Time, duration, location and price will all be drivers in that decision making, but research has highlighted that now - more than ever - event planners need to deliver something both engaging and educating to ensure they secure visitors in the competitive marketplace.
The 2018/19 Global Visitor Insights Study, jointly conducted by UFI - the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and event research specialists Explori, showed that while trade show visitors globally are reporting a stable overall satisfaction with the shows they attend, between 22% and 27% of show visitors from mature markets feel that shows are "getting worse". Younger, C-suite show participants are also more likely to require trade shows to become more entertaining, while still enabling them to meet their business needs.
That is why news that Booster Technology Solutions, a technology company based in California, USA, has launched a new software as a service (SaaS) event organisation platform that facilitates entertaining and profitable networking for participants, will grab the attention of those organising and attending corporate trade events alike.
Event Boosterapp will allow visitors to fairs and congresses to contact each other and exhibitors, save products and expand information on speakers and experts, while at the same time providing organisers with new advertising and promotional spaces to generate income and opportunities to boost loyalty.
The app has been designed to fulfil two goals: firstly, to provide exhibitors and event organisers with valuable data and, secondly, to improve the visitor's experience, explains Gonzalo Deustua, CEO of PMiT Holdings and creator of the app in partnership with Juan Carlos Chavez and Dresden Partners.
"The app for smartphones and other mobile devices provides useful info before during and after the event and fills an existing gap in the sector with an easy-to-use tool," he adds.
Alongside supporting on site, the app can also be used to register and manage attendants, speakers and exhibitors. In addition, multiple users can be stratified into various access levels to information, from the highest level with notifications and access to sensitive data, to a number of lower and intermediary levels, including printing ID cards with their associated QR codes.
Push notifications and e-mail sends can be customised and segmented by interest groups. On the other hand, it also gives exhibitors a specific register system to view and manage their data, QR codes and contacts for potential clients. The internal system can also deliver immediate feedback to exhibitors on stand attendance as well as meetings of its team at an event.
Unlike a simple informative app, Event Boosterapp takes the experience to a new level and allows users to "apptualize" an event. As well as including detailed information on the agenda, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, advertising/banners and networking opportunities, it can also capture leads or register voluntary data from attendants in real time and with the possibility of exporting them to an external database.
For exhibitors the functionality will allow them to capture leads and sales contacts through the QR codes and the networking system that encourages attendants to add and share contacts, with the possibility of creating private chats. The app also allows visitors to an event to save 'my favourites', with speakers, themes on the agenda and products of interest. Other added advantages of the app are gamification options to stimulate involvement in events and anonymous live voting systems.
Event Boosterapp is also customisable, with the possibility of using a generic screen for all events or configuring it especially for multiple or single events. Companies and large organisations can also contract an Enterprise license for exclusive use on their own servers.
Event technology can clearly have a beneficial effect on the visitor experience in many areas, and the UFI and Explori study showed there remained "a general lack of awareness, functionality and execution" which currently limits its value to both organisers and visitors. The Event Boosterapp is certainly a step towards incorporating additional tech into the event space.