This content is from swoogo and Skift’s branded content studio, Skift.
Information is power. Insights collected before, during and after the event are critical to improving attendance, generating quality leads and driving sales. As the number of meetings and events grows rapidly, many organizations require their event planners to do more without giving them the necessary tools to keep up.
For example, according to the latest report from Swoogo, these companies do not enable their planners to leverage tools that connect event data to business systems such as CRM and sales tracking platforms, the latest report from a leading event management platform that streamlines the company’s event planning.
Even top event organizers have not given tools to clearly show the full impact of events on broader business goals, such as revenue, the survey found. Other Swoogo findings clarify the root cause:
- 44.5% of planners said their organization does not have an activity management platform connected to CRM.
- 68.8% of planners said they did not have a platform associated with a broader marketing automation platform.
Integrating event technology with a wider range of business systems such as CRM and marketing tools is critical to maximizing ROI. Planners no longer rely solely on manual processes or disconnected systems. A tool that collects information is not only easier than ever, but also a tool that can decrypt data quickly and clearly.
Here we delve into the importance of leading business and development activities.
Meetings and Events = Power of Painting
There is enough evidence that meetings and events are the best tools for companies to promote their brands and services. The increase in business travel is often associated with in-person meetings and events, especially in the industry.
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) found in its 2024 Business Travel Index Outlook report that 64% of business travelers reported an increase in spending in 2024, rather than in 2023. Perhaps more importantly, 81% of respondents said that the business trip to achieve the goal was worth it.
Swoogo’s report highlights similar trends, showing industry-wide concerns to capitalize on in-person meetings for better engagement and data collection:
- In 2024, the number of in-person events held in Swoogo increased by 12%.
- 94% of respondents said they either maintain the current number of events or add more events in 2025, with only 6% planning to host fewer events.
“Events are the best way to build trust, accelerate business and cut the noise of our increasingly digital lives, which is why 94% of companies plan to host at least the same number of events (if not more) than in the past few years,” said Swoogo CEO Chris Sykes. “Each event provides new insights into attendee preferences that can help planners create more personalized, engaging experiences.”
Event data drives decision-making for face-to-face meetings
Participants and organizations seem to have the same preference for face-to-face meetings, but this does not reduce the effect of event technology. In fact, this behavior only emphasizes the importance of using all available tools to make wise decisions about future events.
As mentioned above, the analysis of the event can not only help the organization evaluate the success of the conference, but it can also lay the foundation for improving communication, marketing, and other engagement strategies to capitalize on the appetite collected by the appetite.
Planners can track attendance and feedback from multiple breakthrough meetings and use this data to guide future event planning to highlight the most relevant topics. This information also helps follow-up, allowing the team to confidently tailor the conversation to the audience’s interest.
At the same time, the data also helps identify less influential conversations or speakers, allowing planners to cut or rework in future events. This ensures that the budget is focused on the content of the greatest value.
It is futile to find a cookie-cutter way to satisfy a plan, and planners can determine in a way that resonates with which strategies work well and what is not – talk to clients, clients and attendees.
“Since many teams don’t have an event platform connected to CRM or MAP, they missed hard data that shows business impact, such as pipelines, bookings or customer LTV,” Sykes said. “While the individual numbers don’t tell the full story – the emotions the attendees feel or the connections made through the right people in the room – effective event reports require quantitative metrics and qualitative insights. This is where art meets science.”
Meeting planners are preferred
Interestingly, Swoogo’s report found that organizations will prioritize registration numbers this year, followed by attendance. Return on investment (ROI) is the third most important project.
Planners may prioritize registration and attendance because they need hard numbers that can be easily retrieved, or because their organization does not invest in the tools and processes required for more complex reporting. Proving that ROI requires additional steps, including analyzing the results of data points extracted during and after the event. However, integrating CRM and event platforms can bridge this gap.
For example, an effective way to prove the value of an event is to collect contract amounts and booking numbers from the organization’s CRM. Being able to drill in specific activity activities allows organizations to determine how these activities affect or purchase opportunities, pipelines, and bookings. Planners can then have a more comprehensive view of the impact of the meeting on the organization.
Likewise, CRM software contains retention data, which is a powerful amount of your brand’s appeal to existing customers. Connecting your event management platform to CRM makes it easier for you to see which events attract current customers and contribute to more product adoption, retention and sales opportunities.
“Small and medium-sized organizations can learn a lot from the event data of their businesses,” Sykes said. “Our results show that the corporate company’s priority ROI is 54% higher, and the priority of using pipelines as a key activity indicator is 68%. These numbers can help planners prove their impact and prove the true value of their work. However, when planners at smaller companies lack the right technology or integration, their leadership limits their growth by limiting the perceived impact of events. The message is clear: Planners need organizational support to gain a deeper understanding of event data, better demonstrate the value of events and have their impact.”
Use technology to decompose islands
Capturing the full impact of a meeting is so important that it amplifies the challenges that planners usually face in measuring data. During the event, professionals conducted surveys to measure and report overall activity program performance and impact on revenues as the second biggest challenge in 2024.
Failure to align event technology with other business software such as CRM and customer success platforms reflects efforts to establish effective communication between departments. The right platform can address these ongoing challenges, ultimately reverting to the value of the proof of events.
This is clearly stated by the prospect of global business travel for Express: “Meeting professionals with increasing expectations and economic barriers are contributing to adopt advanced technology and best practices to demonstrate the value of their programs.”
In addition, at the daily business level, team communication is inefficient, hindering the sales process by delaying customer interaction. Since the difference between making a sale or failing to take advantage of the opportunity may depend on the timing, any lag can lead to valuable revenue for the organization.
At the other end of the equation, activity professionals can ensure that activity helps clients achieve their goals. Customer service representatives can analyze data on past attendance through CRM. For example, if an existing HR participant repeatedly participates in activities related to employee engagement and retention, a customer service representative can contact that person to provide other resources related to the topic, including technical solutions and educational products. The display of customer needs demonstrates empathy, resulting in higher customer satisfaction and greater product use.
How meeting planners use data
Finding the right technology partners and using their services effectively allows brands to build reputations, connect with attendees and ultimately achieve their goals. The first is to know your audience.
Several questions to ask include:
- Which platforms do attendees use to participate in your content? For example, if they like your webinar, make sure that the technology partners have virtual products and/or the ability to integrate with your preferred platform.
- What types of activities are they most likely to attend? If your audience is evenly distributed between in-person and virtual events, you will need a technology partner that can do both – just as well. Also, if you host many smaller sales dinners with a large flagship event, you need a technology partner to set up scalability.
- Which events attracted the greatest interest among attendees? There are many gamification options available. Research strategies for maximum engagement and incorporate the best performing games into your virtual, hybrid and in-person platforms.
- How do your audience understand the upcoming events? If your audience is more likely to absorb information through email, research analysis to determine the best-performing distribution time. Also, analyze social media engagement to assess whether you use the channels effectively. Also, make sure you have a good understanding of the marketing tools provided by the Event Technology Platform and/or whether they can be integrated with any third-party tools you already use.
According to Swoogo’s research, the exact answers to these questions may be of great help in achieving growth organizations’ pursuit. Choosing the right event technology can provide attendees with an attractive, valuable experience while becoming a gold mine for insightful data.
For example, creating an event page with all the relevant information and compelling reasons to attend will be of great help to start the attendee’s event journey with your right foot. Organizations should try to build this momentum through simplified registration forms to express the interests and information of attendees to make them feel like part of the process.
In addition, 80% of customers say the experience provided by companies is as important as their products and services, according to a report from Salesforce.
But to get the right data and insights, planners need more robust tools than the free platforms usually offer. Planners need an event registration platform to build experience, capture critical data and start events loudly. The right data collected through the right platform can help planners personalize attendees’ meetings. This is especially important when placing like-minded attendees in the same room to intentionally make connections. Freeman Trends reported that this priority was proposed, with the network as the main motivation for attending the conference.
Fortunately, planners are not-or shouldn’t. Motivation and tools have appropriately utilized data as a powerful tool for planners to demonstrate the valuable events of events. With more meetings and with meetings that attendees can’t miss, it’s time for planners to take advantage of available opportunities.
Click here to learn more about how Swoogo can help you achieve your goals and book your demos with meetings and events.
This content is from swoogo and Skift’s branded content studio Skiftx.
