Building a Business Case for Strategic Meetings Management Technology

July 2012

Building a Business Case for Strategic
Meetings Management Technology
The complex spend category of strategic meetings and events management Analyst Insight
encompasses 9% of the average organization’s total budget. Within the next Aberdeen’s Insights provide the
two years, that figure is expected to increase by nearly 20%, reinforcing the analyst's perspective on the
need for organizations to leverage modern strategies for controlling research as drawn from an
spending on corporate events, driving visibility into several aspects of aggregated view of research
meetings management and ultimately driving more value out of strategic surveys, interviews, and
meetings and events. This Analyst Insight aims to assist organizations across data analysis
the globe in building an effective business case for leveraging technology
within their strategic meetings management programs.

A Contemporary View of Meetings and Events
Management
Nearly 70% of organizations view strategic meetings management as a
moderate-to-high priority function, proving that an enterprise’s events have
a direct link in achieving corporate business goals and objectives. With a
significant chunk of organizational finances spent on this category, it is
incumbent on internal stakeholders to leverage modern strategies and
solutions to better control the multifaceted nature of this function. As
detailed in Figure 1 (below), there are myriad priorities for the average
organization in managing their strategic meetings and events.

Figure 1: Current Priorities for Strategic Meetings Management

Source: Aberdeen Group, June 2012

This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group. Aberdeen Group's methodologies provide for objective fact-based research and
represent the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unless otherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Aberdeen Group, Inc.
and may not be reproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent by Aberdeen Group, Inc.

Building a Business Case for Strategic Meetings Management Technology
Page 2

The majority of organizations (58%) view the reduction of costs and
improvement of cost savings as their top priority in 2012 for strategic
meetings management. This aspect comes as no significant surprise; with
finances allocated for corporate events expected to rise considerably over
the next two years, companies are focused on instituting strategies to
better control events-related spending.
Also on the radar of organizations this year in regards to meetings
management is the improvement of visibility into all facets of events Best-in-Class Criteria
management (52%). As the meetings category has evolved over time,
The following aspects were used
companies are under pressure to maintain a proper level of visibility into
to determine Best-in-Class
not only spending, but also suppliers, marketing performance, attendee- organizations in Aberdeen’s
related information, social media outreach and other significant factors 2012 Strategic Meetings
within the meetings and events management program. Management benchmark report,
with top-performers achieving
The Best-in-Class Strategic Meetings Management impressive results in:
Program  Compliance to internal
events management policies
Top-performing enterprises in the Strategic Meetings Management research
study were noted for their superior performance across a series of key  Meetings and events spend
metrics within the meetings and events management space. Best-in-Class under management
enterprises have driven:
 Frequency of events meeting
 A 48% higher rate of compliance to internal meetings / events or exceeding goals /
management policies and guidelines than all other organizations objectives

 A 44% higher rate of meetings and events spend under management  Frequency of meetings
executed on or below budget
 A 44% higher frequency of meetings and events meeting or
exceeding goals and objectives, and; Best-in-Class: Top 20% of
aggregate performance scorers
 A nearly 30% higher frequency of meetings and events executed on
or below corporate budgets. Industry Average: Middle 50% of
The Best-in-Class strategic meetings management program (SMMP) involves
Laggard: Bottom 30% of
a series of basic, intermediate and advanced attributes that span the scope
of social media, analytics / reporting, design / creative aspects and strategic
sourcing principles. However, the most crucial aspect of the Best-in-Class
SMMP is the technology core that links all of these processes and supports
efficient events management. As detailed in Figure 2, Best-in-Class
organizations are relying on a multitude of technology solutions to support
their SMMP.

© 2012 Aberdeen Group. Telephone: 617 854 5200
www.aberdeen.com Fax: 617 723 7897

Page 3

Figure 2: Best-in-Class Technology Attributes for Strategic
Meetings and Events Management


End-to-end strategic meetings management solutions, in place in 40% more
Best-in-Class organizations than all others, are the main technology offerings
leveraged by top-performing organizations. These systems present a fully-
automated platform that streamlines a variety of key meetings management
processes and aspects, such as:
 Registration and registration management
 Marketing and communications
 Social media support and outreach
 Analytical dashboards and real-time reporting
 Event-planning and on-site management
 Supplier network and supplier management
 Travel management
Linking back to the top current priority in meetings and events
management, it is interesting to note that Best-in-Class organizations, with
heavy reliance on end-to-end meetings management solutions, have driven
73% higher realized and implemented cost savings than all other companies.

SMM Technology: Challenges, Opportunities and
Outcomes
The following sections of this Analyst Insight will present a three-part
business case for implementing technology for strategic meetings

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management. However, before tackling the complex nature of the business
case for making an educated decision in leveraging technology, let’s first
discuss the challenges, opportunities and outcomes in relation to strategic
meetings management technology.

Challenges
Similar to any technology decision, any organization will face some level of
scrutiny from the executive office when they present an intention to
purchase a new automated solution. In addition to this aspect, there are a
variety of challenges in SMM technology implementation:
 Business requirements. Will the new solution meet our complex
requirements for meetings and events management?
 Integration. Is the new technology capable of integrating with
existing systems, such as ERP, CRM, and expense management? Will
we be able to access multi-dimensional data from the new system?
 Risks? Are there any inherent risks in implementing a new solution?
Will the eventual rollout and implementation phases adversely affect
the planning and development of events already on our corporate
calendar?
 Technology lifecycle and financial alignment. What level of
maintenance and corporate responsibility is required to support our
SMMP over an extended period of time? Does this new solution
align with our financial requirements for the future?

Opportunities
The implementation of strategic meetings management technology presents
the average organization with a series of opportunities for streamlining
processes related to events management and driving value from the
strategic meetings management program, as well as the following items:
 Spend optimization. Strategic meetings management technology
can help program execs more effectively plan, develop and execute
corporate meetings. This aspect can improve the optimization of
meetings spending and ensure that the vast majority of events do
not exceed corporate budgets.
 Higher quality meetings and events. With a technology
solution enhancing and streamlining key processes (such as
registration and development), the strategic meetings management
program can devote more time to improving the attendee
experience.
 Link to the next generation of events management. It’s no
surprise that the “next generation” of strategic meetings
management is directly linked to the utilization of technology.
Aspects such as social media and mobile applications are critical in
taking events management into the future.


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Outcomes
Organizations that leverage strategic meetings management technology
experience a variety of benefits that are directly linked to leveraging these
solutions, including:
 Time and cost savings. Automation via technology solutions
simplifies the attributes of the modern SMMP, including registration,
sourcing / procurement, planning, expense management and
marketing. This simplification will produce significant time savings
due to the eradication of manual intervention, as well improve cost
savings with automated supplier development.
 Improvement of event ROI. One major aspect of modern
events management is the move to “engagement management” and
looking to emotional aspects in addition to revenue gleaned from
corporate meetings. Technology solutions can provide an
automated platform for linking social media and attendee
engagement processes and help SMMP execs track, measure and
quantify the return-on-investment of meetings and events.
 Enhanced visibility into all facets of strategic meetings
management. Visibility is a prime concern for any executive
tasked with managing a high-profile spend category such as meetings
/ events. Strategic meetings management technology solutions
provide dashboard and analytics for gaining valuable intelligence into
myriad aspects of events management, including spending against
budget, supplier performance, attendee profile information and ROI
of events.

The Business Case, Part I: Benefits Unbound
The first item that needs to be considered in building a robust business case
for making a technology decision in regards to strategic meetings
management solutions is the level of performance improvement that
automation can bring to an organization. Aberdeen research has historically
linked utilization of strategic meetings management technology to significant
upticks in organizational performance.
Information culled from the Strategic Meetings Management dataset has
discovered that users of end-to-end strategic meetings and events
management solutions have achieved the following benefits:
 60% higher rate of realized and implemented cost savings than
companies not currently utilizing end-to-end technology
 Nearly 40% higher rate of compliance to corporate policies and
guidelines concerning meetings and events management
 35% higher frequency of events meeting or exceeding goals and
objectives, and;
 Nearly 30% higher frequency of meetings / events executed on or
below corporate budgets.

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Utilization of end-to-end meetings management technology directly
alleviates the highest priorities within the modern organization’s purview of
corporate event management.

The Time Factor
Aberdeen research has also discovered that strategic meetings management
technology can assist in improving time savings in regards to processes
across the scope of the modern strategic meetings management program.
The following time savings have been achieved by organizations currently
leveraging technology:
 The average technology user saves 55% of productivity time in
regards to reporting within events management. SMM technology
solutions offer automated analytical dashboards that can provide any
program executive with relevant intelligence in a quick manner.
 Technology users have achieved 43% time savings for budgeting for
current and future events. End-to-end solutions can arm any SMMP
with information that can be linked to the corporate office; this
intelligence can then be utilized in financial forecasting, budgeting
and planning (helping to optimize SMM spending within the content
of organizational finances).
 Organizations currently leveraging SMM technology have achieved
32% time savings in relation to managing travel and lodging logistics.
Automated meetings management solutions integrate both event-
and travel-related information into a single system and can help
meeting planners better manage travel-booking processes (which, in
turn, will improve compliance to corporate travel policies and
guidelines).

The Business Case, Part II: Enablement of Specific
Events Management Capabilities and Competencies
Although the performance benefits that can be linked to technology
utilization are often the “headliners” of a business case, there must be a
clear path to those benefits via the enablement of core internal processes,
capabilities and competencies. As detailed in Figure 3, enterprises currently-
leveraging end-to-end strategic meetings management technology solutions
are much more likely than non-technology users to have specific attributes
in place within their SMMPs and events management programs.


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Figure 3: Meetings Management Capabilities Enabled by
Technology


Organizations currently leveraging end-to-end SMM technology are enabled
with a series of core capabilities that support overall events management
objectives. Consistent sourcing processes (in place in 64% more technology
users than non-users) ensure that meeting and event planners leverage
existing and ideal supplier relationships to maximize cost savings (and keep
event costs down), while the ability to leverage attendee information for
future planning (in place in 74% more technology users) can assist in
boosting the value of forthcoming events through more effective agendas
based on attendee profile intelligence (as well as information culled from
post-event surveys and questionnaires).
The most critical of capabilities, however, revolves around the visibility
afforded to technology users:
 Technology users are 70% more likely to hold real-time visibility
into an enterprise-wide calendar of events, which can give event
planners and other stakeholders visibility into which locations are
utilized and the timing of those events, helping to avoid scenarios
that would cause overspending or schedule conflicts.
 Technology users are 76% more likely to hold real-time visibility
into events spending against the corporate budget. With a large
portion of enterprise finances allocated for meetings, it is crucial for


Page 8

organizations to evade events that are executed over budget. Also,
this type of visibility can allow executives to alter future events
based on current budgeting standing (reduce the number of days,
scale back on entertainment, outright cancel meetings, etc.).
 Real-time visibility into strategic meetings management data (a
capability in place in 76% more technology users than non-users)
enables event planners and related stakeholders to understand the
effectiveness of meetings, associated supplier information, the
return-on-investment of events, and other next-generation
attributes that can help drive more value out of corporate meetings.

The Business Case, Part III: Technology as a Link to the
“Future of Events Management”
The final aspect to the business case involves the link between technology
utilization and taking events management into the future. The strategic
meetings management category is continually evolving, and technology is
one means of carrying this function into the next generation.
Aberdeen research has found that users of end-to-end meetings
management technology are actively enabled with attributes within the
scope of social media, mobile applications and other next-generation
capabilities for contemporary events management:
 Technology users are 61% more likely than organizations without
meetings technology to have abilities to persistently-engage
audiences and attendees beyond simple registration. This aspect
supports the new notion of “engagement management” and
improves the attendee event experience.
 Technology users are 57% more likely than non-users to utilize
mobile applications and portals to support the overall management
of corporate meetings. Mobile apps can optimize agendas for
attendees (based on profile information) and even assist event
planners with on-site management aspects (such as communication
with team members and status of specific items).
 Users of strategic meetings management technology are nearly 50%
more likely than companies without technology to consistently
leverage social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) to engage
with attendees and support marketing initiatives (such as
promotional activities).

Key Takeaways
This Analyst Insight study is meant to be utilized as a foundation for
organizations looking to build a business case for making a technology
decision in regards to meetings and events management. The following are
some key takeaways from this research study:


Page 9

 The reduction of costs and improvement of cost savings are the top
events management priorities for organizations in 2012
 Best-in-Class organizations, known for their prowess and
performance across a series of key events management metrics, are
heavily-leveraging end-to-end strategic meetings management
technology offerings
 End-to-end technology enables a series of core meetings
management capabilities and competencies, including real-time
visibility and consistent sourcing processes, and;
 Users of end-to-end technology solutions are equipped to take
meetings and events management into the future via social media
and mobile attributes.

Research Methodology
Between May and June 2012, Aberdeen examined the use, the experiences,
and the intentions of more than 167 enterprises in a diverse set of
organizations in regards to meetings and events management. Responding
enterprises included the following:
 Job title: The research sample included respondents with the
following job titles: manager (31%); director (23%); C-level (21%);
EVP / VP / SVP (10%); and others.
 Department / function: The research sample included respondents
from the following departments or functions: procurement and
supply chain (21%); corporate management (18%); business
development / sales (16%); meetings / events management or SMMP
(13%); finance (10%); IT (6%); human resources (6%); operations
(4%); and others.
 Industry: The research sample included respondents from the
following industries: manufacturing (12%); finance (10%); education
(7%); public sector (6%); telecommunications (5%); pharmaceutical
manufacturing (5%); software (5%); and 25 others.
 Geography: The majority of respondents (63%) were from North
America. Remaining respondents were from the EMEA (22%), Asia-
Pacific (13%) and South / Central America (2%) regions.
 Company size: Thirty-five percent (35%) of respondents were from
large enterprises (annual revenues above US $1 billion); 25% were
from midsize enterprises (annual revenues between $50 million and
$1 billion); and 40% of respondents were from small businesses
(annual revenues of $50 million or less).
 Headcount: Forty-three percent (43%) of respondents were from
large enterprises (headcount greater than 1,000 employees); 27%
were from midsize enterprises (headcount between 100 and 999
employees); and 30% of respondents were from small businesses
(headcount between 1 and 99 employees).

Page 10

Related Research
Strategic Meetings Management: A Strategic Meetings Management: The
Handbook of Emerging Strategies for the Evolution of the Modern SMMP; April
Next Generation of Meetings and Events 2010
Management; July 2012 Strategic Meetings Management: Save the
Strategic Meetings Management: A View Date, Save Your Budget; August 2009
into the Best-in-Class SMMP; June 2011
Author: Christopher J. Dwyer, Senior Research Analyst, Global Supply
Management (chris.dwyer@aberdeen.com)
For more than two decades, Aberdeen's research has been helping corporations worldwide become Best-in-Class.
Having benchmarked the performance of more than 644,000 companies, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to provide
organizations with the facts that matter — the facts that enable companies to get ahead and drive results. That's why
our research is relied on by more than 2.5 million readers in over 40 countries, 90% of the Fortune 1,000, and 93% of
the Technology 500.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen’s research provides insight and analysis to the Harte-Hanks community of
local, regional, national and international marketing executives. Combined, we help our customers leverage the power
of insight to deliver innovative multichannel marketing programs that drive business-changing results. For additional
information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call
(800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.
This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group. Aberdeen Group's methodologies
provide for objective fact-based research and represent the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unless
otherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Aberdeen Group, Inc. and may not be
reproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent by
Aberdeen Group, Inc. (2012a)


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