The realm of complex spend management is never dull. From contingent workforce management to business travel and expense management, these industries encapsulate multiple “worlds” within the average organization, from finance to procurement to human resources, operations and beyond. Gone are the days when executives would push these categories off to the side in favor of more seemingly-strategic endeavors; in an age when millions of dollars are spent on complex spend categories (e.g., nearly a third of the overall workforce is now comprised of non-employee talent, business travel can cost upwards of 12%-to-14% of an enterprise’s overall budget, etc.), it is critical for every company, no matter the size, to view these areas in a much different light.
As discussed previously, meetings and events management may be a primary marketing function, but there’s tremendous value in other key stakeholders (particularly procurement and finance) to actively collaborate and cross-coordinate when it comes to building a deep, multifaceted events management program (or, in a similar, sense, strategic meetings management program (SMMP)).
While there’s no doubt that the path ahead is exciting for both event managers and the functions that support them, companies across the globe must ensure that they manage this evolution with an educated eye to guarantee long-term events management success, visibility, and effectiveness. The following predictions will determine just how much this space will continue to progress in the year ahead:
- The concept of “end-to-end” will be an accepted attribute to any events management program. End-to-end management of events includes development, sourcing, budget management, social media management, analytics, payment, and other key aspects that comprise the modern-day SMMP or events management program. As organizations realize the value of strategizing and automating these components (which also contributes to efficient linkage of processes), end-to-end solutions will continue to be a boon for this function.
- Cost savings will continue to be a focus, but 2015 will be the “year of the attendee experience.” Ask any event professional about their top priority, and that person will often speak of the “attendee experience.” Ask a finance or procurement exec, and the answer is much different. There’s no question that cost savings / reductions and a more trained budgetary eye are critical for this function, but any event’s top priority should be to improve and ultimately enhance the attendee experience while also being compliant and cost effective.
- Mobile apps and analytical competencies will be just as critical as spend management and marketing strategies. Mobile apps present a double-sided advantage for events: event professionals and planners can leverage them for on-site planning and management, while attendees can gain more from their time at a meeting or conference. Similarly, analytics (“Big Data”) also offers multiple benefits, including financial intelligence for the procurement group and true “emotional ROI” or “event ROI” for meeting planners.
When (or, “if”) companies begin to think more strategically about their events management programs, there will surely be short- and long-term benefits, such as an overall improved attendee experience, better adherence to spend management regulations and event budgets, and, most importantly, access to the proper intelligence for long-term planning, forecasting and ultimate event development.
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