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Event Management

Notes commerce features. Event management organizations conduct registration, ticket sales, and
distribution of materials over the Internet. All of these are segments of event sales. By putting
them online, event management companies achieve financial savings and preserve resources
that can now be reallocated.
Among the most important problems of online commerce is a problem of security. If an event
management organization conducts financial transactions over the Internet, security of clients’
personal financial information is the top priority. Data that contain such information as credit
card and social security numbers are very sensitive. It is important to ensure that these data be
protected. Since this is a critical point, it is highly recommended that you involve security
professionals in this aspect of your Web site development.

Customer Support

Event customer support is one of the areas where the Internet can prove truly indispensable. To
date, few event management companies have realized the full potential of this opportunity.
Industry analysts predict that in coming years, many event management companies will shift
their telephone customer support services to the Web. This does not mean that telephone-based
services will disappear but will become a secondary source that customers will use if they need
to get a more detailed response or resolve a problem. The primary source will be the Internet.

The first step in shifting at least part of their customer support services online is to start a
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Web section. Simply by adding this section to an event
management organization Web site an organization can achieve better customer service and
improve efficiency. The next step after posting an FAQ page is to personalize online customer
service. This can be accomplished by adding the following interactive feature to a customer
support site. A customer is asked to type his or her question and submit an e-mail address. Then
the customer receives an answer within a certain time frame via either e-mail or telephone. By
adding this feature an event organization can achieve much more personalized customer service
and can also collect very valuable data about its clients.

Market Research

Increasingly, event management organizations are recognizing the Internet potential for market
research. Burke Inc., a leading international market research firm with a history of over 65 years,
conducts online focus group meetings for its client in addition to face-to-face interviews and
telephone surveys. Using Internet technology, the company was able to bring together
participants from different parts of the world for small, real-time chat sessions. Clients can
observe these chat sessions from anywhere in the world. Software such as Aptex, Autonomy,
Adforce, and Accrue can monitor user’s behaviour constantly. This information can then be used
to improve the site or services or to personalize content for users.
Web sites can be used to conduct market research by surveying visitors. This information can be
effective if the process is well planned. Unfortunately, many Web sites require users to complete
online registration forms without providing incentives. As a result, users often submit incorrect
information or simply ignore the forms. This behavior can be explained by the desire of users to
guard their privacy online and fear that their e-mail addresses will be sold to third parties. The
best way to overcome this constraint is to build a sense of trust between event organization and
clients or to compensate users for submitting their data.
Product or Service Development and Testing

The Internet is an ideal place for event companies to test new products/services before they are
launched. An event organization can post information about a conference that it is planning to
organize online and monitor the interest that users express toward the conference. By doing this

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