A recent global survey conducted by etouches aimed to pinpoint the top pain points planners encounter throughout the lifecycle of their meeting or event. The company found that a majority of planners listed the implementation of technology at events, specifically in regard to attendee satisfaction, as a concern.
239 event planners from the Americas, EMEA and Asian Pacific regions responded to the study.
According to etouches, attendee satisfaction was cited as the most important indicator for event success, with 48 percent of respondents identifying it as a crucial factor over engagement, number of leads generated or other indicators. Etouches concluded a better use of technology could help planners.
“Technology and attendee satisfaction are clearly linked,” said Mike Mason, vice president, sourcing and hospitality solutions for etouches. “To drive satisfaction—and the overall success of events—planners must evaluate the areas where technology can drive the most impact and improve success rates.”
Among the pain points identified in the pre-event phase, nearly 60 percent of respondents cited targeting the right people with the right event content as a common struggle in their planning.
Meanwhile, on-site challenges are varied and impact event planners across the board. A big challenge for 44 percent of respondents is communication with event attendees. Additionally, 42 percent of event planners cited the registration and check-in process as well as technology overall as pain points.
Etouches’ survey revealed event planners are using technology in some aspects of the event lifecycle, but haven’t embraced these tools across the board. For example, only 20 percent of respondents use a venue sourcing tool and just seven percent use a strategic meetings management (SMM) program. And only 47 percent of respondents use a mobile app to communicate with attendees during events.
The biggest post-event pain point cited by respondents is event measurement. On a positive note, the majority of respondents—65 percent—indicated they are already measuring event return on investment (ROI). However, figuring out how to analyze the data and use it in meaningful ways is still a challenge.
A white paper with more information from the global survey is available on the etouches website.
