The Successful Cross-Border Event 2023 in Maastricht promotes international collaboration and leverages advanced event solutions.
On September 16, 2023, the Cross Border Event took place in Maastricht. This unique event, organized by the professional associations IMA Netherlands and NVDM, aimed to foster collaboration between the associations and encourage cross-border cooperation.
The event attracted over 200 participants from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Luxembourg. With a strong professional program, compelling speakers, and various workshops, an inspiring day was offered to professionals in roles such as VAs, PAs, event organizers, and management support professionals.
In this article, we look back at the event and share the organization’s experiences with aanmelder.nl. For this purpose, we speak with Jolanda Maasakkers, chairwoman of the NVDM.
Were there any special focal points for you for the event?
We embarked on this collaboration between IMA Netherlands and NVDM, and everything had to be built from scratch. There was no logo, no visual material and the event had to be centrally facilitated by both partners. Both organizations, along with more than 20 passionate volunteers, worked dedicatedly on the preparations for the event.
Therefore, aanmelder.nl was a delightful choice. The system is very user-friendly, and everything is as automated as possible. For instance, you can immediately print out badges, precisely see who is inside at an event, and register any walk-ins. We also had our own inboxes, all communication lines were very clear and organized. “In short, everything is as automated as possible and it’s a very flexible system.”
For the event, you utilized Event Management and Event Check-In services, correct? Why did you choose Event Management?
Yes, we opted for a comprehensive package indeed. The decision was made because of the registration features, the event website, the invoicing, as well as the collection of ticket proceeds, all the automated communication (through mailboxes), the white-label environment, and more. Communication was key, but so was the payment system behind it and the ability for multiple people to collaborate within it.
We were also lucky that someone from our organization had previous experience with aanmelder.nl and knew exactly what to do, considering the many options available within the system. There were many other conveniences. For instance, setting a deadline for registration. And as the event date approaches, you can configure it so that new ticket sales in the last week before the event are paid immediately. This way, you don’t have to provide financing upfront. Or, for example, registering dietary preferences. For us, the choice of workshops only became available halfway through the process. Then you can filter for people who have not yet indicated a workshop preference and send an automated reminder email to fill in their workshop choice. Very convenient!
And what was the main reason you chose Event Check-In?
You can print out badges immediately and create your own badge designs. Everything is automated. In advance, people registered through the website, and afterwards, we could easily manage it from the backend. That can also be done by providing an Excel sheet. Just check if the names and such are correct, so they can be printed correctly on the badges right away.
On the day of the event, it’s also ideal. Our hosts were ready in advance. People have a QR code as their ticket and are personally welcomed on location. The badge comes right out of the printer. You can see exactly who has checked in, register any walk-ins, and afterward, you can see precisely which sessions people have attended. It’s a very flexible system!
In addition, you’re also environmentally friendly. This was also an important point for me because I wanted to do it as eco-friendly as possible, but you had prepared well for that!
“And we had the butterfly badges. Ideal. Just a matter of flipping them over and done. Enjoyable!”
Do you have any feedback or learnings from yourself or team members that you would like to share?
- Next time, we would like to communicate earlier regarding the date and announcement. We had to produce everything at the same time and we were happy and quick to do so. A lot of time went into this. Next time, we want to take more time, for instance after the first announcement of the event.
- We had to create two events due to multilingual requirements. But I understand that this will soon be resolved at your end and that you are coming out with a new feature?
- For the event site, it was sometimes difficult to get everything aligned beautifully on mobile, but your technical department looked into this for us and set it right. And a new event site builder has been launched at your end by now, correct?
Thank you and that’s correct! We have recently rolled out an updated Event Website Builder with an increased focus on mobile usability. And multilingual registration forms are coming at the beginning of this year. Do you have any other learnings that you would like to share with us?
No, I simply do not. In any case, I have really enjoyed working on this with you all!
“am extremely impressed by the simplicity of the system!”
About Our Customers:
IMA Netherlands has been the international network for management professionals since 1974. The NVDM has been the Dutch association for management support professionals for over 50 years.