Embracing Technology Within Event Industry
Event technology companies are popping up like wildflowers. Everything from ticketing software, to R.F.I.D. bracelets, to elaborate CAD programs have been making the job for event professionals much more manageable.
It’s amazing to think about the doors that technology can open by freeing up time and energy for event pros. However, there are still some event professionals who have yet to embrace technology with open arms!
Do you remember the first time you heard about TurboTax? Depending on your age, you may remember the general public’s response: Is it really safe to do my taxes online?
Now over 30 million people are filing their taxes online; one million of whom are doing so straight from their cell phones! With everything from taxes, to bank accounts, to personal health information being stored and managed from the internet, the general public has learned to trust the security of reputable technology products.
It’s more than just security that event professionals worry about when it comes to adopting new technology. In addition to feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of change, some business owners seem concerned for the safety of their jobs.
They fear that technology may mean less work for them and more work completed by computers. To these folks I say this: the event industry is all about people. People host events, people design events, people enjoys events. The event industry is probably the least likely industry to be run by machines. Technology is actually empowering the people to work more efficiently and, therefore, produce (and earn!) more money.
Everyone in the event industry will tell you that time is money. There are always a thousand things to do and the start time of a wedding, convention, or even birthday party is simply non-negotiable. Therefore, you have a limited amount of time to work with to prepare. If you are spending that time drawing out event floorplans, manually processing credit cards, or copying and pasting event details between a half-dozen different software programs, you just aren’t using that limited time efficiently.
Event professionals should focus their efforts on creativity and the needs of their clients rather than spend too much time on the administrative tasks and inefficient processes.
Increasing efficiency (through the use of technology!) allows you to increase the volume of events you can take on.
This is the main component necessary to grow an event company. Less time wasted=more event volume without having to sacrifice service. Thanks, technology!
Karen Gordon is the VP of Growth for Goodshuffle Pro. Goodshuffle Pro is easy-to-use, cloud-based software for managing and growing you event rentals business.
