Over the last several years, technology has revolutionized the events industry in many exciting ways.
But for planners, the most appealing perk of tech may be its ability to help save money at meetings and conferences. These five tips will help you maximize meeting apps to minimize costs.
Cut Down on Pricey Printing Costs
Printing the bevy of materials needed to serve hundreds or thousands of attendees—from schedules to speaker information to class details—can run up a steep tab. Luckily, apps like Attendify and Sched let you forgo expensive (and eco-unfriendly) printed materials by bringing such information directly to your attendees’ smart phones. The math on this is convincing: According to a survey from Guidebook, paper printing costs twice as much as a mobile app.
Let Apps Handle Data & Analytics
After an event, you could hire people to conduct surveys and crunch numbers to ensure a better event next year—or you could let an app do that heavy lifting for free. In addition to curbing printing costs, Sched and Attendify integrate with survey services like SurveyMonkey to provide data-gathering and audience reports.
Curb Costs with In-App Gamification
Instead of splurging on in-person activities to keep attendees engaged between sessions, bring gamification to your attendees’ mobile devices. EventMobi is a leader of this pack for a reason; it seamlessly allows planners to, for instance, award points to attendees who network with the largest number of people.
Keep Your Budget in Check
Keep costs in check—and avoid costly mistakes—with the help of an easy-to-use budget-balancing app. Planning Pod includes an event budget management tool to help you track costs and ensure they stay within a set budget, while Etouches allows you to track revenue against registrant data compiled in real time.
Don’t Just Save Money, Make Money
Rule No. 1 of business is to offset costs with revenue. Do just that with apps like Guidebook, which allows you to monetize your event by integrating ad banners and other in-app sponsorship opportunities.
