Audiences want more digitally-driven experiences. In-person event costs are rising. And events need to be more accessible, inclusive, and sustainable. Put the ever-evolving event tech landscape on top of all that, and it sure does make choosing the right event management technology more complex than ever.
Forrester has released The Forrester Wave™: B2B Event Management Technology, Q1 2023 report. It aims to help B2B marketing professionals like you around the globe to choose the right event management technology platform to help you achieve your business goals.
And we’re thrilled to announce that SpotMe has been named a Leader.
Read on to find out what’s trending in B2B event management technology, why we think SpotMe has been named a Leader, and how you can reap the full benefits of the report.
Keen to get into the details? Get the Forrester Wave™: B2B Event Management Technology, Q1 2023 report for free now.
About The Forrester Wave™: B2B Event Management Technology, Q1 2023
Forrester is a highly influential research and advisory company that helps businesses worldwide excel with technology and provides essential guides to help leaders with their buying decisions.
For The Forrester Wave™: B2B Event Management Technology, Q1 2023, Forrester analysts evaluated B2B event management technology vendors in the market against 28 criteria, grouped into 3 main categories:
- Current offering
- Strategy
- Market presence
Forrester identified the 14 most significant ones and spent months researching, analyzing, and scoring them to provide a guide to help B2B marketing professionals find the right event management technology for them.
Out of the 14 event management technology vendors, the Forrester report named only 4 of them a Leader, one of which we are proud to say is SpotMe.
Our take on B2B event technology trends
The B2B event industry has changed massively over the past few years with B2B event marketers having to adapt to different event formats, fast.
But now in-person events are back, it’s key for marketers to run a mix of engaging virtual, hybrid, and in-person events that audiences love.
Here’s our take on what to look for when choosing the right event management technology provider for your business, based on what we learned after reading The Forrester Wave™:
#1 One solution for all event formats
Having a single solution that can handle all event formats – virtual, in-person, and hybrid – is crucial for businesses today. It eliminates the need to juggle many different platforms or systems, which can be time-consuming and costly.
With a comprehensive event management platform, B2B marketers can seamlessly plan, run, and evaluate the success of their events, regardless of format or use case.
#2 Tools for high audience engagement
Audience engagement is no longer a “nice-to-have”. In today’s fast-paced digital world, grabbing and keeping your audience’s attention is more challenging than ever. And it’s critical to your B2B event success.
That’s where event management technology with tools for high digital audience engagement comes into play. Tools such as live polls, Q&A, breakout sessions, and networking can help create interactive and immersive event experiences that keep attendees engaged. Plus, they’re a great way for marketers to collect valuable data on attendee behavior and preferences to help improve future events and marketing.
#3 Deep event data collection and analytics
Data is at the heart of all B2B decision-making, and events have a central role to play. By capturing and analyzing data during events, B2B marketers can gain valuable insights into attendee behavior, preferences, and engagement. This is crucial today given that third-party data sharing regulations are getting stricter and cookies will soon disappear.
Marketers can use this data to optimize future events, create more personalized experiences, and ultimately drive better ROI by tweaking their strategy. Event management technology that includes robust data collection and analytics capabilities can provide a significant competitive advantage. It enables businesses to better understand their audience and deliver more impactful events that drive business results.
#4 Sustainable, accessible, and inclusive technology
As we become more aware of the impact that events can have on the environment and society, it’s key for event management technology to prioritize sustainability, accessibility, and inclusivity. Sustainable event practices can include reducing waste, using eco-friendly materials, and minimizing carbon footprints. Accessibility and inclusivity can include features such as closed captioning and live translations.
By embracing these values, event management technology can help businesses create events that are not only more environmentally and socially responsible but also more appealing to a wider range of attendees. This can ultimately lead to better attendance rates, increased engagement, and a more positive brand reputation.
Get The Forrester Wave™: B2B Event Management Technology, Q1 2023 report for free now.
What The Forrester Wave™ says about SpotMe
In SpotMe’s vendor profile, the Forrester report states that “SpotMe has evolved to become an all-in-one event management platform for high-touch industries such as life sciences and professional services.”
It also says that “SpotMe is a great fit for marketers at midmarket and large enterprises in high-touch industries, such as life sciences, looking to run large numbers of mixed event types.”
In Forrester’s vendor profile, SpotMe received the highest scores possible in nine categories:
Why we think SpotMe has been named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: B2B Event Management Technology, Q1 2023
“To be recognized as a Leader by Forrester highlights the value and expertise that we bring to our clients, particularly in high-touch industries,” says Pierre Metrailler, CEO of SpotMe. “The team is dedicated to helping our customers from leading life science and professional services companies to create better relationships through virtual, in-person, and hybrid events that really engage participants. And we believe Forrester’s recognition means that others have acknowledged this strong value too.”
What marketers and participants need from event technology has evolved significantly. This has led us to adapt and tailor our offering to many different use cases.
“SpotMe’s strength lies in the comprehensive capabilities it has built for a variety of target use cases.” – The Forrester Wave™: B2B Event Management Technology, Q1 2023
“SpotMe puts audience engagement at its core,” says David Pires, VP Marketing at SpotMe. “Today, participants expect more. They want personalized content and to choose how they participate and interact (whether virtual, in-person, or hybrid). And B2B event marketers need in-depth data to be able to provide them with all of that.”
We feel this is one of the reasons why Forrester named us as a Leader. In the report, they state: “Its superior vision focuses on creating engaging audience experiences and interactions to enrich CRM records.” And we think this is partly thanks to our “ease of customization”, “new on-demand hub”, and “mobile app.”
Let’s not forget that B2B event marketers are facing a new challenge: regulations surrounding third-party data sharing are becoming stricter, and cookies are set to disappear soon. Events are one of the only remaining sources of accurate data they can use to really understand their audience.
That’s why “At SpotMe, we don’t try to do anything and everything with our platform. We want to be extremely intentional about the value we unlock through events. And we think an effective way to do that is by having deep, vertical-specific CRM/MAP integrations to help with effective event orchestration and accurate data aggregation.” – Olivier Aubert, Business Development and Partnerships Director at SpotMe.
We’re proud to share that according to The Forrester Wave™ Report, “Standout capabilities include the deep native integrations with CRM systems/MAPs, including vertical-specific ones such as Veeva […]”.
In short, here are the four things we believe helped us become a Leader in 2023:
- Strong focus on high-touch industries like life sciences and professional services
- Deep native integrations with CRMs/MAPs for event orchestration and data aggregation
- High digital audience engagement across all event formats
- Tailored to marketers at large enterprises that run thousands of mixed event types
Get the Forrester Wave™: B2B Event Management Technology, Q1 2023 report for free now.
How to use The Forrester Wave™ to your advantage
“The Forrester Wave™ is a guide for buyers considering their purchasing options in a technology marketplace and is based on our analysis and opinion.” – Forrester
Here’s how we suggest getting the full benefits of The Forrester Wave™: B2B Event Management Technology, Q1 2023 report:
- Think about what matters for your B2B event strategy and vision
- See how the B2B event management technology vendors weigh up against your needs
- Select a handful of vendors you believe can help you achieve your business goals
- Send an event management RFP template to those vendors to fully understand what they offer
- Choose the event management platform that’s right for you
To see how SpotMe could help you run engaging events across all event formats that feed valuable data into your CRM, book a free, personalized demo.
A big thank-you goes to
- The entire SpotMe team who reached this milestone together
- Our innovative customers who help bring our vision to life
