How much does a mobile app for events cost [with price comparison tool]
Currently, 85% of event planners use mobile app for events, 61% use event marketing tools, and 54% use survey tools. The main reasons for that being convenience to the participants, agility to obtain information and the possibility of creating interactive experiences that passively collect data.
So, if you want to keep your audience engaged, using your event as the behaviorial change factor that might transform attendees into loyal customers, stay with us. We’ll help you on the task of finding the best event app provider, clarifying:
- The benefits an event app will bring for your events and your whole event marketing portfolio
- How to make your event marketing measurable and what an event app can monitor for you.
- What are the main questions you need to ask for any event provider before signing the contract
First of all: event apps are technological solutions used by organizers to group and communicate important information such as programming, location and speakers. In addition, apps for events facilitate networking between attendees and promote more engagement.
2. Conference Event App V.S. Event Management Software.
Now that you know what an event app is all about, you might be thinking: what about event management software? They are absolutely the same thing. The main difference here is that the event management software is aimed at Event Managers to organize and centralize all the information for a given event – before, during and after the conference.
Meanwhile the mobile app for events itself is the engagement tool that will boost up attendees’ experiences by offering a personalized experience according to what sessions they want to attend, who they want to meet and what are their main interests.
Imagine a sales conference for thousands of people. The event manager will use the event management platform to framework a seamless workflow to create, promote, organize and monitor an event in real time. During the occasion, all of the participants – exhibitors, sponsors, attendees, etc – will use the official event app to interact. And after the event, the organizer can easily prove results to stakeholders, presenting visual reports about the results generated by the event.
3. Why to have a mobile app for events in the core of your event marketing strategy.
3.1 Customer experience that changes behaviors
It is undeniable how an event app can raise the quality of the participant’s experience. Firstly, they serve as points of convergence for different technologies, ensuring that your event is interactive. Even if it’s a huge occasion, a guest will have the feeling that it’s all built up exclusively for them.
Also, one of the ways to achieve this participation can come with the installation of beacons – easy to install devices that allow the creation of contextual and individualized experiences via geotargeting. If a participant, for example, marks certain areas, lectures or profiles of interest in your application, when approaching a beacon he receives information about those interests, which may include directions for the correct locations, or suggestions for nearby contacts.
Technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality can also contribute to the WOW factor, materializing creative ideas and surprise participants.
3.2. Amplified reach that accelerates the customer journey
Live streaming is another important resource to reach people who were unable to attend the event in person, and the gamification of the application can be the key to engagement.
This can be done through a scoring and reward system – if a participant attends, for example, a certain number of lectures, or if he participates in all events at the event related to a certain theme, he can receive exclusive gifts or prizes.
Furthermore, the points obtained can be accessed and computed automatically through the application, either through geolocation (proving that the visitor participated in such a lecture at the registered time and place) or QR-codes, which can be made available at the end of each session. As a result, this collection and exchange strategy drives and solidifies user engagement with the application.
3.3 Analytics that provide a clear understanding of your event marketing efforts
Event Marketing agencies and departments had historically had trouble to prove the value of their work. So, with an event app that generates instant standard reports or allows you to customize your own, the task of proving return on investment gets way easier and clearer.
Using multiple filters like event data or types of event, these reports give a birds eye on your event marketing efforts. Certainly, in long term, it’s possible to detect what is working out and what needs to be fixed on the upcoming experiences.
While in short term, you can manage on real time how many people have registered for the event, what’s their favorite activity, who’s their favorite speaker, who they’re connecting to, etc.
4. When to hire an event app provider.
The world of corporate events can move at supersonic speed. What is accelerating change is not just the technology, but the consumer. Above all, keep in mind at all times that today’s ultra-dynamic consumer is challenging event models and marketing expertise.
This consumer wants personal contact and technology navigation on the same journey. They also need to experiment intuitively and have no time for bureaucratic steps, which have to be easy and fast. After all, an experience / event has to be remarkable for the value it adds rather than the trouble it causes.
Therefore, situations where an event app is highly recommended include the following types of events:
4.1 Trade shows / exhibitions
Trade shows are meant to conduct B2B deals and gather industry professionals through networking opportunities. With it, you can map and monitor participants behavior between booths and maximize value to your exhibitors and sponsors, while passively collecting data. Likewise, it’s possible to promote high-valued matchmaking 1:1 meetings a huge impact on multiple stakeholder’s networking results.
4.2 Corporate / Governmental Conferences
Federal, state and local governments have in-person meetings as a key important asset of their activities. Also, they need a high level of compliance with the latest GDPR standards and regulations.
Use an event app here to automate multi-event tasks such as team supervision, registration, check-in, delegate’s travels, branded mobile app communications and real time reports. It’ll enable you to streamline planning, management and promotion throughout your event portfolio, with little or almost no IT support.
4.3 Exclusive, invitation only meetings
Events are the heart of connected boards, associations and governments. So, if you need to organize members conferences, board meetings or training with a fast, automated accreditation, a meeting app will be the main channel to aid communication during the event.
4.4 Incentive / corporate travels
Capacitating, inspiring and rewarding teams with incentives that bring ROI is a lot of work. Therefore, a corporate travel app will enhance travel experience with an end-to-end tool that takes care of flights, transfers and lodging solutions.
Similarly, planning and managing activities for different groups and keeping guests updated about flight delays, schedule modifications and airport pick-up and transfer times can be done from the same communication hub
Also, this travel app can let you know about participants preferences, such as dietary restrictions, and offer them a complete and personalized itinerary.
4.5 Product launches / Brand activations / Live marketing experiences
If you need to speed up engagement, a mobile app for events will encourage in-person relationships that can leverage your sales cycle. In other words, premium conferences like high tech product launches, marketing activations and unexpected experiences impress customers and get your brand marked in their brains.
As a result, using a combination of booking forms, mobile apps and badge printing software, you’ll accelerate the monetization of any community with sophisticated, forward-thinking experiences.
For cited and other occasions, hire an event app vendor if you want to:
- Make your registration and ticketing process to be automated and simplified;
- Provide quick and easy check-ins;
- Segmented lists to mange VIP attendants;
- Increase attendee networking opportunities, since 82% of them are attending events for this one single reason;
- Engage your attendees on social media and promote your event by sharing how their experiences is being;
- Provide more space and buzz to your event sponsors;
- Centralize the whole workflow of creating, promoting, managing, monitoring and measuring results of every single cent you spend on event marketing from now on;
- Have one event app for multiple events on a given portfolio;
- Monitor every aspect of your event marketing with detailed analytics that can attract sponsors and exhibitors to your next events.
5. How to choose a mobile app for events / event management software provider?
Asking yourself how to go after an event app provider? So, one of the biggest difficulties of this task is finding a reliable, robust event management software provider.
In addition, finding well-priced professionals takes time and, if the choice is not great, often delays and complains can damage your customer experience. For you to make the right choice, making sure you’ll be on the safe side, take note of the following checklists on topics 6 and 7.
6. Questions you need to ask before signing a contract with an event app / event management software provider:
- Who have been your main clients?
- What cases of successful clients can you show me?
- How exactly is your software going to help me grow?
- How do I manage my VIP’s an other customer segments in the same event?
- How do you integrate your solutions with other tools I’m already using (eg: Salesforce)?
- How much exactly it’s going to cost me?
- What kind of support do you offer?
7. Indispensable features of a mobile app for events / event management software:
For the organizer / manager / planner:
- Registration and ticket sales
- Website or landing page builder
- Email marketing
- RSVP management
- Networking by common interests (matchmaking)
- Push notifications
- Gamification options
- Detailed analytics and reports
- Easy to implement integrations with major software, like Salesforce and API documentation for developers
- Compliance with latest data international regulation such as GPDA
For the participant:
- Personalized agenda
- Private inbox and networking tools
- Flight and logistics control
- Interaction tools to ask questions in sessions, respond to polls, share social posts, etc.
8. Event app prices and how to compare
It’s time to talk numbers. So, if you’ve done research on the internet to find out how much an app for events costs, you probably came across several different answers.
Thus, we prepared an Event App Cost Comparison Tool, for you to see it with your own eyes and don’t just take our word for it. Click here or on the image below to use it. It’s a 100% free.
Plus, here at InEvent, once you decide you want to check how our platform helps you, you’ll instantly get access to our event management platform – the online platform you’ll use for managing the app and collecting your attendees data.
Our offer to you includes up to 30 days of use, with no limitations at all. You’ll have access to our most complete and advanced features, such as the Matchmaking 1:1 Meetings.
If you want more content to strengthen your marketing foundations, be sure to also take a look at these other resources and keep learning:
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