Event Technology - Is it Worth Investing?

Hosting an event for your business can be a daunting task by itself. However, making an event successful is even more challenging, and there are countless different factors that can determine whether your event will achieve its goals and deliver a return on investment - or not. Arguably, one of the most important of these factors is Event Technology.

Event tech isn’t exactly a new trend in the event industry, but the value of event tech and its impact on ROI is something which is still up for debate. This whitepaper will explore some of the innovative types of event tech being used, what they can be used for, how they can help your events to be a success, and ultimately, whether or not they are worth the extra investment.

How can events help you to achieve your business goals?

Before we discuss the intricacies of event technology, this section will explain what the actual point of a business event is, and why so many businesses use them as an important part of their overall marketing strategy. The main reason that events are so widespread and useful in the business world, is that they are flexible, and can accommodate almost any goal a business might have. Whether it be the launch of a brand-new product, a large seminar for networking or a trade show to get your business’s brand out there, events can be a great jumping off point in achieving a specific business goal or objective.

So, the integration of events into your marketing strategy plays a hugely important role, as they can provide endless possibilities for you to grow your business. And the stats back this idea up. Recent data from The Event & Experiential Marketing Industry Forecast & Best Practices Study has indicated that consumers view events and experiences as one of the top two advertising channels to help them understand a business’s product or service; with around 85% of consumers more likely to purchase a product or service after participating in an event and, after attending an event, over 90% of attendees come away with a more positive feeling on the business.

How can event tech boost ROI?

So far, we have discussed the importance of events as a channel for your business, and how they can be used to achieve your business goals. But the big questions we are yet to answer are how the variety of event technologies out can there help to boost the ROI of your events, and whether or not these event technologies, ultimately, represent a good investment for your business.

What is Event Technology?

Put simply, event technology is any kind of digital tool that helps event planners and managers to complete necessary tasks in the successful running of said event. These different technologies come in a variety of different forms, but we will be taking a deep dive into a few main categories of event tech: RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), Event Management Software, Event Apps and some of the event tech options you may not have even considered, to explore what (if any) ROI these specific items offer.

RFID
(Radio frequency identification)

RFID refers to any tools and technologies where digital data encoded in RFID tags (or “smart tags”) is captured by an external reader. A common example of how RFID tech is used out in the real world would be at music festivals; instead of a traditional ticket system; festivalgoers simply pop on the RFID wristband, get it scanned and are then admitted to the venue.

In terms of the benefits of using RFID technology at your events for ROI, there are plenty. One of the biggest of these benefits is that RFID creates a much better experience in general for the attendee. With RFID wristbands, for example, the process of admitting attendees to your events is seriously sped up, with little to no hassle for the attendee; you are simply scanned in and admitted without needing to worry about keeping track of any loose tickets. This will have the added benefit of not only boosting the overall enjoyability and reputation of your event (which can bring in a huge variety of engagement wins for your business, such as online traffic boosts and repeat event attendees), but also increasing the efficiency of it from an event organisers perspective; by cutting down on the number of staff and resources you will need to admit attendees to your event and simplifying the process, allowing you to focus on improving other areas of your event without worry.

With RFID technology also comes a modern sense of novelty, and events that utilise modern technologies like RFID will stand out as being on the cutting edge of the latest event trends. Something as mundane as ticketing for your events is transformed into something with a bit of a “wow factor”, and will contribute towards making your event a memorable one for all who attend. And you can also use the intrigue of the technology to create various interactive experiences for attendee engagement, in lots of different areas of your event, that incorporate the RFID tech.

RFID is especially useful for its application in giving you actionable, real-time data that can be used to improve your future events. For example, an RFID wristband requires user registration, providing you with some valuable marketing information that you can use, such as engaged contacts and email addresses. Live reporting also allows you to actively manage your event. With real-time on-site and in zone figures, live access rates, etc., you can deploy staff responsively, direct attendees to less busy areas, manage fixed capacity areas, and more.