FUSION Performance Group

Background
Goals
Approach
Results
Looking Forward
Products Used

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485

events managed with Cvent

35,000+

registrations managed with Cvent

75%

conversion rate using Cvent

BACKGROUND

FUSION Performance Group is a leading third-party event planning company known for its ability to deliver exceptional corporate events that drive measurable results. With a diverse range of expertise, FUSION is adept at organizing various event formats, including virtual, hybrid, single-day events such as corporate dinners and team-building activities, and multi-day experiences like staycations and incentive trips.

Across their clientele, FUSION leverages a number of Cvent solutions to help deliver impactful experiences. FUSION’s Marketing Manager notes that their approach is tailored to the needs of their clients. She explains, “We like to have that trust and that relationship, and to ensure flexibility, we offer our services a la carte to ensure we meet whatever needs a client has.” By maintaining key principles of strategic alignment, customized solutions, data-driven insights, and exceptional execution, FUSION has positioned their organization as an industry leader in crafting exceptional meetings and events for their clients.

GOALS

Cvent and FUSION Performance Group: A powerful event management partnership

In pursuit of crafting incredible experiences for their clients, Tanya Perry, Vice President, credits the use of Cvent event technology in helping to enhance her team’s end-to-end event management processes. “FUSION Performance Group's collaboration with Cvent is instrumental to our success, employing a comprehensive suite of Cvent products and achieving remarkable outcomes,” she says. Tanya explains that when she originally joined FUSION, she discovered opportunities to engage with an event management platform in order to better support their clients’ events. “We knew the root of our business was event planning, and the one software that would be with us for the long haul was Cvent,” she says. “So we really turned to Cvent and asked for help in making sure we had our tools as consistent as possible.”

Four people smiling at an outdoor event in the summer

APPROACH

FUSION leverages a host of Cvent solutions to support their clients’ event success, tailoring the right solutions to each event based on the clients’ goals. Olivia Figary, Senior Event Registration Coordinator, notes, “We not only use Registration on the event management side, but we also do sourcing using the Cvent Supplier Network, we’re in the Vendor Marketplace, and we’ve recently added Onsite Solutions and the Access Portal.” Leveraging a flexible all-in-one solution allows FUSION to scale their offerings to their clients’ needs.

For example, they found client expectations changed after the pandemic. “Due to smaller budgets and quicker turnarounds, we needed a faster, more efficient way to keep the client informed of registration details while also keeping track of in-person attendees as we transitioned back to in-person events,” explains Olivia. The solution was the adoption of Access Portal, which allowed their clients to view and export up-to-the-minute registration data. They also employed the registration check-list alerts to keep onsite staff informed of any updates and progress, which Oliva notes was “much easier than working on an excel sheet or printout.”

Ensuring event tech flexibility to exceed client expectations

The flexibility of the Registration solution has been particularly useful in managing a wide variety of client events of different scopes and sizes. “Having that flexibility is what really helps us with being flexible for our clients who may want different things at different times,” Olivia says. Her team can create different registration paths and attendee types for a more personalized experience across different event types and formats. This ensures they provide more accurate attendee data to help better prove event ROI for their clients.

Olivia notes they don’t only use Registration for traditional events, explaining that it allows her team to support communication needs for their clients. For example, one client’s quarterly incentive program offered attendees a choice of merchandise as well as virtual event and live event options, each with different dates, locations, and features. They needed to manage this complex program while maintaining a seamless experience for both the client and the attendees. “Our solution was to use Cvent to communicate the details of the program through emails and the program website, which the Registration tool allows us to do by easily collecting and storing data while allowing the qualifiers to knowledgeably select their gift and event,” Olivia explains. “We use internal information, data tags, and session emails to ensure that qualifiers are receiving event and gifting information relative to the choices made during registration.”

From there, the Access Portal solution ensured the client could see registration data, individual gift and event selections, and total summaries in real time. Access Portal allows stakeholders access to event reports, survey data, and other detailed information that is automatically synced from integrated Cvent solutions. FUSION can use Access Portal to provide visibility based on individual user profiles, which means every stakeholder views only the data that is most relevant and specific to their needs. Moreover, the data is centralized in a single source of truth, making it easier to access that data at any time.

Powering engaging event experiences with the Cvent Attendee Hub

To create a seamless experience for virtual and in-person audiences alike, the FUSION team appreciates the power of the Attendee Hub platform and native Mobile Event App. Though they first utilized the platform solely for virtual events during the pandemic, they’ve since leveraged the Attendee Hub for a large number of hybrid and in-person events. “When we started, Cvent had clearly done a ton of work already towards Attendee Hub,” Tanya explains. “We used it right away for large events, and we had no issues with it and we’ve been very happy with it since then.”

The Attendee Hub and native Event App together keep attendees engaged and informed across the event lifecycle, whether they attend virtually via a web browser or access the platform through their phone. Attendee Hub allows attendees to easily build their agenda, view session and speaker details, and stay up to date with push notifications. They can also connect with their peers through integrated networking functionality such as one-to-one attendee messaging, attendee recommendations, discussions, and more.

The mobile app also provides attendees a personalized experience where they can build and edit their agenda, reference session materials, access sponsor and exhibitor information, and view speaker details. Engagement features like live polling, chat, and Q&A allow attendees to participate in real time. They can also provide feedback through embedded surveys and, when combined with engagement scoring, this gives event organizers a more complete view of attendee interests and feedback. This data also ensures FUSION’s clients can provide tailored follow-up post-event. In addition, on-demand videos mean attendees will continue to engage with the content after the close of the event to extend the event lifecycle.

Scalable venue sourcing with the Cvent Supplier Network

As a small team, FUSION also credits the benefit of using automated technology to power scalable growth. In particular, the Cvent Supplier Network (CSN) allows their team to manage sourcing across their client events without having dedicated resources. “We’re a small but mighty team, and we’ll continue growing, but right now we don’t have a dedicated sourcing team,” explains FUSION’s Director of Event Account Management. “The biggest thing for us is having a one-stop shop and Cvent serves us in that way, so allowing us to input what we need down to the tiniest details and get back all the RFPs has been really beneficial.”

The team appreciates the ability to centralize RFP data and track historical rate information to help increase efficiencies. As a global network comprised of over 300,000 venues, CSN also automates communication with NSO/GSO contacts worldwide in order to aggregate the most competitive rates and optimize sourcing activity. “One of the things that’s really nice is the ability to go in and look up meeting space and see the dimensions, so we’re getting the consistency of the comparison in the Cvent Supplier Network,” adds Tanya. They’re also able to provide automated analytics and reporting to their clients to demonstrate cost savings. “Having the ability to go in and gather the information quickly only enables us to have better turnaround times and deliver consistent information across the board."

Executing flawless onsite experiences with Cvent’s Onsite Solutions

Onsite, FUSION leverages Cvent’s Onsite Solutions to create seamless in-person experiences for their client’s attendees. This includes using OnArrival for a quick check-in experience, whether at the registration desk or at standalone mobile kiosks. This not only eliminates long lines, but mitigates the need to pre-print badges, which often results in wasted badge stock that directly impacts costs. Session scanning and attendance tracking through RFID or NFC badges not only capture session attendance, but allow FUSION’s clients to monitor capacity and track attendance in real time via the OnArrival app.

In fact, FUSION has extended their knowledge of Onsite Solutions to become one of the first companies involved in the Onsite Solutions training and certification process, noting they currently have more certified members than any other company. This allows their team to support large client events onsite using the tool themselves. “We not only have the knowledge and skills needed to print badges, but we understand how the mechanics work so we can manage it from start to finish for our clients,” notes Olivia. Tanya adds, “This opportunity that Cvent has given us to be certified in this product is not only good ROI for us, but it’s also good for our customers.”

RESULTS

Leading the industry through an empowered partnership

Maintaining strong industry knowledge and engagement is a key differentiator for the entire FUSION team. “We like to be involved in all the things Cvent has going on because it’s great for training, learning, and seeing what’s coming down the pipeline,” insists Olivia. “That includes Cvent Academy, especially for partners.” By leveraging a variety of training and certification options, the FUSION team is able to stay ahead of the curve with industry trends and maintain a strong sense of knowledge about Cvent solutions. Tanya says every employee is certified within 90 days of their start date as these certifications show the strength of their knowledge in Cvent. She insists, “It does set us apart.”

Team members standing in front of a sign that says FUSION outdoors

As understanding and proving ROI is a key tenet of FUSION’s business model, seeing the return on their investment in event technology is important. They’ve managed over 150 events in the last year with Cvent alone, and track an impressive 75% conversion rate in Cvent. To date, FUSION has managed over 485 events and 35,000 registrations with Cvent. Tanya credits the relationship with their Cvent team as one reason FUSION is excited to continue growing their partnership. She says, “I really felt like Cvent cares, and they not only ask for our feedback, but document that feedback and take action to make things better.” Tanya adds that she felt Cvent leadership “really took us seriously,” and that “even the recent business models that Cvent is making shows us they care about our industry as a third-party events agency.”

LOOKING FORWARD

The FUSION team is looking forward to the exciting new opportunities that are on the horizon for the business as they continue to expand their Cvent partnership. As they look towards the future, Tanya is thrilled with FUSION’s continued growth. “FUSION has been in organic growth mode for the last ten years, and we’re increasing twenty, thirty plus percent per year,” she says. “We’re really excited about new client acquisition and continuing to show people our expertise as a business.”