Author / Autorka: Cristina Muntean 

Czech version below. / Česká verze níže.

Untouched potential of events on the Czech market

Majority of czech companies in 2012 have one clear mission: to retain existing clients and seek to increase their revenues. Price of obtaining new clients this year is much higher than price of quality maintenance customers. Than how "to open" the client to pay more for the same or other services in the period of crisis? One of the answers could be quality event management for your customers.  

What plays a crucial role in organizing events?

• Clear goal: Do you know exactly what is expected from the event? Do you want to obtain a specific business or just visibility in your target group?
• Story: Today almost all companies organize events and fight for time and attention of potential customers. Therefore, your event must be clearly distinguished and there should be present clear "story" and a reason of why to attend.
• Communication: Do not bet on cases when people see your invitation ones, and that convice them to join and attend the event. To put your event and its story into their awareness, people need to get regular information that will motivate them to remember the event. Here the key role quality event management system such as TakePlace that facilitates distribution of information and manages participants registration. However, do not exagerate  - no one wants to receive emails few times a week, or months prior the event. 
• Media communication: Journalists will not have the same interests as a potential participant. Accordingly, when communicating event to journalists, remember that you need bring some news, or at least point out some new trends, etc. Journalists live on bringing news and writing reports, therefore your communications with them must include something new. 
• Information availability: Do you have sufficient information about your event on your website? Is this information aimed on interests of the participants or rather one-sided presentation of your interests?
• Time-saving for your participants: If the potential participant wants to register  and the registration and payment process are too much  complicated and it takes a lot of time, you can expect he will  give it up after a few attempts.
• Involvement of partners: If everyone, starting from catering,  place suppliers to the hostess feel committed because that will bring them something, guests will feel it and will be returning for the next event.

Many other details play a major role in quality event management that will bring you what you want: more satisfied customers. On the other hand, everything begins and ends with common sense - if you offer something interesting to both parties, and know how to present it, then you meet their promises repeatedly, quality and on time, few people would have something to complain about. In today's virtual reality, events connect people in real and most of the business still come from real customers. Therefore, the  client care pays off- and in events is always a huge untouched potential.

Nedotčený potenciál eventů na českém trhu

Většina českých firem má v roce 2012 jeden jasný úkol: udržovat si stávající klientelu a snažit se zvyšovat jejich výnosy. Cena získání nových klientů je v tomto roce mnohém vyšší než cena kvalitní péče zákazníků. Ale jak „otevřít“ klienta, aby platil více za stejné nebo další služby krize ne-krize? Jedná z odpovědí, která se nabízí, je organizace kvalitních eventů pro zákazníky. 

Co hraje zásadní roli během organizace eventu?

• Jasný cíl: víte přesně, co od toho eventu očekáváte? Chcete získat konkrétní zakázky nebo jenom viditelnost ve Vaši cílové skupině?  
• Příběh: dnes skoro všechny organizace uspořádají eventy a bojují o stejném času a pozornosti stejných potencionálních zákazníků. Proto Váš event se musí jasně odlišovat a představit jasný „příběh“ a smysl, proč se tomu zúčastnit.
• Komunikace: nesázejte na to, že lidé vidí jednu pozvánku a hned se přidávají, protože je už přesvědčila. Aby se jim Váš event a příběh dostaly do podvědomí, lidé potřebují dostat pravidelnou informaci, která je bude motivovat si na event pamatovat. Tady hraje klíčovou roli kvalitní systém na řízení eventů jako TakePlace, který usnadňuje rozesílání informaci a vůbec řízení účastníků. Pozor ale, nepřehánějte – nikdo si neváží dostat pár připomínek týdně, a to ještě po době měsíců před nějakým eventem.  
• Mediální komunikace: novinář nebude mít stejné zájmy jako potencionální účastník. Proto, když komunikujete event novinářům, berte v potaz, že potřebujete nějaké zprávy, nebo minimálně poukázat na nějaké nové trendy apod., abyste zaujali. Novináři žijí z toho, že vydávají zprávy, proto i Vaše komunikace s nimi musí zahrnovat něco nového.    
• Dostupnost informace: máte na webu dostatek informací o eventu pro zájemce? Je táta informace zaměřená na zájmy účastníků, nebo spíš jednostranná prezentace Vašich zájmů? 
• Šetření času účastníků: pokud se potencionální účastník chce přihlásit a je to komplikovaný přihlašovací a platební proces, který mu zabere spoustu času, můžete očekávat, že bude se tomu vzdát po pár pokusů.  
• Angažovanost partnerů: pokud všichni, od catering přes dodavatele prostoru až po hostesky se cítí angažovaní, protože jste na něj mysleli a budou z toho také něco mít, i hosté tu budou cítit a budou se vracet na příští event. 

Mnoho dalších detailů hraje zásadní role v organizaci kvalitního eventu, který Vám přináší to, co si přejete: více spokojených zákazníků. Na druhou stranu, vše začíná a končí selským rozumem. Pokud nabízíte něco, co je v zájmu obou stran, umíte to tak prezentovat, a pak splníte své sliby opakovaně, kvalitně a včas, málokdo by se měl na co stěžovat. V dnešní virtuální realitě eventy spojují reálný lidi a většina businessu přichází pořád od reálných zákazníků. Proto péče o klienta se vyplatí – a eventy mají pořád obrovský nedotčený potenciál.        

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Let us show off some fresh screen drafts! We work hard these days on implementing the brokerage module into Takeplace. The upcoming release will introduce matchmaking enhancements for easy orchestration of B2B meetings. Stay focused — further updates are on the way.

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With Takeplace, conference organizers may easily assign committees, collect submissions and reviews, schedule talks within a multi-track programme and publish instant web timetables and printed proceedings. Steering events has never been easier — setting up the whole conference is a matter of few clicks in a user friendly interface.

Tell us what kind of event you organize. We will assist you in finding the proper solution.

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I hope that next year we’ll run FlatWorld Forum with your software!

Hans Gäng, local global Managing Director

flatforum.mov Watch on Posterous

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Please do not forget to stop by! In the meantime we will share some photos of us having fun and making business at the IT industry’s biggest and most respected event.

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Takeplace’s parent company Acemcee has been just accepted into the incubation programme of the South Moravian Innovation Centre (JIC).

Today, we went through the final stage of the incubation admittance giving a talk at the JIC Industrial Council, focused chiefly on Takeplace development background and its architecture and security particularities. And we can proudly announce that our endeavour has been rewarded with success. From now on, we can fully enjoy the incubation programme and its services for technology innovation.

Yes, it is a big step forward for us. So let’s clink glasses and drink a toast to Takeplace and Acemcee!

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Takeplace has been promoted in MUNI – a monthly newsletter of the Masaryk University.

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New development opportunities for Takeplace at the meeting of innovative companies.

We dropped in on the South Moravian Innovation Center (JIC) again, presenting Takeplace to higher management of business related companies. The folks at JIC really know how to knit business with social aptitude — the meeting has offered plenty of moments of cordial networking upon a glass of Port wine, being tasted until late time.

Aside from enjoying Cálem 10 Years Tawny — narrow winner of the evening — collaboration has been emblazed in the fields implementing voice recognition & synthesis into Takeplace interface, and performing tagging and searching in its video archive.

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Long-term endeavour of the Takeplace team starts bearing fruits as we have entered on negotiations with prospective business partners from the USA, Germany and the United Kingdom.

After casual summer breaks we are back and in a rush again. New business opportunities have emerged recently, and Takeplace makes ready for going to the global market. And we surely aim at Takeplace being pronounced world-wide.

Stay with us, as we hope to report more fruitage soon !

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We have finalized developing the scheduling module. At present it’s being scrutinized by testers for impending Takeplace integration.

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Recently, Takeplace has been mentioned twice in Czech business papers EKONOM and Financial News (Finanční noviny).

Not Going Mad After All !

The EKONOM magazine, Czech counterpart of The Economist, paid a tribute to the success of Takeplace at the Idea of 2010 contest. The article focuses not as much on Takeplace itself, as on the personal and profesionnal background of its founders. We have somehow missed the point of entitling the article “Not Going Mad After All”…

The Financial News article introduced winners of the Idea of 2010 and Student–Entrepreneur competitions. You can expect more media penetration by the end of summer.

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After the Idea of 2010 second prize handover, Jaroslav, the 2010 Student–Entrepreneur, has been interwied by media.

The video is in Czech, so in a nutshell — our vision is being discussed, subsisting on close contacts with users and event holders.

We believe that Takeplace business risk elimination resides in developing a made-to-measure tool for event control. Our service endeavours after comfortable organizers and participants. With their feedback we can tune Takeplace up to academic and commercial demands. And we can also build a workflow entirely for you.

Also the tavern nascency of Takeplace has been revealed — yes, we invented it while discussing the matters of life, universe, etc. over a glass (a bottle perhaps) of south-moravian wine. Cheers to Takeplace !

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Takeplace was introduced to students of Integrated Marketing course at the Masaryk University.

We returned to the native land of the Faculty of Informatics with a presentation about trends in the internet commerce and our experience with developing and trading “web 2.0” services.

The debate was moderated by a prospective cooperating partner Sandra Kumorowski (Columbia College, Chicago USA). We are looking forward to meeting you in future, Sandra !

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We are happy to anounce that Takeplace won the second place at the Idea of the Year 2010 business competition, and Jaroslav, our CEO, was awarded the Student–Entrepreneur prize.

During the competition held by the Institute for the Development of Entrepreneurship and the UniCredit Bank nearly a hundred business projects were presented to the jury of business holders, investors, executive and media representatives.

Takeplace achievement in the competitive environment has been approved by Vít Šubrt, CEO of LG Electronics CZ, anouncing "Personally I am very interested in the Student–Entrepreneur winning project, where I sense big commercial power."

This is indeed a gratification for all the white nights and caffeine spent in past months !

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Everyone at Takeplace office is thrilled today — we have just moved up among ten finalists of the Idea of 2010 competition.

Takeplace has a serious chance to succeed at the Idea of 2010 business competition held by the Unicredit Bank. We are among ten finalists and can’t speak too soon — but it’s a time for decent celebration.

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Registration module, paper submission and contact management have been just implemented in Takeplace.

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Takeplace attracted serious attention at the WebExpo Startup Meetup.

We attended the South Moravian Innovation Centre rendezvous to make some noise about Takeplace. And while the sun was shining, Takeplace gained concern of web 2.0 developers, marketeers and trendsetters so our ten minute presentation turned into an inspiring brainstorm until late evening. 

We’d like to thank everybody for excellent feedback !

Photo credits: Radek Hradil

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Takeplace is in a pilot run with the Differential Geometry and its Applications conference DGA 2010.

More so, Takeplace is being adjusted for three oncoming events at the Masaryk University, Brno University of Technology and Microsoft Innovation Center Brno, Czech Republic.

Due to its modular architecture, Takeplace takes charge of both academic and business workflows, and can be tailored to meet your own requirements.

Consult us — we will take care of your events too.

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Cheery welcome from Tomáš and Jaroslav, founders of Takeplace.
We bring you time & cost effective solution for organizing events online.
So who are we anyway?

We’ve been organizing and promoting academic and business events for quite a long time (since 1993 actually). We have experienced the internet buzz from its outset, eagerly inspecting every steering tool available on the web.

Some year-and-a-half ago we realized we are already tired of switching among web browser, spreadsheets, mailbox and task managers, constantly thinking about whom to send e-mail and what data need to be synchronized.

We started thinking about a tool that is both easy to use and equipped with features we were missing elsewhere.

Now we bring you Takeplace — the event management web service, which is here to convey our best experience to organizers and event participants.

Try Takeplace and make your events run !

Photo credits: Jan Rasch

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