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Don’t Forget The Sugar! Sweeten Client Relationships Using Event Management Software

Don’t Forget The Sugar! Sweeten Client Relationships Using Event Management Software

We all know that nobody bothers with something if it isn’t broken. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, is the popular adage. If a system, product or device runs smoothly, we barely notice how efficient it is or how much easier or more productive it’s making our lives. But have it fall over, break down, or fail to do what it’s meant to do, and – lo and behold – eyebrows will start furrowing, grumbles and complaints will be heard in the air, and a speedy solution will need to be found ASAP, otherwise somebody’s head is bound to roll. Event Management Software could be your saving grace.

It’s the same with running a corporate event. Guests who enjoy and appreciate the smooth organising of one of your product launches, golf days or business seminars, probably do so without a thought as to what is going on in the background. But just have that one delay, technical error, catering mess-up or venue glitch creep in, and your happiest guest can easily sour.

One way to prevent guests from walking away from an event with a bad taste in their mouths is to sweeten the process by using Event Management Software.

Our event management system offering: slick invitations, easy RSVP processes, and seamless on-the-day registration capabilities

At The RSVP Agency, we understand that it’s important that your guests have a positive experience at every touch point in your events planning and delivery process. This is often achieved through process automation, which reduces the chance of human error and allows for the pre-planning and setup of much of your event management processes.

Guests don’t enjoy feeling spammed, for example, so your email invitations and follow-up communications need to be delivered to their email inboxes, at appropriate intervals, looking slick and professional. At The RSVP Agency, we offer professionally crafted designs for email invitations and online RSVP pages. Email invitations are sent to guests on your guest list via our automated email invitation software. Our Event Management Software cleans your guest list of any duplicates or errors, so that no guest is emailed twice and your email invitation bounce rates are greatly reduced.

What’s more, our Event Management Software can track which of your guests have indicated they will be attending your event, and which guests need to be followed up for a response – keeping your guest list updated in real time.

Being able to reply to your email invitation is as simple as a mouse click

The RSVP Agency’s Event Management Software is perfect for corporate event planners and their busy event attendees. Guests who want to confirm or decline their attendance simply need to click on an ‘accept’ or ‘decline’ button in their email invitation. Our online invitation management system then reminds confirmed guests of your event via SMS. Confirmed guests further receive an iCal calendar reminder that integrates with their local calendar software so that your event can’t slip their minds.

The on-the-day event registration process is also simplified with our Event Management Software. Registration at an event is necessary for security access control and tracking guest’s attendance. The RSVP Agency’s product allows you to easily register your guests on the day using a unique QR code issued to each guest prior to the event. 

Contact us for more information about how to sweeten your event offerings with our Professional RSVP Management Software.

In today’s fast-paced world, event planners understand the importance of flawless execution. While a seamless event might go unnoticed by attendees, any hiccups can leave a lasting negative impression.

From Frustration to Sweet Success: How Event Management Software Transforms Client Relationships Imagine this:

Your client is thrilled with their recent event, praising your organisation and professionalism. This positive experience wouldn’t be possible without robust event management software behind the scenes. Here’s how this technology elevates your client service:

  • Effortless Guest Management: Say goodbye to manual guest list creation and error-prone spreadsheets. Event management software automates email invitations, tracks RSVPs in real-time and eliminates duplicate entries. This ensures a clean guest list and reduces bounce rates for your email campaigns. With our software, you can efficiently manage guest lists, ensuring accurate and up-to-date information.
  • Professional Communication: Impress your clients with beautifully designed email invitations and automated follow-ups. The software handles the timing and delivery, freeing you to focus on other aspects of the event. Our platform enables you to maintain a professional image and ensure consistent communication, enhancing client trust and satisfaction.
  • Seamless RSVP Process: Guests can effortlessly RSVP with a single click on their email invitations. The system automatically sends reminders to confirmed attendees and integrates with their calendars, minimising the risk of missed events. This seamless experience reflects well on your organisation, showing your commitment to making the process as easy as possible for attendees.
  • Enhanced Security and Control: QR code-based check-in ensures swift and secure on-site registration. You gain valuable insights into guest attendance patterns, allowing you to tailor future events to client needs. This technology not only streamlines the check-in process but also provides valuable data to improve future events and enhance client satisfaction.

The RSVP Agency: Your Partner in Event Success at The RSVP Agency, we offer a comprehensive event management software solution designed to streamline your planning process and delight your clients. Our features include:

  • Professional Invitation Design: Create visually appealing email invitations that align with your client’s branding. Our software enables you to design and send personalised invitations that leave a lasting impression.
  • Automated Email Management: Schedule and send email invitations and follow-up messages effortlessly. With our automated system, you can ensure timely and consistent communication with your guests, reducing the chances of missed information.
  • Real-Time RSVP Tracking: Gain instant insights into guest responses and manage RSVPs efficiently. Our platform provides you with real-time data, allowing you to make informed decisions and adjustments as needed.
  • QR Code Guest Registration: Simplify check-in with secure and efficient QR code technology. This feature ensures a smooth registration process and enhances the overall guest experience.

Invest in Stronger Client Relationships: Embrace Event Management Software By embracing event management software, you can:

  • Reduce Administrative Burden: Free up valuable time to focus on strategic planning and client communication. Our software handles the tedious tasks, allowing you to concentrate on what truly matters—creating memorable experiences for your clients.
  • Minimise Errors: Automation minimises human error, ensuring a smooth and professional event experience. Our system reduces the risk of mistakes, ensuring that your events run seamlessly and reflect well on your organisation.
  • Deliver Exceptional Client Service: Surpass client expectations with efficient communication and flawless event execution. By utilising our software, you can provide a higher level of service, leaving your clients impressed and satisfied.

At The RSVP Agency, we understand the challenges event planners face and are committed to providing solutions that make your job easier. Our event management software is designed to streamline your processes, reduce stress, and enhance client relationships. By leveraging our technology, you can transform the way you plan and execute events, ensuring that every detail is taken care of and every client is delighted.

Ready to advance your event planning and impress your clients? Contact The RSVP Agency today and discover how our event management software can transform your business!

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Event Registration Software: The Art Of Attracting The Right Guests

Event Registration Software: The Art Of Attracting The Right Guests

We all want the right people to attend our events, but making sure this happens can often be a delicate and time-consuming process. Crafting the perfect guest list for your event is both an art and a science. It’s about ensuring that every attendee is not just present but is genuinely engaged and invested in your event or brand. This involves a meticulous process of inviting guests, reminding them as the event approaches, and confirming their attendance. It’s particularly crucial when your invitees include busy and high-profile individuals. But what exactly makes the RSVP management process so delicate, and how can you master it to guarantee that your event is filled with the right people?

In essence, the art of crafting the perfect guest list is about precision, personalisation and persistence. It’s about using the right tools to gather insights, making informed decisions and engaging your guests in a way that excites and inspires them. With the right approach, your events can become powerful platforms for building lasting relationships with your brand’s true advocates.

What do the wrong guests look like and what can we do to limit or convert them?

Considering all the work you put into pulling off a flawless event experience, there is nothing quite as frustrating as a guest list that then gets ‘top-heavy’ with guests who aren’t interested in what you have to offer. 

These could be guests who enthusiastically confirm their attendance but don’t show up, those who decline the invitation but appear regardless, or even those who bring along unexpected plus-ones, straining your resources. Then there are guests primarily there for the complimentary benefits, be it the freebies, a break from work, or the allure of travel and tourism opportunities tied to your event location. Such scenarios can be disheartening, given that they directly impact the return on investment (ROI) of your event.

So, is there any way to limit these ‘lukewarm’ brand ambassadors from attending your event or, better still, converting them from lukewarm to piping hot?  One effective strategy involves leveraging technology to refine your guest list management process. 

How Event Registration Software helps you track guest list information

A certain number of noncommittal or ambivalent guests on your guest list are to be expected. The RSVP Agency’s Event Registration Software, can, however, help you to categorise guests according to their RSVPs as well as subsequent event attendance or non-attendance. You can use our software to collect guest information and, from this, develop a good idea of how best to target each guest during future event planning. Key features of our Event Registration Software include:

  • This software comes equipped with features aimed at maintaining the integrity of your database. It performs checks and cleans up your guest list, removing duplicates, identifying missing information, and alerting you to any issues with your invitations. This includes tracking who has accepted or declined your invitation, allowing for targeted follow-ups.

  • Perhaps one of the software’s most significant benefits is its call-down service. It’s common to have guests who, for various reasons, do not respond to electronic invitations. The call-down service ensures these individuals are personally contacted. This approach allows for a detailed briefing about the event, ensuring that only genuinely interested guests are kept on the list, thus enhancing the overall quality and engagement of your attendee list.

The goal is clear: to cultivate a guest list comprised of individuals who are not just attendees but true brand ambassadors. These are the people who will carry the torch for your brand, sharing their positive experiences and contributing to the event’s success far beyond their physical presence.

The RSVP Agency’s Event Registration Software is more than just a tool; it’s a part of a broader strategy to enhance the quality of your events. It complements best practices for crafting engaging email invitations, streamlining online registration processes, and managing RSVPs effectively, especially for corporate events.

The effectiveness of your event doesn’t solely rest on the shoulders of the content, speakers, or entertainment you provide. It’s also about who is in the room. The right guests can amplify the impact of your event, transforming it from a mere gathering into a pivotal moment for your brand. By using sophisticated Event Registration Software and adhering to proven RSVP management practices, you can ensure that your events are more than just successful—they’re memorable, impactful and truly resonate with each attendee.

So, as you plan your next event, remember that the quality of your guests significantly influences its success. Invest in understanding and managing your guest list with care and precision. Contact The RSVP Agency to start utilising technology like to streamline this process, ensuring that every attendee is there because they truly matter to your brand. 

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The Hidden Gems In Your Corporate Event Planning Checklist

The Hidden Gems In Your Corporate Event Planning Checklist

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Safely tucked away in any event professional’s ring binder file would be that item so essential to the event planning process that, were it ever to be lost or destroyed, the world would surely come crashing down around them. I’m talking about the unsung hero of the event management process – the corporate event planning checklist.

The ultimate function of an event planning checklist is to keep event planners sane

The corporate event planning checklist details it all – from every line item in a corporate event’s budget down to who will be responsible for placing water on the lectern for guest speakers on the day of the event. This is why this checklist and its associated documents are often referred to as the event planner’s ‘bible’ and why no event planner worth their salt will be seen without theirs close at hand on the day of their corporate event.

So, what kind of information should (or do) event planners keep close to them during an event?

Checklist templates for event planning abound on the internet. Examples of what should be included in this checklist differ according to event planner, business and events agency. One thing that we feel is pertinent to include with every checklist is an event call sheet. A call sheet is one of those hidden gems in an event planner’s file. It contains the contact details (cell phone numbers and email addresses) for every caterer, supplier, media person, emergency personnel member, project coordinator, hostess, taxi service, car hire company, audio-visual guy – you name it – whose involvement is pertinent to the successful running of your event on the day.  

Call sheets are distributed to the entire event planning team to ensure that they’ll know who to contact or follow up with should someone run late or a problem arise. Event planning call sheets should also include key setup times and locations for your team members throughout the day. A call sheet can also be used to direct your event planning team’s movement across locations. The RSVP Agency, for example,  recently ran the registrations for corporate event activities that required multiple call sheets for multiple teams spread across various locations.

A section of your corporate event planning checklist should always be dedicated to event compliance procedures

A crucial aspect of any planned event is its level of compliance with appropriate health and safety procedures. Regulations exist to ensure that event planners take health and safety measures at events seriously. These regulations touch on the appropriate venue and site design, fire safety, incident planning, the types of communication channels that need to be in place to ensure optimal safety for event guests, the necessary protocol for crowd management and crowd control – and much more.

Another gem to add to your corporate event planning checklist would then be our Event Compliance Checklist. This checklist will help you cover your event compliance bases when planning your upcoming events. You can download this checklist here below.

For more information about The RSVP Agency’s professional event management software solution, give us a call today.

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Corporate Event Planning Software For Top Event Professionals

Corporate Event Planning Software For Top Event Professionals

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Why do event managers at big corporates, like Momentum, and boutique events management companies, like Lucky No.8, prefer to use our corporate event planning software for their events? We believe it’s because our carefully designed software solution provides top event planners with a single platform from which they can execute and track many of their core event planning activities.

What would an event be without the right guests?

We make the design and distribution of event invitations as simple and easy a process as possible; our corporate event planning software allows event professionals to automate the distribution of their professionally designed event invitations. In this way, event planners ensure that the right people receive their invitations – at the right time.

Once invitations have been sent, our software allows event planners to track their guests’ invitation declines or accepts, as well as email invitation bounce rates, and ‘out of office’ notifications. Event planners can access the backend of RSVP software to see these accept and declines and affect their own call downs to ensure that no guest can slip through the cracks. Consultants who make these calls are well briefed on all your event’s details and capture additional information learned from guests during these calls to ensure that your database up to date.

According to Momentum’s Events and Sponsorship Manager, Denise Pillay, “the back-end of the tool is simple to understand and navigate when you need to make relevant changes and manage your responses”.

What would an event be without up-to-date guest data?

Event planners can use our corporate event planning software to collect crucial information from their invited guests prior to their event. This includes each guest’s unique accommodation, travel and catering needs. Our system can also be used to send guests surveys for the collection of additional data.

Automated emails walk guests through the registration process and prompt them to book their accommodation, capture their travel details and pay for the event, where necessary, using their prefered means of payment. Once this information is securely captured and stored in our database, selected travel agents are able to access this data to book flights for guests and organise their car rentals or airport transfers.

For Lebo Motswenyane, the Managing Director of Lucky No.8, this meant she was able to organise guests travelling from six different continents to attend the 2016 AfroCentric Achiever Awards. Lebo shared with us that, for her, the tracking of guest responses and our additional survey option was one of the key features of our corporate event planning software.

What would an event be without automated reporting?

We know that event planners need to have access to real-time figures. This is why we provide a custom-built and automated reporting structure that can be formated to each client’s needs. Our clients can specify how often they want their status reports spooled and sent to them, and what information they want reporting on.

What would a software product be without the necessary support?

The RSVP Agency’s project management team has been described as friendly, available and willing. We help you communicate key information to your guests and our professional team of hosts and hostesses help you with the hosting of your event and the handling of your event’s registration process.

Follow the link for more information about the RSVP Agency’s Event Management Software

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Event Automation And The Internet Of Things

Event Automation And The Internet Of Things

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Here’s a fascinating thought: one day, all our devices will be connected and internet-enabled through wireless networks. “Everything will be connected to everything”, says technology futurist, Jim Pinto. And this will be true no matter the device’s operating system, network, or IP address scheme. In this new age, event automation is bound to be increasingly important if you want to keep up with the pace. 

There’s more though. This wireless connection of devices – more commonly known as the Internet of Things (IoT) – doesn’t just include the connection of mobile devices, laptops, tablets or the likes. When Pinto says “everything”, he is referring to the connection of previously ‘passive’ objects too (like your toaster, garage door, or water sprinkler system in your garden) to turn them into smart devices that can send and receive data, and learn from and respond to the information that they collect.

And, as a blog by The Content Strategist points out, this means that,“[w]ith sensors, [any] product can go from being a tool to an actual medium of communication between the marketer and the consumer.” This sounds like an event marketer’s dream!

The IoT may have a while to go before it becomes an event planner’s daily reality – or does it?

With regard to the events industry, the IoT is bound to augment our event automation activities. This includes the ways in which we collect data about our guests’ interactions with our brand. Paired with existing event automation technology, the IoT can help further “automate, personalise and measure our event management and marketing activities” to increase leads, sales and revenue. 

McDonald’s has already begun harnessing the power of the IoT to learn more about consumer behaviour

According to a blog by The Content Strategist, McDonald’s has already gotten in on the IoT action by partnering with a solution provider called Piper to develop an app that uses Bluetooth to send greeting messages to customers as they walk through a restaurant’s door. The same app pushes other information their way – like free coupons, surveys for them to complete, or quick Q&As for their response. The end goal for McDonalds is to gather data to monitor their consumers’ behaviour and to then put that data to good use for the brand.  

Event automation and smart devices working in tandem in the event’s space is already a reality

The IoT can be used to augment a business’ event automation processes. iBeacons, for example, are low-powered transmitters that make use of a device’s Bluetooth capabilities to push messages to guests and track their consumer behaviour.  At an event, iBeacons can be used to send direct messages to guests on their arrival to remind them to register, for example. The same technology then allows them to ‘check in’ via their mobile devices. Existing event automation and registration software then retrieves, confirms and completes this registration process.

Currently, The RSVP Agency’s event registration software uses QR codes unique to each guest to scan participants in at events using our iPad-based app. Guest’s information, captured during the online registration process prior to the event, can be embedded in these QR codes to help streamline the catering process and give them  their easier access to shuttle transport services, VIP venues, workshops and the likes. iBeacons take this functionality one step further by enabling a more continuous flow of communication between guests and the event organiser.

The idea is that, one day, event guests will attend your events and remain constantly connected to your brand and the event experience via their devices and the IoT. The IoT will become an integral part of your event automation activities.

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Event ROI: How To Measure The Value Of Corporate Meetings And Events

Event ROI: How To Measure The Value Of Corporate Meetings And Events

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How do meetings and events create value? In his online presentation on the subject, Dr Elling Hamso, of the Event ROI Institute, proposes that events only create value for guests when they have to DO something. In other words, stakeholder value is created when there is a change in participant behaviour thanks to them having attended your corporate event.

For your guests’ behaviour to change, you need to ensure that you’ve put (just enough) money where your mouth is

Event guests merely feeling or thinking something different does not mean that there has been behaviour change, or that stakeholder value has been created. Instead, guests have to “physically do something”, says Dr Hamso, either after the meeting or during it, for an event to have created value.

What’s more, for an event to be successful, stakeholders’ behaviour needs to be changed “at the lowest possible cost”, so that money isn’t wasted. According to Dr Hamso, money can either be lost if more is spent than is necessary, or if too little money is invested in an event for it to resonate and bring about the desired change in behaviour. The bottom line is that an event that has no proven ROI is a money- and time-wasting activity.

The Event ROI Institute has developed a few steps for ensuring an event sees a ROI

In his presentation, Dr Hamso provides a step-by-step approach for ensuring event ROI. This involves setting key objectives to know what needs to be done and which targets need to be reached to bring about behaviour change through your event experiences. When planning an event, you will need to set objectives for:

  • The event’s bottom line impact
  • The guest behaviour that will generate this impact
  • The learning experience that will change participant behaviour
  • The ideal learning environment to host this learning experience

Lastly, you will also need to identify the ideal target audience to invite to this learning experience, whose behaviour you want to change.

Measuring the success of an event starts with an honest assessment of your target audience and ends with measuring event ROI

Dr Hamso shares that for measuring event ROI you need to flip the above points on their head and start with an assessment of your target audience. Did the right people attend your event? If not, you may just have wasted a great deal of your company’s time and money.

Measuring the learning environment

The following questions can be used as a guideline for measuring the effectiveness of the learning environment you have created:

1. Was the learning environment hospitable enough?
2. Did the food and venue selection resonate with your guests?
3. Were guests satisfied with the content delivered?
4. Were their expectations met – did they learn and experience what they came to learn and experience?

Measuring the learning experience

According to the good Doctor, “behaviour will change only as a result of cognitive change”. After measuring the learning environment, event planners need to assess the learning experience that their event has offered their guests. Has the information about your company’s values, products, knowledge and skills been useful and valuable enough for it to be remembered and applied? Or did you just waste a whole lot of your attendees’ time with an inapplicable or boring information download?

Measuring impact

Your event’s impact is measured by what event guests then go on to do with their newfound knowledge. Ideally, you would want them to go out and buy your product, enlist your services and encourage others to do the same.

Measuring profit

“ROI is the profit as a percentage of the cost”, says Dr Hamso. Measuring event ROI (or profit) entails adding up all the impacts from your event and then subtracting the cost of your event. For this, you will need to know how to isolate the impact of your event from other in-house advertising or marketing activities that might be driving product sales or demand for your services.

Event professionals need to know how to monetise the outcomes of their events. In his presentation, Dr Hamso provides the example of better management being a positive behaviour change in participants from a management course they attended. Event organisers need to know how to assign ‘better management’ with monetary value to prove their event’s ROI.

Event management software can help event organisers measure impact and changes in client’s behaviour

Intelligent event management software allows for more streamlined event relationship management (ERM™) as it enables event managers to automate the gathering, storing and analysing of guest’s data to provide event managers with key insights into their ideal target market’s behaviour. These insights help event professionals create learning environments and learning experiences that resonate deeply with their guests and affect change in their behaviour.  

The RSVP Agency’s event management software, for example, allows for real-time updates of guests’ responses to automated electronic invitations (sent by the same software system), so that event organisers can correctly gauge the effectiveness of their email marketing and change their strategy accordingly.

Our software solution also allows event professionals to set up online surveys, before, during, or after the event, to gather insights into guest preferences, or valuable feedback about their learning experiences. Here, event participants can be asked directly about any changes in their behaviour after an event to assist event managers with measuring event ROI.

For more information about The RSVP Agency’s event management software solution, click the link.

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Effective Time Management Skills For Corporate Event Planners

Effective Time Management Skills For Corporate Event Planners

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Top corporate event planners are either good at their jobs – brilliant, even – or they just aren’t. The brilliant ones know the value of each event for promoting their company’s corporate branding, and seem to have enough creative tricks up their sleeves to pull off experiences that resonate deeply, engage and impress.

Another key quality that successful event planners possess is their exceptional organisational skills. They are good at juggling the finer details, reassuring their clients or bosses that all is under control, delegating tasks, pushing back on ideas or requests when they have to – and they have effective time management skills.

In fact, effective time management skills are quite ‘up there’ on the professional expertise list for any event planner – because if you don’t know how to orchestrate your own work life and manage your own work commitments, then how could you possibly do it for your corporate events?

The good news is that there is an abundance of advice for those event planners who need to improve their time management skills

According to a Mind Tools blog, goal setting, prioritisation, managing interruptions, and minimising the chance of procrastination are key components of effective time management. We also add ‘appropriate technology’ to the list of measures that event planners can use to manage their time more efficiently.

Goal Setting

Setting daily, weekly and monthly goals is one way that corporate event planners can ensure they manage their time correctly. Goals should always be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-based. The best way to develop SMART goals is to write down a statement for each that reflects each letter of the acronym. For this, a Your Coach blog suggests asking yourself the following questions to flesh out each of your SMART goals and objectives:

  • What exactly do I want to achieve? 
  • What steps do I need to take to reach this goal?
  • By when will I need to achieve this goal? 
  • Who do I need to involve? 
  • What are the conditions and limitations for the task?
  •  Are there possible alternative ways of reaching my objectives?

Prioritisation

Goals are prioritised according to their importance and urgency. Being able to appropriately prioritise a task involves the ability to understand relationships between different activities. How might one task affect another? How much time does one activity need compared to the next? Here, a simple project management tool may come in handy to set time frames and help event planners think through all the variables.

Managing Interruptions

Even if an event planner has all their ducks in a row, there are bound to be interruptions to their workflow and processes. This is the nature of life and event planning. Effective time management skills include the ability to reprioritise goals and tasks so that processes can still run to schedule. Again, a project management tool can be useful here to recalculate and set new time frames for a team. Working to a too tight schedule, which cannot accommodate such interruptions, is never a great idea, so event planners need to provide for wiggle room in all their planning for unforeseen interruptions and time delays.  

Procrastination

Just don’t’ is the advice here. Different personality types handle work pressure differently, though. Some people thrive on doing things last-minute, others may drag their feet because they don’t know how to get a job done, so an event planner needs to know themselves and their team members well enough to understand the different work styles and who to allocate to a task. Putting the right people on a job and delegating tasks according to each person’s strengths and preferences is one way to prevent any feet-dragging out of disinterest or lack of skill.

Technology

Effective time management skills can be augmented by using appropriate RSVP software for events. RSVP software can help corporate event planners streamline their online registration and guest management processes – freeing up more of their time to focus on achieving their goals.

The RSVP Agency’s Event Compliance Checklist is another tool that event planners can use in their event planning process to dot their i’s and cross their t’s – to prevent last-minute emergencies by ensuring that they’ve properly followed event compliance procedures.

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How RSVP’s Online Registration Software Compares With The Event Industry’s ‘Best’

How RSVP’s Online Registration Software Compares With The Event Industry’s ‘Best’

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When it comes to choosing an online registration software solution that best suits their corporate event management needs, event planners are more than just a bit spoiled for choice these days. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that they are drowning in product options. For example, a search on the Capterra website for their top rated online registration software yields over 100 search results. How does an event organiser even begin to select the right platform for their event registration and planning requirements?

 We were a bit curious about this too, so we did a quick product comparison…

According to Capterra’s rating system, all the top online registration software solutions can do the following:

  • Manage guest attendance, contacts and event registrations
  • Support both online and onsite event registrations
  • Enable guests to self check-in at an event
  • Include a badge printing and badge management app
  • Provide online support to event managers throughout the event management process
  • Provide access to the necessary training documentation for clients to learn how to use the software

Features that are shared by some (but not all) products include:

  • A free product trial period to experience the software first hand
  • Cloud, mobile and web deployment – so that an event planner can access this planning tool across multiple devices
  • Targeted event email marketing
  • Calendar management – either through a plugin on a client’s event page or through a cloud-based system.
  • Secure and online payment processing
  • 24/7 live reporting via an online dashboard for event planners to access data in real-time
  • Surveys and feedback functions for pre- or post-event data collection

Depending on the type of package purchased, event planners could also expect the software to provide them with box office features for ticket sales and assist them with hotel and venue sourcing, advanced social media integration, ticket scanning, event budget management and post-event data reporting and analysis.

All of the above online registration software functions can save an event planner a great deal of time and money and should be enough to convince even the most cynical of critics to move their corporate event planning processes online.

The RSVP Agency’s dynamic event management software gives the competition a good run for its money

Our online registration software boasts many of the above mentioned functions and capabilities. It not only manages guest lists and handles online event registrations – it also automates email invitations and serves as a useful data collection tool for capturing guests’ information. All The RSVP Agency’s processes are POPI compliant, which means that our clients can trust us to protect their guests’ personal information at all times.

Our online registration software enables secure online payments and allows guests to place group orders for event-related stationery and supplies; it also walks guests through the accommodation and travel booking process.

The RSVP Agency’s support services further extend to include customised invitation design, call downs to clients who have not responded to email invitations, and iCal reminders to guests to attend the event.

Contact Us to find out more about our locally-developed RSVP software for events.

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The Benefits Of Customisable Event Technologies

The Benefits Of Customisable Event Technologies

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From being tasked by a client to organise an in-flight tattoo artist for guests winging their way to an event, to crazy, last-minute requests for a snow machine at a celebrity party – event planners have probably seen and heard it all. This is why, to best keep track with their clients’ evolving expectations and needs, event organisers need to make use of customisable event technologies to keep their mad planning skills, contact network and event management tools as current and adaptable as possible.

Each corporate event is unique, so event organisers need tools that easily adapt to their planning requirements

This is what makes customisable event technologies so great: event planners don’t necessarily have to find new technologies or do a complete overhaul of their existing event planning tools to fulfil a corporate client’s unique requests. Instead, new functionalities can be built into existing event technologies to improve and streamline the event planning process.

At the beginning of 2014, for example, The RSVP Agency decided to add several new functional elements to our event management software services. This included the development of an iPad-based registration application to integrate into our invitation management system and simplify the on-the-day event registration process.

We also added a new event referral feature that allows invited guests to easily invite their own clients and contacts to an important event; here, email forwards and responses are tracked in the back-end of our system so that event planners can have an accurate and real-time record of guest list numbers and guests’ details.

It’s important to be aware of clients’ pain points to develop the most appropriate digital solutions possible

In the event tech industry, it’s good to repeatedly revisit the proverbial drawing board to keep a finger on the pulse of what’s hip and happening in the field.

The RSVP Agency recognised that our clients needed to collect different information from their event guests (depending on the type of event and its location and purpose) and a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to data capturing wasn’t going to cut it. So, in 2016, we’ve added conditional drop downs to our online event registration form fields. Our online registration forms can now be built to specification to collect the exact guest information that our clients need for the event planning process.

For example, conditional drop-downs can be developed to prompt guests to select their mode of transport, capture their preferred travel dates and times, and choose where they would like to stay during the course of the event. This data can then be used by event planners, and their associated travel agents, to book flights, arrange guests’ airport or bus transfers, and make plans for guests’ accommodation.

For more information about our complete event management software solution, follow this link.

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How To Successfully Engage In Corporate Branding

How To Successfully Engage In Corporate Branding

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Corporate branding involves the communication and promotion of an organisation’s values, vision and culture – it’s ‘vibe’ – to inspire brand loyalty in their customers, employees, and stakeholders. Loyal brand ambassadors are ones who feel that a company’s ethos and culture aligns with theirs’.

In many ways, the public relate to and engage with a company’s brand as if it’s an actual personality. This is why the recent Volkswagen (VW) emissions scandal was so bad for business: VW was meant to be trustworthy, and the fact that the organisation (knowingly or unwittingly) deceived its customers was more scandalous than the flawed product itself. VW let its people down.

Positive sentiment towards an organisation’s brand ultimately drives sales, profit margins and a business’ overall success

This is why effective corporate branding strategies are so important. Marketing managers are responsible for developing an organisation’s corporate branding and, whether they like it or not, corporate events form part of this marketing strategy.

So, how do marketing managers plan and execute events so that these experiences strongly resonate with attendees and have a positive spin-off for their organisation’s corporate identity and brand?

1.Start at the beginning – it’s a good place to start

An interesting research article by Professor Simon Knox and David Bickerton suggests that getting back to the basics may just be part of the answer. Management (both in marketing and senior leadership) first needs to make sure that the company’s vision, culture and image are aligned so that they can correctly position the organisation’s brand. As management develops a better understanding of their organisation’s unique brand identity and image, they can then more effectively communicate this across the organisation – and beyond – through their brand management activities.

When it comes to running corporate events, a company’s corporate branding must be intentionally communicated through the type of event experiences that the business organises. An organisation’s core vision, culture, values and image need to be well-represented at every point of engagement with event guests.

2. Work on articulating brand statements and ensuring brand consistency

When (re)constructing a brand, Knox and Bickerton recommend that a set of brand statements be developed to describe the organisation’s corporate branding position. This will help to develop a unified corporate language for an organisation’s formal and informal communications.

According to the Knox and Bickerton, consistency in communications is also key for effective corporate branding. Communication for corporate events needs to align with the company’s brand statements and style guide and remain consistent in style and tone, to help build on (and not break down) what guests already know about the organisation’s brand identity.

In many ways, email invitation software is ideal for ensuring consistency in corporate branding communications. 

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