source venues and find suppliers who can make your event come to life.
8. Social Tables
Visualize your event and meeting space with room diagrams. Social Tables has floorplans from venues around the world. Their easy-to-use diagramming software provides starting templates you can easily customize for your event.
9. Guidebook
This mobile app provides a user interface that is easy for your attendees to navigate. Guidebook provides integrations with APIs like SurveyMonkey and MailChimp that helps streamline your data and avoid duplication of effort.
10. Trello
Trello provides a great project management tool that is easy to use and customizable. Simply create task lists and subtasks with owners, deadlines, and notes all in one place. Does starting from scratch seem intimidating? Don’t worry. Trello has a community-based template to use as a starting point. Keep your event and meeting planning organized.
You have your list of best event management software, what’s next?
Before you start contacting software companies for demos or installing a free trial, stop and take a moment to think about what your needs are. Determine your needs based on different stakeholders:
Your organization overall
Determine what your goals are. For the goals that are easily attainable, the tools and processes you have in place might suffice. Analyze which goals are harder to achieve and what would help you move the needle to success. You can look for tools that will help you where you need them the most.
Your attendees
Evaluate what areas you would like to improve for attendees. Segment the attendee experience into three areas: pre-, during, and post-event. In each time period, you may identify one or more items that you need help with more than others including registration, attendee engagement, surveys, CE management, and more. Focus on areas where you can make the greatest impact and obtain a greater ROI.
Yourself
There’s always tons to do and not enough hours to get it done. You can’t get more hours in the day, but you can find tools that can make your job easier. There are tools that can help you manage your projects, share information with key stakeholders, collect and analyze data and deduplicate your efforts. Why struggle with software that isn’t working for you. You can find software that’s easy to set up and manage and provides you with what you truly need.
The Integral Role of Marketing Tools in Your Event Tech Stack
While event management tools are crucial for the logistical aspects of organizing an event, marketing tools play an equally important role in the success of your event. They form a vital part of your event tech stack, contributing significantly to your event’s reach, engagement, and overall success.
Marketing tools help you create awareness about your event, attract the right audience, and build anticipation leading up to the event. They offer capabilities such as email marketing, social media promotion, content creation, SEO, and more. These tools allow you to craft compelling messages and deliver them through the right channels to reach your target audience effectively.
Moreover, most marketing tools come with robust analytics features. They provide insights into your marketing campaign’s performance, helping you understand what works and what doesn’t. This data enables you to tweak your strategies in real-time, ensuring maximum impact.
Furthermore, marketing tools can also aid in creating a seamless attendee journey. From the moment a potential attendee hears about your event, to the point they register and even after the event concludes, marketing tools can help you keep them engaged and improve their overall experience. In essence, while event management tools ensure your event runs smoothly, marketing tools ensure your event is known, appreciated, and remembered. Both are essential components of a comprehensive event tech stack, each playing a distinct but interrelated role in the overall success of your event.
Read more about the top Event Marketing Tools.
If you are looking for software that makes an impact on all your key stakeholders, take a look at EVA’s All-in-One Events Management Platform. Team EVA’s philosophy is that technology should make your life easier. Set up a demo today and find out how.
