"Even when suppliers understand what I am talking about, it is still hard to articulate this information over the phone.”
Julie Eckhart
Education Coordinator
Geospatial Information and Technology Association
The life of an event manager at a small association is a hectic one. Overcommitted and a slave to deadlines, there is barely enough time for one to accomplish his or her principle responsibilities, let alone extra projects such as researching the newest technologies in the meetings industry. Yet, the latest innovations offer powerful tools that can greatly enhance a conference or tradeshow while saving time and sparing hassle for event managers. Nevertheless, with hundreds of vendors offering thousands of products, finding the right tool at the right price is an involved and time-consuming process. The search for new technology is a balancing act: event managers have to find a solution that not only fits their budgets but also satisfies the upper-management and decision-makers in their associations. MeetingTechOnline interviewed several event managers at small associations about the challenges they face when implementing new technology at their tradeshows and events. The results of these interviews reveal that their two biggest challenges are gaining access to education about technology and effectively communicating with vendors about the specific needs of their organizations.
Event managers specialize in producing and organizing conferences and tradeshows but are often expected to also understand the myriad of available technology products. When they research technology companies and hear sales pitches, vendors speak to them in what might as well be a different language, often failing to communicate the relevance and value of their products.
Effective communication between event managers and technology providers presents challenges for both parties, with one side often unable to describe its specific needs and the other often unable to describe how its product or service fits the needs of a show. Even when an association hires a technology company for an event, misunderstandings over details and procedures on the show floor can cause a seemingly well-planned event management solution to crumble, leaving both parties scrambling for a quick fix as attendees and exhibitors lose patience. Such meltdowns are often preventable when both parties have a better understanding of the association’s business processes.
One event manager with whom we spoke works for an association in the printing industry. She manages several events a year, the largest of which draws around 2,000 attendees. She described two kinds of obstacles when it comes to researching and acquiring new technologies: one from the inside of the association, and another from the outside. On the inside, often the challenge is dealing with upper-management and decision-makers. Described as “obstinate and stubborn,” they want to market their association as “cutting-edge” yet at the same time are resistant to change and insist on sticking with the same antiquated technology at their shows year after year. For example, their membership database is run through a modified MS-DOS program that the event staff finds cumbersome and frustrating. The association leadership often dismisses new technology offerings as too expensive, yet they spend a great deal of time and money staffing a large IT department to maintain outdated and substandard in-house systems. After taking the time to hire an entire IT staff and sinking funds into their projects, upper-management is often reluctant to exchange personnel for software and equipment, even if making this trade would be the most cost-efficient choice.
Outside the association, she is also challenged with handling her own industry’s manufacturers and distributors before and during events. In addition, exhibitors often do not understand the technologies or processes of participating in tradeshows, and the task of integrating information into the show’s data systems is a frustrating operation for show management. Just as event managers and technology vendors have trouble communicating, event managers and exhibitors also find it hard to get on the same page.
Many event managers of smaller associations say that they simply don’t have the time or resources to properly research new technologies and the latest industry trends. Those we interviewed suggest that technology companies could facilitate introductions and establish relationships with many potential customers by distributing and making readily available informational and educational material about their products.
Julie Eckhart, Education Coordinator for the Geospatial Information and Technology Association, is currently researching a new lead retrieval system for her largest show of 2,000 attendees. “Our organization has been trying to select a lead retrieval company now for two months,” she says. “All we have obtained are a few price quotes. I am not very computer savvy, and just trying to tell them what is needed for the database is tricky. It is hard when suppliers are not local. If they were here in my office to see the database, they could better understand what I need.”
Like many association show organizers, Ms. Eckhart also describes the burden of selecting new technology. “Suppliers will call and want to go over the same questions again and again; I just do not have time for that. Even when suppliers understand what I am talking about, it is still hard to articulate this information over the phone.”
By reaching out to the smaller associations, technology companies could advertise their services while freeing up time and resources that could instead be applied to new product purchases for these tightly budgeted organizations. Efforts from technology companies to communicate their technology in a direct and educational way would bring a welcome change for event managers.