Events Management firm EMI goes high tech to collect data
Events and More, Inc. (www.eventswithemi.com) is a national event management boutique specializing in total event production. EMI has more than 38 years experience in the event management and meetings industry. Their clients include the auto industry, consumer products and promotions and, historically Black college events.
The Problem
EMI wanted to expand their service offering and not only capture sales leads, but also offer more comprehensive registrant analysis reports for their event clients. Their clients were demanding new and better ways to collect data, eliminate typical paper questionnaires and manage sweepstakes entries. Looking for a way to engage the “X” and “Y Generations”, EMI and their customers wanted to use technology to attract this tech-savvy target audience.
The Solution
The solution was Pronto mobile forms. Pronto allowed EMI to quickly deploy BlackBerry® devices to event staff in order to collect event attendee demographics, interests in specific products and even contest entries electronically. Data from the field is transmitted real-time to Pronto’s secure web portal, where event staff can download it as often and as quickly as necessary during the event.
The EMI on-site manager deploys devices equipped with simple-to-use Pronto mobile forms specifically tailored to event staff, who are hired locally in each market. The rapid activation, simple capture and easy data extraction capabilities of the system won EMI over. In the first weekend of use, the company processed over 500 surveys with users who learned the system the morning of the event. To date, EMI has a track record of capturing data from 10% of its audience at each event.
“By giving our customers sales leads in real time, Pronto mobile forms greatly enhances their ability to capitalize on the direct, in-person, face-to-face contact and targeted audience that our events provide”, said Cassandra Morrison, President, EMI. “The Regional Offices of our clients are able to use the data to follow-up with potential customers during or immediately after the event. Customers receive the data in the format they need, which also eliminates the process of inputting everything into a system by hand. The cycle time and quality improvements have been phenomenal.”
EMI’s customers have already affirmed that the data they get is of much higher integrity than that which they have historically received. “The data collected is qualified because the attendees at the events are more inclined to give us the information verbally, or by presenting their drivers’ licenses without a hassle,” added Morrison. “They want to participate, which makes it so much more enjoyable and beneficial for our clients. We don’t need to hound them about completing a written form which is often incomplete or contains bogus information.”
The Results
EMI’s innovative approach on behalf of their clients has enabled them to offer greater value for minimal start-up costs and the flexibility to change on the go. With Pronto, the information gathered and the reports generated give EMI customers valuable data real-time about target clientele with actionable information to drive sales and improve closure rates.
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