For associations, events are far more than routine gatherings—they’re critical to driving engagement and building strong communities. From creating networking opportunities to recruiting new members, events play a vital role in any association’s success.
Data underscores this impact. 67% of associations actively use events to attract new members, and organizations with the highest retention rates—80% or more—are significantly more likely to host regular events.
The takeaway is clear: hosting impactful events is a proven strategy for success. Leveraging the right association event management software ensures every detail of these activities contributes to your organization’s growth, efficiency, and member satisfaction. To help you select the right software, we'll explore the fundamentals of these platforms and even share recommendations. Here's what we'll cover:
- What is association event management software?
- Why do you need association event management software?
- What should you look for in association event software?
- Tradewing: Best all-in-one association event management software
- Other leading association event software
Your software plays a fundamental role in streamlining your event from start to finish. Don't invest in a solution until you know it's the right choice for your trade or professional association! Let's get started.
What is association event management software?
Event management software is any digital tool that helps plan, organize, and execute events. This software can either be an all-in-one platform or handle one specific aspect of the event management cycle, such as:
- Registration and Ticketing: Streamlining attendee sign-ups and payment processing
- On-Site Check-In: Managing attendee arrivals with QR codes, badges, or kiosks
- Event Marketing: Tools for email campaigns, social media promotion, and attendee outreach
- Agenda Management: Creating and sharing schedules and speaker lineups
- Audience Engagement: Facilitating live polls, Q&As, networking, and feedback collection
- Virtual and Hybrid Events: Hosting live streams, breakout sessions, and interactive virtual environments
- Sponsor and Vendor Management: Coordinating booth assignments, contracts, payments, and communication with sponsors and vendors
- Analytics and Reporting: Providing insights on attendance, engagement, and ROI
Some systems integrate with CRMs, AMSs, and other association tools, allowing you to sync data across platforms without manual entry. These integrations and features save time, reduce errors, and ensure seamless coordination across all aspects of event planning. By centralizing processes, event management software empowers associations to deliver professional, engaging, and impactful events that meet their goals.
Why do you need association event management software?
Event management solutions tailored to associations provide specialized features you might not get with generic platforms, such as integration into your online community, member data syncing, and variable pricing based on membership tiers.
Here’s how event management software positively impacts different groups involved with your events:
- Attendees: Association event software simplifies registration, provides personalized schedules, and enhances engagement through tools like live Q&A and networking features.
- Event Coordinators and Staff: Your software automates repetitive tasks, integrates data across systems, and offers real-time insights, enabling your association's staff to focus on delivering an impactful event.
- Vendors/Sponsors: Association event management software streamlines sponsor and vendor coordination, offering tools for managing booth assignments, deadlines, and payments while maximizing their exposure to attendees through branding and lead generation opportunities.
- Speakers: With event self-service tools, speakers can enjoy an easy process for submitting materials and accessing schedules. Plus, many association event management platforms provide tools for engaging audiences and gathering feedback during and after their sessions.
Software ensures every stage of your event runs seamlessly, from simplifying pre-event tasks like registration to enhancing engagement during the event and gathering valuable insights afterward. By catering to the unique needs of all stakeholders, the right platform will transform your events into powerful tools for connection and growth.
What should you look for in association event software?
Every organization has different needs, making the right association event management software vary. Depending on your exact needs, narrow down your options by looking for these key elements.
1. Registration and ticketing tools
Registration impacts one of the first impressions attendees have of your event, so make sure they have an enjoyable experience. Get association event software that allows you to create registration forms with custom fields so you can capture unique guest information like t-shirt sizes or dietary restrictions.
You should also be able to create tiered pricing. For in-person events, make sure you can set capacity limits on ticket sales, cultivating demand for your event and ensuring your event isn't too packed. Integration with your member management tools streamlines registration by automatically applying membership details and pricing tiers, eliminating the need for manual data entry or verification.
2. Ability to host different event formats
74% of event attendees prefer events that offer both virtual and in-person participation options, empowering them to choose whichever one suits their preferences. To meet these expectations, choose association event software that supports in-person, virtual, and hybrid event formats. Whether you're hosting webinars, workshops, or conferences, flexibility is essential for your platform.
3. Sponsor and vendor management
Sponsors and vendors play a crucial role in your association's events by providing financial support and enhancing the overall attendee experience. For businesses, a key benefit to sponsoring an association is gaining visibility among a receptive audience, so make sure your association event software supports that goal.
Look for platforms with features like dedicated sponsor pages, contract and payment tracking, custom sponsor tiers, booth assignment tools, and analytics to measure ROI for sponsors and vendors.
4. Promotional tools
For people to attend your event, they need to know about it first! Look for association event software with integrated marketing tools. For instance, Tradewing offers automated event reminders. You can also feature event listings in your online community, boosting visibility.
5. Networking tools
Networking is at the heart of most association events. In fact, it's the leading reason members join associations.
Look for tools that foster connections, such as integrated online communities where people can chat during and after your event. Virtual lounges and breakout rooms are also incredible networking opportunities for online and hybrid events.
6. Affordable pricing
Choose software that offers robust features at an affordable price. The right platform should enhance your events' impact without eating up all of the revenue they generate.
If your association doesn’t currently use software, opting for an all-in-one solution is typically more efficient than piecing together multiple platforms. However, if you already have tools that cover certain functions, investing in a specialized solution to fill the gaps may be a more cost-effective approach.
Tradewing: Best all-in-one association event management software
Tradewing is designed to streamline every aspect of planning, marketing, and executing association events. It's tailored to meet associations' needs, meaning you'll have out-of-the-box tools for managing registrations, engaging attendees, and fostering ongoing connections through your online community.
Whether you're hosting virtual, hybrid, or in-person events, Tradewing’s platform simplifies logistics and delivers impactful experiences for members, staff, and sponsors.
Key Features
- Registration: Streamline attendee sign-ups with custom registration pages, tiered pricing, promotional codes, and capacity limits.
- Support for various event types: Host in-person, virtual, or hybrid events to meet members' expectations. Host webinars, live streams, and breakout sessions with tools for attendee engagement, including chat and live polls. For online events, upload pre-recorded videos to Tradewing, or leverage Tradewing’s numerous integrations by using popular streaming tools like Zoom or YouTube.
- Event marketing: Automate event reminders, and promote events with detailed activity pages within your online community.
- Sponsor management: Set sponsorship tiers. Then, add sponsors to your community, providing them with customizable profiles to be featured on event pages and live streams. Additionally, sponsors can host exclusive webinars or events, providing them direct engagement opportunities with members and access to relevant analytics for lead tracking.
- Event reports: Access data on registrations, attendance, engagement, and sponsor ROI to measure your event's success and identify improvement opportunities.
Plus, integrations with leading CRMs and AMSs will ensure your event data syncs across systems for seamless record-keeping and membership tracking.
IAMIC's Journey With Tradewing
The Illinois Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (IAMIC) is a trade association composed of farm mutual insurance companies, reinsurance companies, associates, and suppliers in the insurance industry. Its goal is to encourage higher standards of professional conduct in the insurance industry.
The association relies heavily on networking, but faced a handful of challenges before discovering Tradewing, such as:
- Member familiarity with technology
- Struggles to engage across various devices and digital channels
- Obstacles to moving in-person conferences and meetings to the virtual space
- Ability to sufficiently recognize sponsors
Heading into the pandemic, IAMIC realized they needed to offer a different way to network and host events fast. To combat these challenges, they turned to Tradewing. Our team guided them through the setup and integration process, helping connect our platform with their current tools. We helped shift their conference to the virtual space, replicating the in-person experience.
With Tradewing, IAMIC was able to tap into new opportunities for vendor involvement and sponsor promotion, ensuring these groups received effective recognition. They were able to offer attendees a smooth experience for meetings and events, empowering members of all technical skills to engage and connect through an online community.
Bottom line: Tradewing offers powerful association event software that helps trade and professional associations connect with members online. You can watch IAMIC's journey in video form below:
Discover other customer success stories from Tradewing, and envision how our software can streamline event management and bring your community together.
Other Leading Association Event Software
If you're still on the hunt for the right platform, there are many solutions that specialize in different aspects of association event management. Let's explore a variety of options, so you can get a sense of what's out there.
Eventbrite: Best for Association Event Ticketing
Eventbrite is a comprehensive event management and ticketing platform that enables users to create, promote, and manage events. It offers tools for registration, ticket sales, and attendee management, making it suitable for both small gatherings and large-scale conferences. Its communication tools make it easy to connect with attendees leading up to your association's event.
Key Features:
- Customizable, secure event registration pages
- Email marketing tools, including automated event reminders and updates
- Event listings on Eventbrite's site to connect with local audiences
- Online event planning and integrations with Zoom, Facebook Live, YouTube, and more
Cons:
- Transaction and service fees can be high for organizers
- Limited customization options for ticketing and event pages
- Limited support for highly specialized event types or industries
- Doesn't always provide a positive consumer experience
Evite: Best Event Invitation Tool
Evite enables you to send event invitations via email or SMS. Choose from hundreds of templates or upload your own designs. You'll be able to track RSVPs and leverage built-in communication tools to streamline event planning and marketing. While primarily used by individuals, it can also be used to invite members to your association's events. One of the platform's newest features is SignUp Sheets, which allows you to coordinate volunteers, streamlining another aspect of event management.
Key Features:
- Customizable invitation templates
- RSVP tracking and management
- Event reminders and notifications
- Built-in messaging for guest communication
Cons:
- Limited advanced features for large-scale or complex events
- Advertisements on free plans
- Customization options may feel restrictive for some users
- Lacks comprehensive integrations with other event management tools
Formsite: Best For Forms and Post-Event Surveys
Formsite is a versatile online form builder that allows users to create custom forms, surveys, and registrations without needing coding skills. It offers a wide range of templates, drag-and-drop form-building tools, and data collection features. Either share a link to your form or embed it into a page on your website for easy sharing.
Key Features:
- Mobile-responsive forms, hosted either on Formsite or embedded into your site
- Pre-made templates that can be customized to fit your association
- Payment collection via credit card, check, and payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe
- Conditional logic for dynamic form functionality
Cons:
- User interface may feel outdated or less intuitive
- No built-in CRM or advanced user management functionalities
- Pricing tiers restrict access to advanced features
- Limited storage capacity on lower-tier plans
Smartwaiver: Best Waiver Software for Association Events
Smartwaiver is a digital waiver solution that simplifies the process of collecting signed waivers for events and activities. It allows organizers to create customizable waivers that can be signed online or in person, streamlining participant onboarding and reducing paperwork. With secure storage, integrations, and easy access to signed waivers, it's particularly useful for associations managing events with liability considerations, such as sports tournaments and conferences with hands-on demonstrations or equipment use.
Key Features:
- Customizable and embeddable digital waivers with branding options
- Online and in-person signing capabilities
- Real-time access and search for signed waivers
- Integration with popular software providers
Cons:
- Higher pricing tiers required for advanced features
- Limited customization options for complex waiver scenarios
- Reliance on stable internet connection for online signing
- Learning curve for users unfamiliar with digital waiver tools
Choose your association's next event platform.
Think about your association’s goals, whether they include building a thriving membership, fostering strong connections, and achieving sustainable growth. Events are central to accomplishing all of these and many more association objectives.
Choosing the right software to power your events isn't just helpful, it's necessary. Tradewing is your ideal solution for hosting memorable events that boost revenue, engage members, and encourage networking between gatherings. Tap into our reliable association event management software, online community platform, email marketing tools, and more!
As you gear up for your next event, learn more about association management with these free resources:
- 6 Excellent Higher Logic Alternatives: Comparing Features. In the market for a new community management solution? Check out these leaders that rival one of the most popular solutions in the space.
- 20+ Association Management Software Picks To Explore. An AMS is a powerful solution for streamlining every aspect of running an association, from member management to event planning. Learn the basics of these platforms and read about top providers.
- Member Engagement Platform: Getting More out of Memberships. Looking for a solution to improve the member experience? Discover how association platforms enhance member interactions and encourage engagement with content and activities.
