PhoCusWright conducted in-depth telephone interviews with executives responsible for meetings, conferences and tradeshows at 52 leading organizations.  Surveyed organizations are among the FORTUNE 500, the top 100 associations and the top 25 trade show producers.  Combined, they manage more than 7,000 meetings and events per year.  This six-month research effort was underwritten by b-there in an effort to more accurately measure return on investment (ROI) of online meeting tools. 
 

On average, the cumulative ROI benefit of online tools in the first year is $320,400 for a typical large corporation with an annual meetings budget of $15.9 million, the study found.  By the second year, ROI can reach $989,000.  These figures represent 30-70% off of average operational costs, including a decline in faxed and telephone-based registrations and confirmations, elimination of data re-entry tasks, and fewer outgoing phone calls to customers.  Improved reporting and lower IT expenses related to Web site development also add dramatically to the cost savings.

Philip Wolf  President and CEO, PhoCusWright Inc. Philip Wolf has been leading small and emerging businesses through strategic change and turnarounds his  whole career. He has  started a business, a  trade association, and a newsletter; raised venture financing; and run his company, someone else's, a travel agency and a marathon.  Since 1989, he has been an ardent proponent  of online interactive travel, tourism and hospitality services.

The greatest impact of online meeting tools is felt in the labor-intensive areas of registration and reporting.  Most meeting registrations are still made the �old-fashioned� way: through telephone and fax.  In fact, those channels account for more than eight in 10 registrations for association meetings.  Corporate off-site meetings are the most advanced � half of all attendees already pre-register online.  Shifting offline registration costs to the Internet can result in significant cost savings.

Online tools can also expedite key functions, such as shaving more than two weeks off the time required to build a Web site for meeting registrations, or months off of data re-entry.  In fact, all aspects of the attendee relationship can be impacted by technology.

"The adoption of online meeting technology will drive cost savings, time savings and improved customer service," said Philip C. Wolf, president and CEO of PhoCusWright.  "It is these three factors that will define the bottomline impact the technology will have on the organization as a whole."

Other areas where online tools can help shave costs include:  air/hotel reservations, marketing /communications, budgeting and supplier negotiations.

"There are a number of significant cost and time savings associated with deploying online technology for meetings," Wolf said.  "These tools not only improve service levels, but re-define the nature of the transaction among suppliers, corporations and attendees."  For example, online, real-time accessibility of data enables planners to not only negotiate more intelligently with suppliers, but also have the data to review cost savings opportunities as well as practice more targeted and cost-effective marketing, the study reveals.

PhoCusWright Inc. is a source of applied travel intelligence that helps its clients understand the online travel marketplace and make competitively advantaged decisions.  PhoCusWright analysis, forecasts and insight motivate industry executives to advance their businesses with speed and clarity. Established in 1994, PhoCusWright Inc. is headquartered in Sherman, Conn.