A recent survey of UK venues found that 49% are unhappy with the technology they use to run their operations – and a deeper delve has uncovered further important insight.
Over 60 VIP guests from venues attended a briefing in London hosted by survey sponsors NFS Technology, where the results of the survey were revealed.
They took part in a poll using handheld technology – and just under half (47%) admitted they are not progressing with implementing digital technology at their venues.
Even more (53%) said their business is not ready for the transition to a more online customer experience.
Around 80% of the delegates described themselves as responsible for data in their organisation.
A huge 87% said they used internal data from their systems to help them make decisions.
But 79% said their biggest technology challenge at the moment is the need for better systems.
Delegates were also asked to rate how ready their business is for a transition to a more online client experience, with 1 ‘not at all ready’ and 5 ‘completely ready’.
Not one venue judged itself to be completely ready – and 53% rated themselves at 1 and 2 in the process.
Luis De Souza, Chief Executive of NFS Technology, said: “It’s clear from the results from the event that UK venues quite rightly regard data as an important plank in their success.
“For instance, every single delegate said they use year-on-year data, and almost nine out of ten use internal data in decisions.
“However, the feedback from our event, and from the Londonlaunch survey, highlights some areas for concern and areas where technology suppliers and developers can help venues more.
“It’s worrying that so many venues are not progressing in their move towards digital technology, which can provide a huge boost to their operations.”
Top asks from guests were for better CRM systems (42%), and to be given a better understanding of market trends (37%).
Luis said: “These requests highlight a finding from the main survey which showed venues are often using a mish-mash of technologies that to not integrate to run their operations.
“A state-of-the-art integrated venues management system provides deep business intelligence through an advanced CRM system as well as providing insight and forecasts on market trends alongside its other functions.
“It means venue managers and owners have an end-to-end view of their business that can help them strengthen weaker areas and capitalise on strengths.
“On evidence, I feel many venues are currently feeling the lack of this kind of integrated, supporting technology – even though they might not realise it.”
NFS has pledged to continuously develop its Rendezvous Events venue management technology to meet the evolving needs of the industry.
“The UK venues market is thankfully booming, but in these challenging times no-one can afford to rest on their laurels,” said Luis.
“While the majority of our guests are rightly confident that they are providing an excellent customer experience, many admit they are not ready to enhance their online offering.
“In today’s world, where consumers access every area of their lives via their mobile, venues cannot afford to lag behind the likes of hotels in offering this facility.
“As leading suppliers of venue management software to some of the UK’s major venues, we’ll be continuing to work closely with our clients to develop our venues management systems to meet their needs perfectly.
“We’d like to thank everyone who came to our breakfast briefing, and who has helped us further in our quest to fully understand the needs of the industry.
“Please download the survey, and contact us with any further comments – we’ll be delighted to take them on board.”
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