The Top 5 Event Management Solutions
Organizing events can include many repetitive and time-consuming tasks, which can eat away at the time spent doing more productive or interesting work. Tasks such as budget management, collecting feedback, and event registration can give even the most experienced event manager a headache.
Luckily, planners now have a vast array of event management software at their disposal. These solutions can not only help consolidate team activities and workflow, but also provide one consolidated place to manage every aspect of event marketing.
In this blog post we will explain 5 of the most popular Event Management solutions, as well as their pros, cons, and main features.
1.Attendify
Attendify is a cloud-hosted management software that provides tools and features aimed to help streamline the event management process on many different levels. Introduced in 2012, this innovate event management platform has strived to ‘reimagine the event technology space’, and since then has made a significant impact in the industry. Being one of the first of it’s kind to provide private social networking features, it has since evolved into a comprehensive Content Management System (CMS).
One of the stand-out features of Attendify is the simple, easy-to-use interface, complete wit integrated social media management and client communication. Some of the other features Attendify offers include:
- Mobile Apps for iOS/Android
Real-time attendee experience feedback
Drag-and-drop app creator
APIs for integration with many other apps
Pros:
- Easy-to-use interface, perfect for beginners
- Lots of functionality and integration with other applications
- Extensive feature set, covering most areas of event management
- Useful tools for social media marketing and communications
Cons:
- Prices can be high for event apps
- Analytics collecting and reviewing could be simpler
2.Eventbrite
Similar to Attendify, Eventbrite is also a cloud-hosted end-to-end event management solution that covers most areas of running or managing an event. From registration to sales tracking, Everbrite offers a very comprehensive solution with an extensive feature set and impressive tools for analysis.
What really stands out with Eventbrite is just how comprehensive the feature set is. The solution allows you to manage everything related to your event in one customizable interface, and does a very good job at providing a feature-rich yet relatively user-friendly experience. As well as the tools you may expect such as online registration, ticketing, and social media marketing, it also boasts some unique features too, including:
- Customizable interface
- Crowdfunding management
- Badge printing
- Survey collection and management
- Smartphone-based barcode scanning for registration
Pros:
- Incredibly extensive feature set
- Lots of customisability options for personalising your experience
- Compatible with many devices, from Linux to Android
- Open API framework for integration with other applications
Cons:
- Reviews show some controversy over their customer support and payment methods
- Fees can be high – when using the app, you are charged per ticket sold
3.Cvent
Founded in Virginia in 1999, Cvent is a long-standing leader in the Event Management software space. Cvent is a cloud-based enterprise event management platform, which offers a flexible yet comprehensive solution to organizing and planning events, catering to any type of industry or role. With advanced communication tools, Cvent allows organisers to more effectively and efficiently target emails to participants.
Cvent offers many of the standard features you might see in other event management solutions, however it also includes some innovate and unique tools. One of the most extraordinary features is the venue locator, which lets organizers locate the most cost-effective venue for their event. Some of the other main features of Cvent include:
- Mobile and online payments
- Badge printing
- Automation for registration and ticketing
- Customizable interface and branding
Pros:
- Scalable plans allow for event management of any size – from freelancers, to enterprises
- Lots of functionality to aid both organizers and participants
- Advanced communications tools allow for more effective email marketing
- Useful automation can save organizers hundreds of hours
Cons:
- Pricing can often exceed expectations
- Reviews indicate that customer support can be lacking
- Not the most beginner-friendly interface to use
4.eTouches
eTouches is a complete cloud event management software aimed at providing event managers with a comprehensive toolset to help them throughout the event cycle, from start to finish. The solution has a very expansive premium range of features, making it most suitable for bigger businesses or enterprises looking to organize large events.
eTouches includes all of the usual features that the other platforms in our list have, as well as some useful extra tools and components for more efficiently managing your events. Similar to Cvent, eTouches provides a venue sourcing feature to help planners locate the most cost-effective venue. eTouches also includes useful search capabilities to help further streamline this part of the process. As well as these, eTouches also includes:
- Multilingual support, allowing for events in multiple countries
- Comprehensive app support for both Android and iOS
- Clear and concise logistics and data analysis
- Travel and housing management
Pros:
- Rich and refined feature set
- 24/7 vendor support for any technical issues
- Mobile application includes helpful task management system
- eSurvey tool speeds up the survey creation process
Cons:
- Unhelpful pricing system
- Not very user-friendly at first
- Minimum registration commitment means that eTouches isn’t ideal for smaller event organizers
5.Eventzilla
Eventzilla is one of the newer products on the market however it deserves a spot in the top 5 due to it’s simple, yet functional interface and feature set. Aimed at combining Ecommerce features with event management, the intuitive platform provides a user-friendly solution to managing and organizing events. With a number of tools designed to help save time with logistics and payments, it stands to reason that it’s become one of the most popular event management solutions in the last few years.
As well as the standard features which all the other platforms on this list provide, Eventzilla also includes a range of helpful registration and ticketing features. Eventzilla excels at ticket registration, and includes:
- E-ticket support with smartphone compatibility
- QR Code scanning with tickets
- Mobile event check-in
- Integration with payment platforms such as PayPal, Stripe and Braintree
Pros:
- Excellent pre- and on-site registration features
- Extra features are very useful for a number of scenarios
- Surveying tool lets you easily measure success rates
- Discount code support can help attract more participants
Cons:
- Communication tools are lacking compared to competitors
- Some bugs exist relating to orders and tickets