Five On-Site Technology Catastrophes — And How to Overcome Them

If you’re the person in charge of technology at your company’s events you know that hiccups can occur at any time. Whether it’s something as simple as the WiFi going down or more serious like a full-blown power outage, RainFocus has got your back.

We’ve compiled this list to help you think through and plan for some of the most common event technology mishaps:

1. What to do when the WiFi goes down

A WiFi outage is the most likely technical error to occur and is something you simply have to prepare for. Before any event, ensure that you have someone on-site to be your go-to IT person if things go south. You should also have the WiFi provider’s support number on hand.

If you are stuck in a situation where you don’t have WiFi, check your cables and routers first. Fortunately, RainFocus’ check-in processes are network fault tolerant, meaning you can still check attendees in and print badges, even during these unexpected disruptions.

2. Who to contact when badge scanning gets out of control

Scanning badges is seemingly the easiest part of hosting an event; however, when scanners get mixed up, badges aren’t being read, or crowds start to build, exhibitors and event directors run the risk of losing valuable attendee information.

Train employees and temps on how to use scanners until they feel comfortable with the task at hand. Make sure device lights are turned on in dimly-lit areas, which will improve scanning quality. If things get busy or crowded, you may want to call for backup to help organize the rush of people. And of course, contact the RainFocus on-site team as soon as possible if you need help in any way.

3. When to expect recovery if APIs start malfunctioning

If your APIs stop functioning you can expect to get help right away. RainFocus will call in our most talented technology wizards to expedite your problem. Because we understand that data is so critical to producing ROI for an event, RainFocus will make every effort to get the system up and running as quickly as possible.

We take care to hire the best of the best and train them so that you don’t have to worry if your data stops flowing.

4. Where to take your lead devices when they aren’t working

The RainFocus on-site team will typically have a booth set up to distribute, monitor and make quick fixes to lead scanning devices. They always bring extra devices in case one of them stops functioning altogether.

It’s also important to note that even if the device loses power during the event, the leads collected will still be securely stored and can be recovered.

5. How to recover from a power outage

A power outage is often a worst case scenario for event professionals. We’ve seen instances when losing power meant stopping the conference altogether; however, if you are strategic in your planning you can manage this crisis with grace. Before the event, train your staff to remain calm and direct people to the exit. It is always good to have the city’s electrical department phone number on hand just in case.

If the event is scheduled to continue the next day invite attendees to return then. If the power does not restart and the event is scheduled to end that day the best technique is use good PR practices. Send out emails after the event apologizing to attendees for the inconvenience.

While offering a full refund might not be feasible, perhaps offer attendees a discount on their next event. The amount of responsibility you claim when things go wrong will correlate directly to the number of returning attendees.

To learn more about our onsite team and how they can help you deliver quality data to your exhibitors, request a demo.