Item: Cvent Event Management
Rating: 10
Author: Amy Zientek

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

My organization uses Cvent Event Management as a portal to both promote our city and its venues as well as to communicate with event planners.

Pros and Cons

Cvent allows planners to discover cities and/or venues they may not have otherwise considered.
Cvent has continued working to integrate both DMOs and venues in the RFP distribution process.
Launched the RFP Showcase which allows DMOs and Venues to respond to RFPs they may be a fit for but were not selected to receive.

There is an awful lot of clicking in Cvent. A more streamlined system would not be a bad thing.
Cvent was definitely designed for hotels and not DMOs. There are several features in the program that are not relevant to entities promoting an entire location over a specific venue.

Return on Investment

Cvent has allowed my city to host meetings that may not have otherwise considered our location.

Alternatives Considered

I have not used any other similar products.

Support Rating

The account reps we have had while using Cvent have been great. They are always able to answer our questions and assist with what we need.

Cvent is well suited for planners looking to distribute an RFP to a variety of cities, venues, etc. It is also appropriate to use during the discovery process. It is a wonderful place for event organizers to find a variety of locations that can fit their event. For second and third-tier cities it is a wonderful way to get the name out and possibly get it on a planner's radar.

Users and Roles

4 - Sales and marketing both use Cvent. The sales team uses Cvent to respond to RFPs while the marketing team ensure the information about our city is up to date and relevant.

Support Headcount Required

2 - The Director of Sales serves as the main admin and assigns RFPs that are received. The Director of Marketing is responsible for making sure the information about our destination is current.

Business Processes Supported

To promote our destination to meeting/event planners who are sourcing locations
To educate meeting/event planners about our destination
To give visibility to hotels and venues in our destination

Innovative Uses

We haven't been super innovative with Cvent. We mostly use the basic functions.

Future Planned Uses

To promote incentives we are able to provide meeting planners who select our destination

Likelihood to Renew

We will continue to use Cvent so long as the meeting planners use Cvent to source.

Products Replaced

Key Differentiators

Analyst Reports

We opted to use Cvent because that is what our customers are using to distribute their RFPs. We want to be where our customers are.

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I can't think of anything we would change.

Implementation Rating

The only real insight I have is to be open to learning a new system and willing to do what it takes to maintain consistency throughout the system.

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house

Implementation Phases

Change Management Lessons

Change management was minimal

Implementation Issues

Determining who on the team would be in charge of maintenance, assigning RFPs, etc.

Cvent Event Management Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Quick Initial Response	None

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using	None

Easy Tasks

It is easy to update the venue listing and add new images for the destination
Messaging event planners is quite easy

Difficult Tasks

The proposal system is a bit cumbersome and not very applicable to DMOs

Usability

There are some portions of the system that need practice and a help desk to become proficient in, but otherwise it is relatively easy to use.

Cvent for DMOs

Overall Satisfaction with Cvent Event Management

Do you think Cvent Event Management delivers good value for the price?

Are you happy with Cvent Event Management's feature set?

Did Cvent Event Management live up to sales and marketing promises?

Did implementation of Cvent Event Management go as expected?

Would you buy Cvent Event Management again?

Using Cvent Event Management

Evaluating Cvent Event Management and Competitors

Cvent Event Management Implementation

Cvent Event Management Support

Using Cvent Event Management