5 Must-Have Event Management Software Features in 2024

Whether you’re part of a large corporate or a professional event organizer, setting up an event may sound synonymous to Pulling Out All the Stomps. But hey! Newsflash! Event management just became easy. Thanks to the introduction of event management software.

Now, whether it’s marketing your event, organizing the ticketing procedure, or analyzing its success, everything lies in the palm of your hand. So now, you don’t need to coordinate with attendees to transfer payment, split your focus for marketing into different touchpoints, or butt heads with other departments to understand whether or not your event was a success.

All of this sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? But hey, you’re here for information, so everything we tell you is backed by facts. According to Statista, during the period 2017-2022, the global market for event management software grew from 6.38 to 11.06 billion USD, which shows us that there’s indeed more demand for event management software from companies.

But, if you’ve finally planned to take the step, it’s important that before making your decision, you set a benchmark/measuring stick. So today, we’ll look at five must-have features for your event management software in 2024. So stay tuned and keep reading.

1. Multi-Faceted Registration Options

In the current era, especially after the pandemic, there’s a move towards virtual, rather than physical presence. So just like remote work and online classes, there’s also an emerging trend of virtual events. 

For example in 2020, WWE ( World Wrestling Entertainment) introduced the “Thunderdome” concept. Rather than attending live events and house shows, fans could tune virtually into an arena where the audience was represented by LED screens. So now, fans could tune in live and also have the arena experience. 

According to Statista, in 2022, 40% of global marketing events held were virtual. Thus, developments like this make the presence of multiple registration options necessary. With this option as part of your event management software, you can broaden your target audience, which increases the ratio of registrations.

But that’s just one facet that we have explored. Some people may either want the front row seats, whereas others may want seats in the general section. Multi-faceted registration accounts for all such situations. Thus, it is a very important event management software feature.

2. Robust Analytics and Reporting Features

Like we said earlier, you want to spend the least time synergizing with other departments to gather information, and process it to decide whether or not your event was a success, right? This is the reason why your event management tool must have good analytics and reporting features.

Analytical tools help you slice and dice data according to various perspectives. For example, you can get information about the total number of registrations, which you can further slice and segregate on the basis of region-wise registration. This data helps you identify where your event performed best, and where it went short, which is a pivotal factor in future event marketing decisions.

3. Ability to Capture Audience Reactions

Another great feature to have in your event management software is the ability to gauge audience reaction. This is pivotal, especially when you’re organizing digital events such as webinars and virtual conferences.

The presence of this tool aggregates the total reaction from the attendees in the form of emojis and other gestures, segregating each reaction according to numbers. As a result, you can take a good look at how much of your audience was positively and negatively engaged in the event.

These results help you analyze the weak spots, and make amends for the future.

4. Gamification and Smart-Event Wearables 

Perhaps the most important event management software feature which contributes to the success of an event is the ability to “Break the Ice” among audiences. This becomes more important, particularly in a virtual setting. The “ice-breaking” phase helps attendees become familiar with one another, which sets the stage for further opportunities for networking and building connections.

How would this apply to a real-life example? Consider that you’re holding an MUN( Model United Nations) Event. The “it” factor for the event’s success is the ability of delegates to communicate with each other in “lobbies” to form “Blocs” for the passing of their resolution.

Now, being able to provide smart wearables, such as digital cards, helps delegates easily network with one another, which eradicates the need for having to leave mid-conference for necessary meetings.

As an event manager, you can centralize the execution and handling of this feature through your event management software, whereby you can design a centralized hub that handles the flow of these conversations. Thus, you can provide your attendees with a more fruitful experience, whilst automating the process itself.

5. Customized Mobile App

The end result which you expect from an event is engagement. As an event manager, you want to elicit audience interest and keep them hooked till the end of the event. It’s very hard to approach every single attendee and inform them about the next happenings of your event.

But when you have a customized mobile app, the process becomes easier. Now, by designing a customized mobile app through your EMS and letting the EMS manage it, you can send automated push notifications and polls to your audience, maintaining their interest in the event.

So, these are five must-have features that you should have as part of your event management software. Now, let’s revisit what we have learned throughout this blog post.

Conclusion

An event management software greatly automates the management process. As an event manager, you can easily gauge the success of your event, without having to connect with other departments for relevant information. 

But, when choosing an event management software, make sure that it allows for multiple registration options, has advanced analytics and reporting features, can capture audience reactions to guague interest, can help in the development, and manage the operability of smart event wearables, and also build audience interest through a customized mobile app which sends automatic notifications. 

So for maximum success, make sure to choose an event management software that provides all these features.

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