Let's give you an example from our area of expertise - sponsorship sales and management. Event directors often ask us if we can help them get sponsors for their events, and most of the time our answer is 'no' because their event can’t afford a full-service sponsorship sales agency.
We realized technology is the solution for millions of smaller events, so we built and released software at HelpGetSponsors.com, allowing event directors to sell and manage sponsorships like pros at a very affordable cost. That is what technology is all about!
Which brings us to the point of this blog...are you using the latest technologies to stoke the flames of your event fire at every possible turn? If not, you'd better get onboard before getting left in the dust by your competitors.
Take, for example, VirtualEventBags.com that provides easy-to-activate digital event goody bags that are managed by your sponsors and automatically delivered to your participants. This saves you time and money, makes your event more "green" and allows sponsors to track their return. Quite the technology winner!
Are you using an e-mail marketing platform like Constant Contact to manage your communications with your participants and track their registration habits?
Are you aligning with AthletePath.com so your participants can "go viral" and share their signups and encourage their friends to join them?
Are you seeking sponsorships for your event? It’s a competitive market out there with hundreds of thousands of events seeking this elusive revenue stream. Are you using technologies like HelpGetSponsors.com to power your sponsorship platform? If not, we highly recommend you check out the software and even sign up for a free trial.
So it's time to do a technology audit for your events. If you're apprehensive about making the transition to technology we dare you to ask yourself - would you consider ditching your online registration tool to go back to paper registrations just to save a few bucks? We're guessing your answer is a resounding "No way!" Like paper registrations, the old methods will waste your time and cause your event to lose money.
With that said, check out the following list our favorite time-saving technologies:
- Marketing – list your events on free online calendars like SportOften.com
- Public Relations - subscribe, follow and post your news on EnduranceSportsWire.com
- Race Directing Software – RaceHQ.com provides cloud-based tools for you and your team to manage all the details of producing an event
- At-Event Transactions - Square.com processes credit card payments on your mobile device
- General and Administrative – major resources like Quickbooks Online save accounting time. Use GoToMeeting.com to present your next proposed course changes to a municipality online rather than drive 300 miles to do it in person.
Technology is a time and financial investment that you must make; it's what your participants are demanding and what your competitors are probably already using.
So what are you waiting for? All aboard the Technology Train!
