The perfect software to manage your Private Events & Functions
Last updated: 27 March 2020
Private Events & Functions (PEF) are organised for members/guests of an organisation, association, or community. A non-exhaustive list of such events includes:
- Retreat, Seminar, Workshop, and Symposium
- Award Ceremony, Family Day Carnival, and Wedding Reception
- Gala Dinner, Incentive Dinner, Festive Party & Dinner, Annual Dinner & Dance, and Company Year-end Dinner
In most events, the organiser provides food, drinks, and giveaways to the attendees. It is crucial that this is done right because the event organiser wants to take care of attendees’ welfare, show appreciation for their presence, and in some cases thank attendees for their year-long contribution to the company. So never underestimate the power of satisfied tummies and free gifts!
There are three key steps to effectively manage any Private Events & Functions (PEF) are: RSVP, Attendance, and Giveaway (RAG).
1. RSVP [e-form]
As part of the planning and preparation, organisers send out invitations to their guests way before the actual event. This is also done with the intention of finding out if they will be attending.
The RSVP process is important because you need to know the expected number of attendees to decide on the menu, arrange for sufficient food, beverages, and gifts etc.
Essentially, organiser requires an e-form to collect the necessary data. There are many excellent online tools available:
At the time of writing, the free plans offered by the above software vendors are sufficient for private functions. Therefore, there is no need to pay big money to any event software vendor for using simple forms to gather RSVP responses.
2. Attendance [qr code self check in]
On the actual day, organisers require guests to perform some form of verification and check in their attendance at the event. With this data, you will be able to know the actual turnout of the event. It will be even better if you can track the attendance in real-time to make any necessary changes to your event on the spot. For instance, you may decide to modify the programme line-up or kick start your event only after 80% of your guests have arrived.
QR Code Self Check In is great because it is cheaper, better, and easier.
2a. Cheaper
There are no need to rent iPads/tablets, handheld scanners, devices or even set up kiosks. Instead, organisers only need to print and place QR Codes at the event entrance. After which, attendee scans QR Code to self-check in.
2b. Better and Easier
The dated approach of checking in at events has always been limited to the number of iPad/tablet kiosks, as well as number of handheld scanners/devices. Furthermore, there is always a queue that gradually builds up as attendees search their e-mails for the invitation or confirmation message.
The QR Code self-check-in enables attendees to check-in at their own time and own pace without being constrained to the number of devices and kiosks available. This relieves the attendees from the bottleneck of queuing for the devices and kiosks. Additionally, organisers do not have to commit much manpower or resources to manage this registration process. A win-win!
QR Code Self Check In user experience is modelled after the hugely popular QR Code Mobile Payment at physical stores.
Physical stores have unique QR Codes printed and placed at their cashiers. Customers will scan the respective QR Codes to make payment using their mobile phones. There is no need for both parties to rent and maintain any expensive or sophisticated device as compared to the past where sellers require various terminals to accept payments through different modes. With QR Code Mobile Payment, seller maintains a piece of paper printed with QR Code and gets notified for every successful payment via his mobile phone. Cheaper, faster, and easier!
3. Giveaway [experience]
To end an event on a high note, organisers usually plan a giveaway or lucky draw to reward their attendees or show appreciation for their presence and support. It is a nice way to say thank you! And if done well, this exciting and memorable experience will leave a lasting impression on your attendees.
The ingredients for memorable giveaway experience are:
3a. Quality [gifts]
Worthy giveaways that your attendees will appreciate for example, 3D2N staycation, kitchen equipment, and lifestyle devices. Personally, I still remember years ago that my brother received a Philip Air Fryer from his company’s Annual Dinner lucky draw giveaway. Having different categories of prizes will also create more chances for attendees to win and of course, excitement!
3b. Animation [lucky draw]
Big screen lucky draw animation that is paced at a good speed to excite and captivate the audience. It is also a good time to reinforce your event’s theme, objective, slogan or even showcase your sponsors.
3c. Audit [trail]
An audit log is necessary to maintain entries of all the attendees’ ticket numbers as well as the winning tickets as a proof of unbiasedness in the random draw. This is essential for both internal and external corporate auditors for accountability and compliance.
In conclusion, it is important for private functions and appreciation event organisers to facilitate the work processes for RSVP, Attendance, and Giveaway (RAG).
What is the perfect software that Private Events & Functions (PEF) can use for RSVP, Attendance, and Giveaways (RAG)?
Deeptent is a better and easier software for PEF to collect data, for RSVP and Attendance, with live giveaway segments.
With Deeptent(it is as simple as using Microsoft Excel Online and Google Docs), event organisers can easily set up and collaborate for:
- RSVP
- Attendance
- Giveaway
Email to support@deeptent.com to book an online demo.
