On-line and in-person events are a key component of demand generation strategy for many organizations. Event management platforms help marketers to manage logistics, accept registrations, and communicate with attendees. There are a multitude of event management platforms available at our fingertips; some offer basic functionality and are minimally priced, while others offer a more robust solution at a higher price point. And for some clients, an events platform is a nicety and not a necessity.
Clients often ask if they need an event management solution and if so, which one. The following five questions are what I ask clients who are considering how to manage their events:
- What types of events do you run? (on-line, in-person, tradeshows)
- How many of each event type do you have per year?
- Do you charge for the events?
- Are events a single registration or do participants need to register for sessions?
- Is there an attendance cap?
The combinations of answers to the five questions above generally buckets organizations into one of three categories, which determines what technologies required. Although the volume of events varies widely, most clients are hosting free on-line events with no registration maximum, or are vending at tradeshows. Very few are hosting paid or complex in-person events. No matter which bucket you fit into, you want your event management to flow through your marketing automation platform.
Back to the original question: Can I manage events in Oracle Eloqua, or do I need an event management system?
- If you host online webinars: Yes, you can manage all or part of the event management process through Oracle Eloqua by leveraging a cloud app to connect Eloqua with your webinar platform. We’ve worked with Cisco Webex, On24, ReadyTalk, and BrightTALK, and although each connector is slightly different, most allow you to use Eloqua landing pages and forms for registration, to send confirmations and reminders, and to identify attendees vs. no shows for automated follow-up.
- If you host a low volume of free in-person events: Yes, you can manage these events in Oracle Eloqua without the need for additional technology. If you do not need to manage capacity, waitlists, or complex registration options, an Eloqua form and landing page is all you need to accept registrations, send reminders, and manage follow-ups.
- If you host paid, or large scale in-person events: Oracle Eloqua does not process payments, if an event requires a fee, it’s best to process registrations outside of Eloqua. In addition, for large scale events (session registrations, smaller events, attendee preferences, etc.,) it is best to have an event management system like Certain or CVENT to handle the logistics. Both of these platforms integrate with Oracle Eloqua, which then allows for tracking and follow-up to be sent via Eloqua.
No matter what type(s) of events your organization offers, it is important that participation in events gets tracked in Oracle Eloqua for segmentation, personalization, lead scoring, and attribution. Whenever possible, emails related to the event should also get tracked within Eloqua. If you still have questions, Tegrita can help. Contact us today to start the journey to better events!