Best CRM for events management

As an event organizer, you know that managing attendees, coordinating with vendors, and keeping track of countless details can be overwhelming. To streamline your efforts and ensure a successful event, you need a CRM system tailored to the unique demands of event management.

A CRM helps you efficiently manage contacts, automate follow-ups, track ticket sales, and analyze engagement—all from a single platform.

In this blog post, we'll explore the best CRM options for event organizers like you, highlighting the features that will help you stay organized, enhance attendee experience, and drive your events to success.

Por qué necesitas un CRM

Managing events can be overwhelming without the right tools. A CRM can transform your workflow and create consistency in your communication strategy, which is crucial for both event promotions and at the point of following up after a successful one.

Desafíos sin un CRM

Below are a few challenges that you might already be experiencing as an events manager without realising it. These tend to be a common theme amongst event organizers operating without a suitable CRM in their tech stack.

• Disorganization: Manually tracking client details, event registration, and event logistics leads to chaos and errors.
• Missed opportunities: Without a system, it's easy to overlook potential clients and follow-ups.
• Inefficient processes: Time-consuming manual tasks reduce productivity and increase costs.
• Lack of insight: Inadequate reporting and analytics hinder strategic decision-making.
• Inconsistent communication: Without a centralized system, communication with clients and team members becomes fragmented and unreliable.

Ventajas de un CRM

If you're wondering whether or not it's time for you to invest in a CRM, below are a few benefits that prove how having the right tool can have a direct impact across your every day business operations.

• Centralized information: All client and event details are stored in one place, ensuring easy access and organization.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automating repetitive tasks saves time and reduces errors, allowing you to focus on high-value activities.
• Improved customer relationships: Track client interactions and preferences to provide personalized service and build stronger relationships.
• Better decision-making: Access to detailed reports and analytics helps you make informed decisions and optimize your strategies.
• Increased sales: Efficient lead management and follow-up processes lead to higher conversion rates and more business opportunities.
• Consistent communication: Streamlined communication tools ensure that all team members and clients are on the same page, enhancing collaboration and satisfaction.
  

How to boost your events management process with a CRM

Below are a few ways a CRM can boost your events management efforts, pre and post event.

👉🏼 Try folk now to map event pipelines and track every stage from inquiry to execution

1. Trazado del proceso

Defining and tracking the stages of your process are crucial for streamlining event management. Identify key stages such as initial client inquiry, proposal creation, contract signing, event planning, execution, and post-event follow-up. Use a CRM to create a visual pipeline that tracks each event's progress, and custom fields to segment your data ensuring no detail is overlooked and improving overall efficiency.

2. Calificación de clientes potenciales

Methods for assessing and qualifying leads and customers are essential for prioritizing your efforts. Implement scoring criteria within your CRM to evaluate leads based on factors such as event size, budget, and timeline. This helps you focus on high-potential clients, optimizing your resources and increasing conversion rates.

3. Divulgación y seguimiento

Examples of automated email and LinkedIn campaigns to leads and customers can significantly enhance your outreach efforts. Use your CRM to set up personalized email sequences that nurture leads through the sales funnel. Integrate LinkedIn to send targeted connection requests and follow-up messages, ensuring consistent communication and improving engagement.

Cómo evaluar y elegir una plataforma CRM

When you're evaluating CRM options for your event management team of 20-50 people, it's essential to consider platforms that can scale with your growing operations while remaining intuitive for your expanding team.

1. Defina sus requisitos.

Identify the key features needed for your events management business. Essential functionalities may include attendee management, event registration, ticketing, email marketing, and real-time analytics. Consider integrations with other tools you use, like social media platforms and payment gateways, to streamline your workflow.

Key features of a CRM for events management

• Automated processes: Streamlines tasks by automating repetitive workflows, allowing your team to focus on more strategic activities. Automation can handle everything from email follow-ups to task assignments, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
• Contact enrichment: Automatically finds Leads, Customers email addresses and contact information, enhancing efficiency. This feature helps you build a more comprehensive database without manual data entry, saving time and reducing errors.
• Multiple pipeline: Tracks leads and customers through defined stages, ensuring process clarity and effectiveness. A well-organized pipeline helps you visualize the journey of each lead, making it easier to identify bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement.
• Mail merge and email sequences: Increases communication efficiency with follow-up templates and automated sequences. Predefined email sequences ensure timely and consistent communication, enhancing your engagement with leads and clients.
• Social media integration: Seamlessly import contact information from LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and more to leverage your social media network in order to find and nurture potential clients directly from the platform.
• Analytics: Provides essential data analysis and predictive insights for better planning. Detailed reports and forecasting tools help you make informed decisions, optimize your strategy, and anticipate future trends.
  

2. Consideraciones presupuestarias

Balance between cost and return on investment for using a CRM for events management. While some platforms may offer advanced features, ensure they align with your budget and provide measurable benefits. Look for scalable options that can grow with your business and offer flexible pricing plans.

3. Proceso de selección

Steps to research and choose the right CRM vendor include reading reviews, asking for recommendations from industry peers, and scheduling demos. Evaluate vendors based on their experience in the events management sector, customer support quality, and the robustness of their security measures.

4. Obtenga una demostración

How to trial and compare different CRM platforms for events management. Start with free trials or demo versions to assess usability and feature set. Create a checklist of your requirements and rate each CRM against these criteria. Pay attention to user interface, ease of integration, and customization options to ensure the chosen platform meets your specific needs. To see how a top CRM can transform your event management, get a demo of Folk to get you stated.

3 consejos para implementar un CRM

Cut the time it takes to start familiarising yourself with your new CRM by keeping these three things front of mind.

1. Importa tus datos a tu nuevo CRM.

Transitioning to a new CRM can be seamless if you properly import your existing data. Start by exporting your data as a CSV file from your current CRM. This ensures that all your contact information, event details, and communication history are accurately transferred and ready to use in your new system.

2. Crea tu primer pipeline

Setting up your first pipeline is a critical step in customizing your CRM for event management. Define the stages that correspond to your event planning process, such as "Lead Capture," "Initial Contact," "Proposal Sent," "Contract Signed," and "Event Execution." This tailored pipeline helps you track the status of each event and ensures nothing falls through the cracks, providing a clear overview of your event lifecycle from start to finish.

3. Incorpora a tu equipo

Once your CRM is set up, it's essential to onboard your team effectively. Provide training sessions to familiarize them with the new system, emphasizing how it will enhance their workflow and improve event management. Encourage them to explore the CRM's features and share tips on best practices. A well-trained team will be more confident and efficient, leading to better collaboration and successful event execution.

The 5 best CRMs for events management

1. folclórico

folk is a modern CRM platform for managing contacts, workflows, and relationships, offering customizable pipelines, AI-driven tools, and integrations to enhance deal management and prospecting. For event management teams of 20-50 people, folk CRM stands out as the ideal solution, combining powerful functionality with the simplicity needed to onboard and manage a growing team efficiently.

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Características principales

• Enriquecimiento de contactos: Enriquece automáticamente los datos de contacto buscando direcciones de correo electrónico y URL de LinkedIn, lo que permite una comunicación eficaz sin necesidad de introducir datos manualmente ni incurrir en costes adicionales por servicios de correo electrónico.
• Social media integraiton: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and more to folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Combinación de correspondencia: sincronización completa del correo electrónico, plantillas y funciones de seguimiento, lo que permite a los usuarios gestionar todas las comunicaciones directamente desde el CRM.
• Funciones basadas en inteligencia artificial: las herramientas de IA ayudan a gestionar los contactos y las relaciones, automatizan las tareas rutinarias y sugieren acciones para mejorar la productividad.
• Integraciones: folk se integra perfectamente con más de 6000 aplicaciones, entre ellas Gmail, Zapier y Make, lo que permite a los usuarios centralizar su flujo de trabajo y reducir la introducción manual de datos.

Ventajas

• Facilidad de uso: folk es elogiado por su interfaz intuitiva, que lo hace accesible incluso para usuarios sin conocimientos técnicos, con una rápida incorporación y una curva de aprendizaje mínima.
• Todo en uno: folk optimiza tu flujo de trabajo al permitirte importar contactos desde LinkedIn, encontrar automáticamente sus correos electrónicos, comunicarte con ellos a través de secuencias de correo electrónico personalizables y realizar un seguimiento de las interacciones en un canal, lo que elimina la necesidad de utilizar múltiples herramientas y ahorra tiempo y dinero.
• Customizability: Personalize every aspect of your CRM from folk's dashboards to your custom fields, pipelines, and workflows.
• Integraciones: folk se integra perfectamente con más de 6000 aplicaciones, entre ellas Gmail, Zapier y Make, lo que permite a los usuarios centralizar su flujo de trabajo y reducir la introducción manual de datos.

Contras

• Reporting and analytics: folk includes advanced analytics such as pipeline and stage metrics, revenue forecasting with weighted probabilities, performance breakdowns by owner/channel/custom fields, and revenue insights dashboards.

Precio y planes

Puedes probar Folk de forma gratuita con una prueba gratuita de 14 días. Después, los planes de suscripción mensual o anual son los siguientes.

• Estándar: 20 $ por usuario al mes.
• Premium: 40 $ por usuario al mes.
• Custom: Starts from $60 per user, per month.

2. HubSpot

Hubspot CRM es una plataforma fácil de usar y escalable que ofrece herramientas integradas para gestionar de forma eficiente las ventas, el marketing, el servicio al cliente y las operaciones.

Características principales

• Marketing Hub: Includes email marketing, ad tracking, landing pages, and lead generation tools, essential for promoting events and capturing attendee interest.
• Sales Hub: Provides deal tracking, pipeline management, sales automation, and reporting, helping you manage sponsorship deals and ticket sales efficiently.
• Service Hub: Offers customer service tools like ticketing, live chat, and knowledge bases to support event attendees and resolve issues quickly.
• Operations Hub: Syncs and automates business processes across different systems, ensuring smooth coordination between event planning and execution.
• Lead scoring: Prioritize leads with predictive scoring to improve sales efficiency, crucial for targeting high-potential attendees and sponsors.

Ventajas

• User-friendly interface: The intuitive and easy-to-use interface makes it accessible for event planners with varying levels of technical expertise.
• Comprehensive free plan: The robust free version includes essential CRM features, ideal for small event management companies and startups.
• Seamless integration with marketing tools: Integrates smoothly with marketing, sales, and service tools, creating a unified platform for managing events and customer interactions.
• Automation capabilities: Provides powerful automation tools for tasks like email marketing, lead nurturing, and sales workflows, saving time and improving efficiency in event planning.
• Extensive learning resources: HubSpot Academy offers free courses, certifications, and resources to help users maximize the platform's potential.

Contras

• High cost at higher tiers: Pricing can become expensive at higher tiers, which may be prohibitive for small event management companies as they scale.
• Limited capabilities in free plan: The free plan and lower tiers have limited customization options, restricting flexibility for growing event businesses.
• Email marketing limits: Email marketing functionality in the free plan is restricted by limits on the number of emails you can send, a drawback for businesses with larger attendee lists.
• Costes adicionales por complementos: muchas funciones útiles, como las capacidades avanzadas de CRM y las integraciones, se ofrecen como complementos de pago, lo que aumenta el coste total.
• Curva de aprendizaje pronunciada para los nuevos usuarios: aunque la interfaz es fácil de usar, la amplitud de funciones puede resultar abrumadora para los nuevos usuarios, lo que requiere tiempo para aprender a manejarla.

Precio y planes

Prices and plans for HubSpot's CRM suite on an annual subscription are as follows.

• Arranque: 15 $ por usuario al mes.
• Profesional: 450 $ por usuario al mes.
• Empresa: 1500 $ por usuario al mes.

3 Salesforce

Salesforce es una sólida plataforma CRM para grandes empresas que ofrece herramientas para ventas, marketing, servicio y análisis, con una amplia escalabilidad.

Características principales

• Comprehensive ecosystem: A unified platform offering CRM, marketing automation, customer service, and custom app development, ideal for managing diverse event management needs.
• Customization and scalability: Salesforce is highly customizable and scalable, allowing event management companies to tailor the platform to specific workflows and manage growth effectively.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration: Salesforce Einstein offers AI-driven analytics and automation, providing insights to optimize event planning and execution.
• Extensive integration capabilities: With Salesforce's AppExchange, event managers can integrate the platform with a wide range of third-party applications, ensuring seamless operation across different tools.
• Enterprise-grade security and compliance: Salesforce provides robust security measures and compliance features, critical for handling sensitive attendee and client data.

Ventajas

• Comprehensive feature set: Salesforce offers an extensive range of features covering sales, service, and marketing, making it a powerful tool for managing all aspects of event planning and customer relationships.
• Highly customizable: Salesforce is highly customizable, allowing event managers to tailor the platform to their specific needs with custom fields, objects, and workflows.
• Extensive integration capabilities: Salesforce integrates with a vast array of third-party applications, enabling seamless data flow across platforms used in event management.
• Scalability: Salesforce is highly scalable, making it suitable for event management companies of all sizes, with the ability to grow with your business.
• Advanced analytics and reporting: Salesforce provides powerful analytics and reporting tools, allowing event managers to gain deep insights into their data and make informed decisions.

Contras

• High cost: Salesforce can be expensive, especially for small to medium-sized event management companies, with high licensing fees and additional costs for add-ons and customization.
• Curva de aprendizaje pronunciada: debido a su amplio conjunto de funciones y su complejidad, Salesforce suele requerir mucho tiempo y formación para que los usuarios alcancen un nivel de competencia adecuado.
• Configuración y personalización complejas: la configuración y personalización iniciales pueden resultar complicadas y, a menudo, requieren la ayuda de expertos o consultores certificados, lo que aumenta el coste total.
• Interfaz de usuario: algunos usuarios consideran que la interfaz de Salesforce está desactualizada y no es tan intuitiva como otras plataformas CRM modernas, lo que puede dificultar su uso.
• Overwhelming for small teams: Salesforce's robust features may be overkill for smaller event management teams, leading to underutilization of the platform's capabilities.

Precio y planes

An annual subscription plan with Salesforce for is as follows.

• Paquete Starter: 25 $ al mes por usuario, ofrece funciones básicas de CRM para pequeñas empresas.
• Pro Suite: 100 $/usuario/mes incluye herramientas avanzadas para empresas en crecimiento.
• Plan Enterprise: 165 $/usuario/mes ofrece amplias posibilidades de personalización y automatización para grandes empresas.
• Plan ilimitado: 330 $/usuario/mes ofrece funciones completas para grandes empresas.
• Einstein 1 Ventas: 500 $/usuario/mes proporciona información basada en IA y funciones avanzadas para grandes empresas.

4. Zoho

Zoho es un sistema CRM con un fuerte enfoque en las ventas. Cuenta con funciones como la coordinación de procesos, la gestión de procesos de ventas y la automatización de flujos de trabajo. También ofrece herramientas para equipos de marketing, como la captación de clientes potenciales, la gestión de eventos y la segmentación de clientes.

Características principales

• Lead and contact management: Manages attendee information, tracks interactions, and segments contacts for targeted event campaigns.
• Customizable dashboards and reports: Allows users to create and customize dashboards and reports for in-depth event analytics.
• Multi-channel communication: Integrates with email, phone, social media, and live chat to manage attendee interactions seamlessly.
• Workflow automation: Automates routine tasks and processes like follow-up emails and reminders to improve efficiency and reduce manual effort.
• Sales pipeline management: Visualizes and manages event registration pipelines with drag-and-drop functionality for better tracking.

Ventajas

• Affordability: Zoho CRM offers competitive pricing with various tiers, making it accessible to small and medium-sized event management companies.
• Multi-channel communication: Supports email, phone, social media, and live chat, enabling event planners to manage all attendee interactions from a single platform.
• Customization: Extensive customization options allow event managers to tailor the CRM to their specific needs, including custom fields, modules, and workflows.
• Integration with Zoho Suite: Seamless integration with other Zoho products (like Zoho Campaigns) creates a comprehensive ecosystem for managing different aspects of event planning.
• Mobile accessibility: Zoho CRM offers a robust mobile app, allowing event managers to access data and manage relationships on the go, with offline capabilities.

Contras

• Curva de aprendizaje pronunciada: las amplias opciones de personalización pueden resultar abrumadoras para los nuevos usuarios, lo que requiere una inversión de tiempo considerable para dominar la plataforma.
• Configuración compleja: La configuración inicial puede resultar compleja, especialmente para empresas sin conocimientos técnicos o recursos informáticos específicos.
• Problemas de rendimiento: los informes ocasionales sobre un rendimiento lento, especialmente con conjuntos de datos grandes u operaciones complejas, pueden obstaculizar la productividad.
• Limitaciones de funciones en los niveles inferiores: los planes de menor precio pueden carecer de funciones avanzadas, lo que empuja a los usuarios a pasar a niveles más caros para obtener funciones esenciales.
• Data migration challenges: Migrating data from other CRMs to Zoho can be difficult and time-consuming, often requiring manual adjustments.

Precio y planes

El plan gratuito de Zoho está limitado a tres usuarios, lo que lo hace adecuado para pequeñas empresas. A partir de ahí, el plan de suscripción anual es el siguiente.

• Estándar: 20 $ por usuario al mes.
• Profesional: 35 $ por usuario al mes.
• Empresa: 50 $ por usuario al mes.

5. Capsule CRM

Capsule CRM es una plataforma de gestión de relaciones con los clientes fácil de usar, diseñada para pequeñas y medianas empresas. Ofrece una interfaz limpia e intuitiva que ayuda a los usuarios a gestionar las relaciones con los clientes, realizar un seguimiento de los procesos de ventas y organizar las tareas y las comunicaciones de manera eficiente.

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Características principales

• 1 sales pipeline: Manage your event leads and customer journey efficiently.
• 30,000 contacts: Store and manage a large number of event attendees, vendors, and partners.
• Activity reporting: Track all interactions and activities related to your events for better follow-up.
• Task management: Assign and manage tasks related to event planning and execution.
• Workflow automation: Automate repetitive tasks to streamline event management processes.

Ventajas

• User-friendly interface: Capsule CRM offers a clean and intuitive design, making it easy for event planners to navigate and quickly access important features. This simplicity reduces the learning curve, making it an excellent choice for teams without extensive CRM experience.
• Contact and sales management: The platform provides robust tools for managing contacts, organizing customer information, and tracking sales opportunities, helping event planners maintain a clear view of their relationships and sales pipeline.
• Customization options: Capsule CRM allows users to customize fields, tags, and pipelines to fit their specific event management needs, offering flexibility in how they manage data and processes.
• Integration capabilities: Capsule integrates with various popular third-party applications, including G Suite, Microsoft 365, Mailchimp, Xero, and QuickBooks, allowing users to create a seamless workflow across their event management tools.
• Affordability: Capsule CRM offers competitive pricing with a free plan for basic needs and affordable premium options, making it accessible for event management startups.

Contras

• Limited advanced features: Compared to some of its competitors, Capsule CRM lacks more advanced features such as in-depth analytics and comprehensive automation, which can be a limitation for larger event management companies with more complex needs.
• Basic email marketing capabilities: While Capsule integrates with email marketing tools like Mailchimp, its built-in email marketing capabilities are relatively basic. Users seeking more advanced email marketing features may need to rely on third-party integrations.
• Limited customer support: Capsule CRM primarily offers support through email and an online help center. The lack of live chat or phone support might be a downside for event planners who prefer immediate assistance or more direct support options.
• No built-in phone or SMS integration: Unlike some other CRMs, Capsule does not have built-in phone or SMS functionality, which could be a disadvantage for event management companies that rely heavily on direct communication with clients through these channels.
• Scalability concerns: While Capsule CRM is great for small to medium-sized event management businesses, companies that are rapidly growing or have more complex CRM requirements might find the platform less scalable as they expand.

Precio y planes

• Plan inicial: desde 21 $ por usuario al mes.
• Plan de crecimiento: desde 38 $ por usuario al mes.
• Plan avanzado: desde 60 $ por usuario al mes.
• Plan Ultimate: desde 75 $ por usuario al mes.

Conclusión

Choosing the best CRM for events management is pivotal to streamlining your operations, enhancing client relationships, and driving business growth. Each of the CRMs discussed—folk, Hubspot, Salesforce, Zoho, and Capsule CRM—offers unique features and benefits tailored to different business sizes and needs. However, for event management teams of 20-50 people, folk CRM emerges as the clear winner, delivering the perfect balance of powerful functionality and ease of use that medium-sized teams require. While Hubspot offers a comprehensive suite for marketing and sales, Salesforce excels in scalability and customization, Zoho provides affordability and multi-channel communication, and Capsule CRM is ideal for smaller businesses with its user-friendly interface, folk CRM's intuitive design, LinkedIn integration, and scalable pricing make it the top choice for growing event management companies. For teams looking to streamline their workflow without overwhelming complexity, folk CRM provides the ideal solution that grows with your business needs. Try folk for free here.

👉🏼 Try folk now to never miss a follow-up and centralize attendee communication

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Preguntas frecuentes

What is CRM in event management?

A CRM for events centralizes contacts, registrations, sponsors, and vendors; automates emails and follow-ups; tracks ticket sales and tasks; and provides analytics to improve attendance, sponsorships, and post-event engagement.

How do you use a CRM for event planning?

Map stages from inquiry to post-event, import contacts, build pipelines, segment audiences, automate outreach and reminders, sync email and LinkedIn, track deals and tickets, and report on performance to refine future events.

How do you choose a CRM for event management?

List must-haves (attendee management, email, analytics), check integrations and security, set a budget, test usability with demos, and assess support. Compare fit for team size; try options with free trials such as folk.

How much does an event management CRM cost?

Pricing typically ranges from $15 to $500 per user/month, depending on features, automation, analytics, and support. Many tools offer free tiers or 14-day trials. Budget for add-ons like email volume, integrations, or extra pipelines.