If you care about one thing this month, make it data management (yes, really)

With the buzz of December already a distant memory, the arrival of January comes as an anticlimax. It’s back to work, back to normality and for many event planners, a time that can seem challenging and even a little overwhelming. While it can be difficult to muster enthusiasm for anything right now, data management (yep, that’s right) is something that’s always worthy of your consideration and — as this blog sets out — a concept that’s never more relevant than at the very start of the year, when you have a full calendar of events to successfully execute. And so — if you can summon the enthusiasm for just one thing this month — let these data management tips ease you into a concept that, once understood, will carry you toward event success both now and well into the future.

If that thought alone isn’t enough to convince you, we’ve rounded-up five concrete reasons why data management is well worth your mental efforts this month:

1. It’s an Opportunity to Enhance Efficiency and Organisation

Let’s start with the most obvious point and that is, by being aware of and actively managing the information that you regularly use, you’ll significantly improve your workflow as a planner. Consider the key data that you rely on in your daily tasks — i.e., that related to clients, venues, vendors, etc. — and organise it in a manner that makes the most sense to you as a user. Data management is nothing more than this and by doing just that little bit of housekeeping, you can massively improve your workflow and save time — that most precious of resources — when you need quick access to critical information.

When it comes to data management tips, the most important point to bear in mind is to collect and store only the data you need. As an event planner, this means asking your delegates only for the information that’s pertinent to the occasion or the process that you want to execute. For example, if you don’t need your delegates’ age or gender during registration, don’t ask for it. After all, extraneous details not only slow down the registration process, but increase the cart abandonment rate for your event sign-up. From the perspective of GDPR compliance, it’s also not considered to be in-keeping with best practice. To that end, always remember to delete the data you no longer need or use on a regular basis.

2. Deploy These Data Management Tips for Insight into Customer Relationship Management (CRM):

Think of data management as a tool, one which can effortlessly enhance your CRM endeavours by helping you to keep track of your attendees’ preferences, especially any feedback that they may have given you during the course of your relationship with them. This level of detail is invaluable when planning future events and instrumental in guaranteeing both a productive event planning process and a positive experience for your clients. Just think: the analysis of past events offers a vital window to future success, all thanks to the power of data management.

For planners, the relevance of CRM lies in the integration with their chosen Event Management System (EMS). So, the information held in CRM can be shared and acted upon, as needed. In this sense, data management is all about the quick, accurate and seamless flow of information between the two systems. These concrete data management tips are exemplified by the following processes:

• The ability to pull invitations lists from the CRM directly into the EMS
• The automatic updating of attendee profiles in the CRM
• The creation of leads in your CRM whenever you capture new registration data
• The real-time overview of attendee event history in your CRM
• The ability to manage data more effectively and, likewise, to comply with Data Protection regulations (GDPR)

3. Data Management Offers Protection Against Risk:

While well-organised data can certainly enhance your ability as a planning professional, it also enables you to effectively identify and mitigate any risks you might encounter during your day-to-day work. Whether it’s dealing with niggles over contractual obligations or issues with vendors or suppliers, good data management acts as a kind of safeguard to any of the many issues that you as a planner can and most probably will face at one point or another during your professional career.

At the delegate level, the mismanagement of data comes with a considerable element of risk. Say, for example, that you’re keeping track of information on your attendees’ dietary requirements. If a delegate has informed you of a serious allergy and you’ve neglected to record this, your poor management of that data not only risks harming your reputation as a planner, but someone’s personal health.

4. A Strategy to Effective Event Marketing:

When it comes to targeted marketing, data is an incredibly powerful tool, which is why it pays to keep the data that you use to analyse your target audience well-organised. By doing so, you can neatly and easily create more effective marketing strategies, reaching the right people with the right messages to create the kinds of events that resonate deeply with your audience. In our eBook, we explore key data management tips in relation to personalisation, but the takeaway is that your messaging to your delegates should be tailored on their past behaviours and preferences. These, of course, can only be understood via the analysis and careful management of data.

5. Data Management Tips to Stay a Step Ahead of Change:

As every planner knows, change can happen anytime, anywhere. Professionals in this industry exemplify true dynamism in the course of their daily operations and so it makes sense that this should also carry through to the data on which each and every event is based. Here at Eventsforce, we even offer a solution that enables planners to manage their event as it unfolds via our app. The broader point, however, is that when you take care to ensure that your data is carefully managed, you’re already one step ahead of change that — sooner or later — will certainly come your way. Even during these times of flux, data management offers a solid platform from which to make good, sound, and successful decisions.

Many things can be hard this time of year, but let these five simple pointers serve as an easy reminder of all that data management has to offer your events, both now and well into the future. And speaking of the future, in our next blog, we’ll offer some hints and tips to help you organise your data to maximum effect.