It’s easy to figure out how much you make from registration at your event, even if you offer different tiers of access at varying prices. That said, meetings and events can be expensive to host, and you and your global meeting planner need to consider the best ways to recoup costs and earn a profit if possible. A lot of return can come from selling out tickets, but you can do more.
Whether you’re selling food and beverages, offering branded or event-themed merchandise, or providing popular products like phone chargers and handheld fans, there are ways to earn more during the course of your event. Don’t forget about revenue that comes from sponsors, exhibitors, and vendors that want to participate and are willing to pay a fee or a percentage to do so. It all goes in the pot, so to speak.
With all the hubbub, you and your event organizer could have some trouble keeping track of the money attendees spend at your event.
How can you track it so you don’t have to spend so much time separating revenue streams after the fact? Here are a few tricks you should have up your sleeve.
Ask Your Convention Planner to Customize Payment Tracking Technology
Calculating how much attendees spend at your event first requires you to compile all the necessary data, and the easiest way to do this is with integrated payment tracking technology that puts all your eggs in one basket, so to speak. If you have to rely on vendors and event staff to deliver sales data, your overall picture could be understandably spotty.
With a single, integrated POS platform in place to track and report sales data, you’ll have all your data in one place and you can organize it as you see fit. This may require custom software, so you should discuss the possibility of hiring an experienced developer with your convention planner.
Work with Your Event Organizer to Track Top Spenders
It’s not enough to look at total sales if you want to optimize spending at future events. You need to know who is spending the most and what they’re buying, or alternately, which items seem to be the most popular. You and your convention planner can use this data to cater to top spenders and carefully choose which merchandise to offer at future events.
Take Notes on Contributing Variables
When you and your event organizer look over the numbers, it’s important to note why sales of certain items may have lagged at a particular event while others sold like gangbusters. Environmental factors can play a role and understanding them can help you to plan for greater success at future events.
Says Maria Coker, Meeting Planner at AMI, “If you host an outdoor event, pay attention to the weather. A warm day might result in increased beverage sales, whereas a cold day could see greater merchandise sales if you offer branded hoodies and scarves, for example. Morning events might not see the same alcohol sales as an evening affair. These variables can affect earnings and profit margins, but help you to spot trends and increase profitability down the road.”
Tracking spending data, breaking down sales, and considering contributing factors can all help you and your event organizer determine not only how much event attendees spent, but also how to increase profits moving forward.
