Total Event Program Management for SaaS and Tech
Best Practices for a Digital, Post-Pandemic World
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, businesses across the globe felt the effects. While some industries faced significant damage — such as air travel and hotels — others saw demand for their products skyrocket. This is what happened in the tech and software-as-a-service (SaaS) worlds. Corporations suddenly needed infrastructure in place to allow telework and virtual collaboration. SaaS and tech firms were the ones these companies contacted for help. While many companies benefited from increased demand, they were not immune to all the effects of the pandemic. In fact, COVID-19 could have implications that last for decades.
The major problem for SaaS and tech firms during the outbreak was the inability to host events. When an attendee from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas contracted COVID-19 at the January 2020 conference, the severity of the issue became clear. Thousands of tech conferences around the world were suddenly canceled, postponed, or moved online. This resulted in fewer business development opportunities, recruitment slowdowns, loss of sponsorships, costly breaches of contract, and countless other negative outcomes. Leaders in the tech and SaaS industries were forced to rethink their approach to event management.
In response to the massive disruption event planners in these fields are facing, we've created this guidebook to help you better evolve after crises and adapt for the future. Within these pages, we define the benefits and limitations of virtual, in-person, and hybrid events. We also discuss best practices for engagement and risk mitigation within and across each of these event formats. Along the way, we'll share examples of how firms in the SaaS and tech industries are adapting their overall event programs and how they can succeed even when disasters and emergencies strike.
Choosing Your Event Format
The pandemic thrust the world into a new reality, resulting in a hasty transition to the virtual event space. Even though SaaS and tech firms have long used virtual events, most were still caught off guard when such events became mandatory rather than discretionary. Now that virtual events have become more commonplace, companies within these fields have the opportunity to create these experiences more deliberately.
This starts with choosing the right event format— virtual, in-person, or hybrid — based on event goals while also taking into account audience and attendee preferences, public health, and accessibility. To determine the right format for your event, you must articulate the goals for both the host and attendees. What is it that you hope to achieve with the event or meeting? What information, benefits, or training are attendees hoping to get?
Virtual, in-person, and hybrid formats each come with an assortment of benefits and challenges. In this chapter, we'll break down some of these considerations to guide your event planning process.
Virtual Events
While virtual events existed on a smaller scale long before COVID-19 hit the scene, 2020 became the year of virtual programming for organizations around the world. Though going virtual was a last-minute switch in many instances, these events don't have to be seen as backups or "lesser" options going forward. In fact, virtual events have proven to offer a variety of key benefits — including expanded reach across geographic distance and reduced barriers to access for attendees. Thinking of going virtual? Here are the important questions to ask:
What goals can you achieve with a virtual event?
A primary factor for moving events online during the global pandemic is safety — virtual events are unquestionably safer for planners and participants alike. Beyond safety concerns, however, virtual events also have a broader reach. This is because distance suddenly becomes a non-factor. This is a great asset for firms looking to expand their networks.
And since virtual event capacity isn't limited by physical space, your conference could hold 500 or 500,000 attendees. In terms of event planner goals, virtual events are great channels for sharing information with many. For this reason, webinars, presentations, one-to-many training events, and similar gatherings can all take place in the virtual space.
What are the challenges of hosting a virtual event?
A common challenge for event planners in a virtual setting has been networking and connecting participants on a social level. It can prove difficult to facilitate human connection from behind a computer screen. Many institutions have found workarounds for networking and social events, including breakout groups, social media integration, virtual happy hours, and more. Virtual events can also be a struggle for attendee engagement. That's why choosing to host a virtual event means you must prioritize digital engagement (we'll discuss this further in the next chapter).
In-person
While stuck at home, many of us felt a longing for in-person events. It wasn't just the experience of being trapped inside that hurt — it was the inability to gather in person, where making connections was easier. While in-person events may have benefits, they also present several challenges. Whether these relate to physical access or other problems, many organizations responded by shifting to a hybrid or virtual model. Moving forward, you should consider the following questions before planning an in-person event.
What goals can you achieve with an in-person event?
If networking and making connections are critical to your event, an in-person gathering is the natural fit. In-person is also more important for programs that revolve around a physical space. For instance, unveiling a new data center will be much more impactful when attendees can actually tour the physical space. In-person events can also foster attendee engagement. And with the right strategies, you can increase audience engagement even in online events.
What are the challenges of choosing in-person?
The age-old problem with in-person events is limited capacity — the size of the physical space constrains your attendance. You also face budgetary constraints for catering, utilities, and more. And because of the effects of the global pandemic, health and safety will remain among the biggest priorities for in-person events moving forward.
We are now facing a drastically changed world regarding meetings and events. Many remote workers may feel less inclined to leave home for conferences, and companies may be less willing to fund travel. Countless individuals may need to limit their interactions for health reasons. A variety of organizations have responded by making hybrid part of their long-term events strategy to increase both access and capacity. And as these firms increasingly view virtual and hybrid events as a way to reduce their carbon footprints, sustainability initiatives are starting to see a resurgence.
3 Benefits of Cvent Social Tables for Safer In-Person Events
Cvent Social Tables helps SaaS and tech firms plan, promote, host, and deliver safer meetings. Here's how:
Design Space with Safety in Mind
Easily update existing layouts to comply with social distancing regulations. You can even add custom objects, such as temperature checks and hand sanitizing stations.
Ensure your Diagram Meets Guidelines
The Diagram Check tool lets you audit your layout against predetermined safety and health guidelines. With a single click, you can highlight and fix problem areas.
Collaborate and Manage Attendees
Share diagrams with key stakeholders to get real-time feedback. You also have access to industry-leading attendee management tools.
Is Hybrid the Answer?
If you ask some industry experts, hybrid events are the wave of the future. They offer the best of both worlds — an optional in-person connection alongside the improved scale and access of virtual programming. Countless SaaS and tech events have shifted to a hybrid model to achieve their desired results. While companies can certainly deploy their products even during nationwide lockdowns, the importance of meeting with other professionals and experts in the fields cannot be overstated.
Hybrid provides a flexibility that offers more than just public health benefits. Allowing participants to access material in multiple ways helps bridge online and offline discussions. And regardless of the audience you’re targeting — from industry experts to recruits — these benefits will improve everyone’s experience. While hybrid events may sound intimidating from a planning perspective, they offer benefits that organizational leaders and decision makers cannot overlook. Here are some questions to ask when considering this modality.
What goals can you achieve with a hybrid event?
The primary benefit of a hybrid event is the many options it provides — for attendees and event planners alike. Since hybrid events are accessible for all attendees, they greatly reduce barriers to entry. For example, attendees who are at high risk or don't have the budget or time to travel can still participate online. Hybrid events also offer the ability to expand your audience and reach a greater audience. Increasing capacity means increased opportunities for sponsorship and other financial benefits. Hybrid events incorporate both the social elements of in-person and the accessibility benefits of virtual programming.
What are the challenges when planning a hybrid event?
There are three primary challenges in hybrid programming: execution, engagement, and data. It can become expensive and complicated to execute an event with the adequate technology necessary to support virtual programs. It can also be challenging for speakers to effectively engage with both virtual and in-person audiences simultaneously. And the challenge many people overlook—data—is what will help you succeed in all future events. Planners must consider how to involve and engage two sets of audiences, and the technology used must allow virtual participants to be as involved in the event as their in-person counterparts.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The SaaS and tech worlds are recognized for being among the most innovative industries. There is no single solution to the question of whether programming should be virtual, in-person, or hybrid. All three have a place in SaaS and tech total event programs. The decision of which event format to use depends on the goals of each unique event or event type.
With varying best practices for events across formats, it can be difficult to know how to properly engage your audience. In the next chapter, we'll explore engagement strategies to ensure your attendees are excited about virtual and hybrid programming.
5 Considerations for Shifting to an Event-Producer Mentality
“We need to think about hybrid events as ‘one event but two experiences.’ This requires shifting to an event-producer mentality.”
– McNeel Keenan, Vice President, Product Management at Cvent
Switching to an event-producer mentality isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. By utilizing the 6 Pillars of a Hybrid Event, though, you will be on the right path to hosting a successful event.
1 Venue
You must work directly with venue owners to deliver safe onsite experiences for your attendees.
2 Marketing
Hosting hybrid events means you have different audiences. It's important to target each with the right experience.
3 Content
You must create a content strategy that can appeal to both virtual and in-person audiences.
4 Community
A hybrid event can only be as successful as its shared experiences. And since you have two audiences, you must come up with ideas that can bring both together.
5 Sponsors and Exhibitors
Hybrid offers an outreach scale that you can't get from a single modality on its own. Leverage this scale to increase awareness and lead generation for sponsors and exhibitors.
6 Data and Insights
There is a treasure trove of data just waiting to be gathered at hybrid events. You must implement strategies to capture it across in-person and virtual audiences.
Increasing Engagement
Whatever event format you choose will shape your event, but it certainly will not define it. The difference between a successful event and one that flops comes down to one thing: engagement. How you engage participants inside your chosen format means everything. Whether you opt for a traditional in-person event, an all-virtual event, or a hybrid, it's important to consider best practices for engagement to keep everyone interested and involved.
In this chapter, we'll dive into engagement strategies across all event formats. This will maintain a focus on active learning, facilitating social connections, and developing a foundation of high-quality content.
Best Practices for Event Engagement
1. Create a hub with compelling content
If you want attendees to engage at your event, you need to give them something to engage with. The core of your programming is its content. First, you need to establish a baseline of high-quality content that your participants will want to dive into. Creating quality content can mean very different things, though, depending on the scope of your event.
If you're hosting a user conference, quality content could include bringing engaging and knowledgeable speakers and panelists into the mix. For networking events, quality content might include inviting guests with a broad network in tech and SaaS. If your goal is primarily to share information, make sure it is clear, up to date, and packaged in a way your audience can absorb. Creating compelling content also means variety — particularly if your event spans across several days. Offering a range of subtopics or a diverse array of speakers can keep participants from getting burned out on a single subject.
Making content available beyond the actual event schedule is also an important consideration. If there’s one constant in SaaS and tech fields, it’s that schedules can be hectic at times. By granting registrants access to content even after the event ends, you’ll ensure the best minds in these industries stay up to date and informed. Additionally, you’ll increase registration numbers among those who might initially miss the sessions they’re most interested in.
2. Embrace active learning strategies
Most tech and SaaS professionals never work in academia, but it can still be helpful to think like a teacher when planning an event. What is it that you want participants to learn, and how do you plan on achieving that learning? Focus on active learning — where attendees are more than just passive observers in a lecture hall — to boost information retention and make your programming more fun.
Here are some strategies for active learning that will work across all formats:
a. Live polling
Live polling allows you to survey your audience during a session to gain real-time insights into specific topics. For example, if your event focuses on business continuity planning during office closures, you might poll your audience live to see how many work at firms with emergency response plans in place.
Live polling does more than engage your audience — it also enhances your speakers' data sets. Since this capability allows your participants to play an active role in content creation throughout your event, their experiences become part of the conversation. Additionally, participants gain valuable insight into their colleagues' perspectives on a holistic level.
This shapes how they go through the rest of the event and creates a dynamic experience for them.
b. Gamification
Turning your content or programming into Gamification is a great way to increase engagement. Something as simple as designing a networking bingo card to encourage social interaction can do wonders. Of course, you could also go all in on technology and create an interactive event app that supports learning during the gathering. The end goal is to boost engagement by providing rewards for specific types of participation (e.g., visiting booths, attending virtual happy hours, taking quizzes, or meeting other attendees).
c. Q&As
Question-and-answer sessions are a classic engagement-boosting strategy. That's because attendees can get the answers to questions they actually care about. You can create your own Q&A hybrid by integrating questions from the virtual audience with those from the in-person audience. This means your audience can engage across all platforms.
d. Social media integration
Integrating social media into your event can be a great way to support conversations among participants. Such strategies can also encourage networking and connection — particularly in virtual and hybrid settings. Consider providing event hashtags, asking participants to answer online polls, posting questions on Twitter and Instagram, or live-tweeting during popular events. The latter of these strategies will also create a record of popular sessions for participants who attended concurrent meetings.
3. Make logistics intuitive
If an attendee has difficulty getting around or finding a session, their level of engagement isn't likely to impress. That's why making the logistics of your event as intuitive as possible is essential. You should also take time to regularly provide reminders to clarify scheduling and encourage attendance at key sessions. Emailing daily schedules throughout your event, providing optional push notifications in your mobile app, and making it clear where to find important event information (e.g., social media, email, text) will help your event run smoothly and boost participation.
4. Don’t forget fun
When planning professional events, it's easy to forget to schedule time for fun. This is particularly the case for virtual and hybrid events. Offering social connection and making space for silliness can make a huge difference in attendee experience. To make connections easier in a virtual space, offer online happy hours along with random or curated networking lists.
Doing this allows attendees to connect virtually. You can also make multi-day events more fun by planning spirit days — complete with themed costumes or colors — either with live sessions or via video calls. And with virtual events, don't forget the "swag!” Mailing hats or shirts in pre-event care packages is great, but you could also send e-gift cards for coffee, lunch, or the small gifts you'd normally hand out at an in-person event.
Focusing on Attendee Experience
At the end of the day, focusing on attendee experience will support your event goals. This holds whether you're hosting a product training, running a week-long tech conference, or engaging employees at a sales kick-off. You want participants to be engaged and advocate for your programming. To accomplish this, you must provide a strong foundation of quality content and make time for fun, games, and active learning.
Implementing the Technology Backbone
Regardless of which industry you consider, technology was already becoming a critical aspect of delivering high-quality in-person events long before the pandemic. Today, it's become essential. And when you leverage technology effectively for events across all formats, it can improve reach, access, user engagement, and ultimately increase the return on investment of your events program.
There are a variety of important ways you can use technology, regardless of the event format. These uses include data collection and analysis, marketing, and more. In this chapter, we'll discuss some of the most important considerations when planning and implementing event technology across modalities.
Mastering Technology in the Event Space
Technology is a major consideration, whether you’re hosting in-person, virtual, or hybrid events. Here are a few of the most important factors to consider:
1. Re-evaluate your budget
If you’re planning events in modalities you have less experience in, it’s important to re-evaluate your budget needs. If you've gone from hosting in-person events to fully virtual, any money saved on event space could be used to improve technology. Your virtual event platform essentially becomes your new "event space," and a more intuitive and useful platform means a better experience for attendees.
If you are opting for a hybrid event, you might consider downsizing your in-person event space and reinvesting the savings in virtual technology and your audiovisual budget. Obviously, any changes you make will depend heavily on how many attendees will attend in person. And don't forget that your virtual platform will be a tool for all attendees, so it's well worth paying for the right software to get the job done.
2. Find the right platform
Once you've determined your budget, you need to find an event technology platform that offers all the features to ensure your virtual, in-person, or hybrid event runs smoothly. Having an integrated virtual event portal or website — rather than just sending out a bunch of Zoom links, for example — makes it easier for participants to navigate your event. This also supports a personalized experience and provides valuable opportunities for data collection, depending on your platform's capabilities.
The Cvent Attendee Hub (AH) is one such example that can handle your in-person, hybrid, and virtual event needs. Pulling your video content into the same space is one way it accomplishes this. In addition to this feature, AH also includes capabilities for live and pre-recorded programming, event branding, a native app, and more. Attendees can connect one-on-one or through collaborative sessions, and organizers can plan integrated Q&As with built-in data analytics. This can provide detailed insights into what content engages participants.
“From a global business perspective, being a virtual event — especially in this time — allowed us to have a much broader reach…We reached more countries than we’ve ever been able to before, and we also reached more decision makers.”
– Aimee Heuschkel, Director of Marketing Creative Services
Technology for Total Event Program Management
An integrated event management platform is an important consideration when building a strong technology backbone for your total event program. Technology can help you optimize cost, deliver a seamless and delightful attendee experience, collect valuable data, and navigate the logistics of hosting an event across all modalities. Technology can also help you navigate risk mitigation. We’ll discuss this in greater depth in Chapter 4.
Contingency Planning
Due to the potential for pandemics, natural disasters, and other crises, the decision-making lens for leaders across all sectors must focus more on risk mitigation and crisis management. Sometimes this is forced upon us when a crisis occurs, but that doesn't mean there aren’t learning opportunities available. In this chapter, we'll share a basic philosophy and best practices for crisis management and risk mitigation in events. We live in a new normal where everyone has seen how global events can cause major disruptions, and taking a forward-thinking approach is the only way to avoid similar disruptions in the future.
Our discussion will also focus on how each of these strategies can provide opportunities for data collection and help you plan future events responsibly and thoughtfully.
3 Steps for Event Crisis Management
When an emergency affects your event, it can be easy to fall into react mode and make decisions in rapid succession. Unfortunately, these decisions won't always prove beneficial for your organization's long-term health. But it's possible to respond in a crisis while also keeping growth in mind. In fact, you can do this in such a way that benefits your participants as well. Here is our three-step approach to event crisis management.
1. Adapt
You've just learned about an emergency that could potentially impact your upcoming event. In the first stage, you need to adapt to the changes that are coming your way. This entails collecting as much information as possible. Gather news and information from reliable sources, and make sure you stay up to date about what's happening as new details become available.
If you are planning around a life-threatening pandemic, for example, you should be aware of projected fluctuations in case numbers and follow both daily and weekly updates on travel and gathering size restrictions. You should also assign a sprint team to support rapid decision-making. To ensure their effectiveness, always give them access to information as it's collected.
Risk assessment
After you've gathered as much information as possible and put a team in place to facilitate quick decision-making, you need to conduct a risk assessment. This assessment will help you make more informed decisions to reduce organizational impact and ensure participant safety. Your assessment should include:
Financial risks
What are the financial implications of your organization canceling, postponing, or otherwise altering the event?
Regulatory risks
What regulations will you need to comply with? These can shift frequently and vary by state, which could impact your ability to host an event.
Contractual risks
Which contracts might be affected by the emergency? What steps can you take to avoid long-term damage to these contracts (e.g., agreements with venues or speakers)?
Public image/branding
In what ways can you preserve your public image after canceling or altering an event? More importantly, how do you want to be viewed in the public eye in light of this emergency?
Security/safety risks
When considering the security and safety of your event, it's not enough to focus only on your attendees. You also need to safeguard speakers, panelists, vendors, and your staff. Make decisions that will ensure everyone stays as safe as possible. Also, be sure to remain mindful of how people's safety needs may vary (e.g., high-risk staff members may need to work remotely).
2. Evolve
Once you've put systems in place to make more informed decisions, it's time to decide how your event will evolve in the wake of this emergency. First, decide whether you'll postpone, cancel, or shift to a virtual or hybrid event. You can make this decision using the information provided in our previous chapters, with a focus on how you can achieve event goals in a new modality. As you contemplate this choice, keep in mind that you can always postpone or cancel parts of your event that don't adapt well to your new format.
Next, communicate the necessary information to your attendees. You must remain as transparent as possible about your goals and flexibility. Do you have a policy in place about refunding conference costs? Make sure to share that information. Is there a projected timeline for a postponed event? Make this information clear.
Finally, take this opportunity to collect data that can support your future events. If you canceled or postponed, for instance, you can ask attendees why they initially registered as you send out information. You can also ask what they hope to see in future offerings. You also have the opportunity to gather data about your virtual and hybrid formats and whether attendees might consider registering for future events in these modalities. And if you host a virtual event, gather data throughout the event to better shape future programming.
3. Accelerate
By now, you've made several decisions about events that are directly affected by an emergency. Now it's time to accelerate that learning and translate it into long-term policies and procedures to help you mitigate risk in the future. You should evaluate whether an emergency change might become a more permanent shift. For example, could virtual events become far more common in the future? Could they potentially become the preferred event modality?
You can also use this opportunity to update your cancellation policies. This will give participants an idea of what to expect in case of future emergencies. Accelerating also means planning future events with flexibility in mind. If you are planning a hybrid event, for instance, it's easier to shift to virtual in an emergency. That’s a huge bonus for risk mitigation. Have systems in place that will help you shift modalities if in-person is no longer an option.
Learning From the Past
It's impossible to have a perfect plan in place for emergencies like global pandemics and natural disasters. Fortunately, this doesn't mean you can't build risk mitigation into your event planning strategy. And even if a global crisis isn’t bearing down on us, the fact remains that we face an uncertain future. It’s impossible to predict what’s around the corner, but through the use of new event modalities, you have the opportunity to plan ahead and anticipate risks. This foresight came from hard-learned lessons — and if you don’t prepare now, more difficult lessons could still be coming. If you put in the work to mitigate the risks your organization faces, though, you and your event participants will benefit for decades to come.
Event Evolution: Learning in an Emergency
While the pandemic may have benefitted certain aspects of the SaaS and tech worlds, its effect on event planning was harsh, sudden, and unforgiving. It required a quick shift while reminding us that emergencies happen. Of course, even the most difficult experiences can offer opportunities to evolve better practices around risk mitigation and accessibility across the board.
There's certainly no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to event planning — especially in fields that have long been at the forefront of technological evolution. But when you embrace fluidity, hybridity, and new event technology, you'll find clear advantages that benefit organizations and participants alike.
Tech and SaaS firms that embrace change and evolve through crises can achieve remarkable results — setting new standards for both event management and the attendee experience along the way.
If you’re ready to excel at total event program management, Cvent’s Event Marketing & Management platform offers a wide variety of services to suit your organizational needs — from registration to post-event analytics and beyond.
