In January, Successful Meetings sent a survey to our readership asking them their opinions on the most useful technology for planning their events. We closed the survey with 79 respondents. Of that number 47 percent were corporate planners, 29 percent worked for associations, and 24 percent were independent or third party planners. Here's what they had to say.
Which technologies play a role in your live meetings or events?
- Facebook: 78%
- Twitter: 66%
- LinkedIn: 62%
- Webcasts: 61%
- Instagram: 23%
- Pinterest: 20%
If you use these technologies at your events, what role do they play?
Event Promotion
- Twitter: 72%
- Facebook: 83%
- LinkedIn: 74%
- Pinterest: 50%
- Instagram: 63%
- Webcasts: 50%
Deliver Content Onsite
- Twitter: 37%
- Facebook: 35%
- LinkedIn: 19%
- Pinterest: 36%
- Instagram: 38%
- Webcasts: 57%
Archive Content
- Twitter: 11%
- Facebook: 17%
- LinkedIn: 16%
- Pinterest: 14%
- Instagram: 19%
- Webcasts: 47%
Engage Attendees
- Twitter: 70%
- Facebook: 57%
- LinkedIn: 42%
- Pinterest: 50%
- Instagram: 62%
- Webcasts: 48%
Which types of technology do you usually have difficulty with at your meetings?
- Wi-Fi: 71%
- Audio/Visual: 44%
- Meeting Apps: 30%
- Registration: 15%
- Room Block Management: 12%
Which of the following calculators do you currently use when planning your meetings?
- Meeting Budget Calculator: 51%
- Conference Calendar and Timeline: 47%
- Room Capacity Calculator: 35%
- Meeting/Banquet Space Calculator: 32%
- Catering Cost Calculator: 31%
- Attrition Calculator: 29%
- Band Width Calculator: 11%
- Rack Rate Discount Calculator: 4%
- Economic Impact Calculator: 3%
Which areas of the planning process do you have the easiest time finding technology tools to meet your needs? (Select all that apply)
- Badge making: 53%
- Registration: 51%
- Surveys: 46%
- Event web sites and portal management: 35%
- Housing and room block management: 34%
- Audience polling: 33%
- Marketing, communication and attendance building: 32%
- Site selection: 30%
- Contact management: 29%
- Scheduling: 28%
- Association and membership tracking: 27%
- Meeting specification: 24%
- Meetings consolidation, procurement and request
- for proposal (RFP) management: 21%
- Exhibit sales and floor plan management: 20%
- Onsite technology (registration, cyber cafes, product directories, internet access): 19%
- Speaker management: 18%
- Travel and ground transportation management: 18%
- Abstract and educational content management: 17%
- Customer relations management (CRM): 17%
- Room diagramming: 16%
- Banquet seating: 15%
- Lead retrieval: 12%
- Attendee matchmaking and networking: 10%
- Golf and tournament events: 9%
- Virtual meetings and shows: 8%
- Auctions and fundraising: 7%
- ROI Measurement: 3%
- Groupware and online collaboration: 1%
- Incentive tracking: 1%
On which devices do you currently use apps specifically designed for meeting planning?
- Do not use smartphone or tablet apps specifically designed for meeting planning: 58%
- Smartphone: 26%
- IPad or tablet: 16%
What meeting planning functions do you currently use apps to help either partially or completely manage?
- Planning tools (meeting space calculators, room layouts, etc.): 59%
- Facility search: 38%
- Manage educational content: 25%
- Contracts, BEOs, RFPs, etc.: 25%
- Manage room blocks: 20%