Guest post written by Michelle Bruno, MPC
Michelle Bruno is a writer, blogger, content strategist and publisher specializing in event industry technology. Visit her LinkedIn profile at Linkedin.com/in/michellejbruno.
When the subject of Big Data in meetings comes up, analysts, CEOs, and strategists immediately come to mind. However, that picture is only partially accurate. In an era where every survey question, registration field, and mobile click is a piece of a much larger business intelligence pie, event planners have a more strategic role to play if they choose.
As the individuals on the front lines, those who have to implement the data strategy that comes from the boardroom, event planners have both more responsibility and opportunity. To fully participate in the Big Data evolution, planners will have to evolve.
Select vendors to integrate processes. While it’s important to ensure various platforms are working together, it’s even more crucial that data is a major focal point. This spans across online registration systems, event management software, mobile event apps, housing, travel planning, etc.
Treat everything as a data point. Does the number of brownies served during an afternoon meeting break coincide with attendee satisfaction scores? That may be debatable. But these days, planners need to approach meetings knowing anything could be related to something else, until proven otherwise. Event planners have to at least prepare to extract and collect information wherever it’s available.
Map the front of the house to the back of the house. With a Big Data mandate from senior-level management, planners will be tasked with ensuring that meetings not only support organizational objectives, but also informational objectives. Thus, data from every form, field, click, and post will have to be organized and standardized so it flows back into a centralized database.
Get a seat at the strategy table. Planners are responsible for facilitating the collection of data before, during, and after the meeting. So, it’s critical for them to weigh in on the practicality, trade-offs, costs, and value of collecting specific information ahead of time.
Expand your skill set and your network. While you’re able to learn and understand data inputs and outputs on the job, it’s best to seek additional training or the support of a third-party consultant or vendor for more complex skills. These include expertise for data collection, survey methods, data modeling techniques, and analytics.
How do you plan to leverage the Big Data trend for your organization and your career?
