The time has finally arrived … After all these months of pondering and doubting, it’s the perfect moment to search for an event mobile app. You feel confident, ready, and eager to use a new planning tool to upgrade your game as an event planner.
After all, this is what using an event mobile app is all about: ditching your logistic problems and enjoying all the benefits a digital platform has to offer.
And even though you might still have some lingering doubts, you still feel like you have all the right reasons to go for an event mobile app … or do you?
Let’s stop here for a second.
How sure are you, really? What if your idea of what an event mobile app can do is totally wrong?
As Becki Cross notes, “Investing in any #eventtech needs to be a well thought out decision rather than a nice to have, a gut feeling or keeping up with your competitors. By undertaking this evaluation process, you can be certain that it is the right move for your event, attendees and stakeholders. You might have only one chance to sell an event app to your boss, client or board so by going through this detailed analysis you will be well prepared to give all the answers.”
Thus, you can’t take it lightly.
Choosing an event mobile app requires a high level of responsibility and knowledge. To help you with that, here’s a list of the wrong reasons to choose an event mobile app:
Wrong reason #1. “I want this event mobile app because it’s fancy.”
Purchasing an event mobile app is not the same thing as buying a decorative element. It’s a tool used to plan, communicate, and market your event. So if you want one simply for the sake of your professional image, save your money and purchase some nice decorations for the event instead.
Wrong reason #2. “I’ll use the app to engage my attendees.”
Although apparently, this sounds like a good reason to purchase an event mobile app, know that the app really won’t make a big difference in how your attendees interact or engage.
The app is just a medium for the engagement. Your attendees won’t use it to interact, even if you tell them to do so.
However, if you have a powerful engagement strategy for your attendees and you can apply it without using digital tools, you can be sure that an event mobile app will help you enhance this experience and obtain better results.
In other words, you don’t buy an event mobile app to engage your guests—you acquire it to improve something that you’re already doing.
Wrong reasons #3. “Other planners use an event mobile app.”
The worst thing you can do is purchase an event mobile app only because other organizers are doing so. Each planner has his or her own needs, visions, and challenges. You can’t purchase a digital tool based on what others think is necessary to have. They have their own reasons that you are not privy to. Forget about what everyone else is doing and assess your needs only.
Wrong reasons #4. “I want to organize my chaotic team.”
While using a powerful event mobile app can help you achieve a better workflow, it’s not a miracle worker. If you want to enjoy the benefits of a well-organized team, human leadership and organizational skills are needed.
Wrong reasons #5. “I want to go paperless.”
According to Julius Solaris, “ditching paper guides remains one of the strongest reasons why event professionals turn to apps.” No doubt, this is a great benefit to using an event mobile app. It will help you save money and provides real-time updates to the event schedule. However, an event mobile app is so much more than helping you save trees. If this is your reason, you might not fully recognize the true capabilities of event technology.
Final thoughts
If you don’t know how and why to use it, the event mobile app you purchase won’t solve your problems. The main purpose of the app is to level up your game. You’ll soon find out that good planning apps are providing flawless features (which is a MUST) to help you out with the logistics. Yet, only the most powerful ones will take your game to the next level, improving not only the experience of your attendees, but also offering you a new range of possibilities you’d never considered before.
