is crowdsourced event, wedding & meeting planning coming?

We’ve seen crowdsourced graphic design, crowdsourced recruiting and, yes, even crowdsourced sales forces. Is it so hard to believe that we’ll be seeing crowdsourced event, wedding and meeting planning some time very soon?

What is crowdsourcing?

The idea behind crowdsourcing is that tasks, normally done by employees or contractors, are outsourced to a community of people. I blogged about how Event Solutions magazine used crowdsourcing to plan elements of their Awards ceremony. I also talked about how Event Planners could use the crowd to create elevated event experiences. But to date, I haven’t talked about how crowdsourcing may challenge the shape and scope of our industry.

The reality

Every one of the industries I mentioned in my intro had a large number of practitioners who said that their job couldn’t possibly be crowdsourced. Having come from the branding & design industry, which has seen an explosion of sites dedicated to helping you find a logo, name or website for a few hundred dollars, I can tell you that there are many who still fight the idea that these sites can survive. But they do and, some might even argue, thrive.

For many clients the idea of crowdsourcing is mouth watering, because:

• it’s inexpensive when compared to hiring an agency; not to mention, you set the price
• it can show companies a supplier’s creativity before having to commit to giving them the project
• it gives companies a breadth of ideas to choose from
• it helps companies connect with suppliers they might otherwise have never heard of – either because they’re not on the company’s radar or they’re located in another city or state or country
• it’s an easy process

Project segmentation

For companies that have seen budgets shrink, timelines dissipate or for small businesses that have limited supplies of both, crowdsourcing can seem like the holy grail. But it’s not for every company. Many companies want a supplier that knows their business inside and out, they want consistency in creativity, strategy and customer service. They want assurity that the supplier they’re dealing with is experienced, respected and trusted. They want to know that if anything goes wrong they have someone who can resolve the problem. They want someone they can call anytime and anywhere. They want peace of mind.

However, before you think that the type of clients you work with may not be into crowdsourced solutions, ponder this. Some projects warrant high spend – perhaps they have more on the line, perhaps they’re more challenging, or maybe they simply have a big budget assigned to them. Some projects don’t. A client may segment their projects accordingly. Even if you have a great relationship, even if you know the client inside and out, you may find a client saying this project is just too straightforward for your expertise. Even very large companies are using crowdsourcing for some projects, agencies for others.

How to prepare for crowdsourcing

Ask yourself whether…

1. The types of clients you have may be tempted by the benefits of crowdsourcing
2. There are parts of your job that could be crowdsourced
3. You are offering desired value to your customers that is hard to duplicate
4. You can take advantage of crowdsourcing yourself (in other words, consider whether you can use these services to amplify your offering to your customers)

One of the most important questions to ask yourself is if crowdsourcing becomes a competitor to your business, how will you respond?

Weigh in

Do you think that crowdsourcing will impact our industry? If so, how?