Launch your next awards program in under an hour with Evalato’s pre-made templates and intuitive design.
Truth be told, there’s no best solution out there, only the right solution for that you need. But we believe with Evalato we’ve developed the one that ticks all the right boxes. When choosing a new software solution, one needs to do objective research before making a decision. So with this guide, we're giving you a tested methodology on how to pick the solution that’s right for you. It will provide you with a comprehensive list of things to pay close attention to and will point out some pitfalls you’ll want to avoid.
When starting a research for any software product, you usually feel overwhelmed by tens of options you’re flooded with. Or simply don’t know where to look for the right solution. Apart from the obligatory Google search you’ll most probably do, we’d advise you to also:
That’s only to scratch the surface, though.It’s more important to know what you should be looking for in an awards management platform so that you can compare the different solutions.
The (right) features - naturally, that’s number one on our list - the features you need to manage your awards in a better and easier way.
The price - one of the most important decision-making factors, especially for small and medium awards and programs.
When choosing your awards management platform, your goal is obvious - opt for the best value-for-money solution that offers the features you need. To help you out with your choice, here’s a quick sum-up of the different pricing models out there:
Here at Evalato we don't want to restrict you in any way so we offer unlimited admin seats, unlimited judges seats, unlimited forms and fields, unlimited files and storage and unlimited 5-star support no matter which plan you choose.
The ease-of-use - the point of any software is to make your work (and life) simpler. When it comes to awards management software that should apply to the experience of your applicants and jury members too. The ease-of-use is where Evalato undoubtedly steals the limelight. You can literally set up your next award competitions in minutes without any prior demo or training.
If the awards management solution you consider opting for requires training or a person charged with onboarding you, that’s a sure sign it’s not that intuitive. And, not that we want to brag about it (ok, maybe just a little bit) but recently Evalato was awarded "Easiest to use", "Easiest setup", "Easiest admin" and "Best usability" by G2 – one of the leading business software discovery and recommendation platforms.
The level of customization - now, that’s a pretty important factor for 2 main reasons:
Luckily, with Evalato you can enjoy various customization and branding options. In fact, Evalato is the only solution that offers the option to embed a totally customizable registration form into your own website. Thus you get an uninterrupted experience. Of course, we also offer the option to create an awards webpage as well as custom or vanity domain options.The customer support - behind every great software, there’s great customer support. Good customer support includes various tools to help you find your way around like: detailed help docs, option for a live demo and of course, live chat (with real people, not a bot!).
An awards management software is a true life-saver for any program manager. As such it must have lots of useful features. We cannot list them all here but we’ll stress on the ones you cannot do without if you want to truly automate and streamline your work as an awards manager and watch your awards thrive.
An easy application process is actually the result of a few interrelated features. It comprises of quick and easy online registration and individual online working portals allowing applicants to save their entry drafts and resume work whenever they want. That’s a guarantee for an increase not only in the quantity but the quality of the entries you receive (tried and confirmed by Evalato users)
A huge time-saver you can’t do without. With Evalato, for example, you have already set email templates for successful registration, successful payment, canceled registration and new judge invitation. You can customize them as you wish at any time. You can also create emails for pending submission or judges reminder or for submission sent/accepted/ rejected/shortlisted. When the conditions are met, Evalato sends them for you - you do nothing. On top of that, you’ve got the option for custom emails.
A major feature when it comes to awards management platforms. The software you choose should allow for your evaluation method to be easily set up and implemented. Evalato, for instance, allows for multiple judging rounds, each with its own set of customizable rules. It has various voting options: popularity voting, simple review option, points voting and score voting. You can even run a public voting contest with social media or Google login. When looking into the evaluation features of a certain awards management solution, make sure it’s easy to assign entries to the judges for reviewing and that they’re provided with a personal online judging portal.
If you’re like us - a result-oriented freak, you will not only love, but insist on having real-time analytics & reports. Evalato allows you to keep track of and monitor entry volume and status, judging progress & evaluation results and results from special offers through easy-to-scan real-time dashboards. Thus you can react quickly if something is not running as planned. You can also see what works and what doesn’t when it comes to your marketing efforts. That’s a tested formula for both the smooth-running and growth of your awards competition.
Last but not least, the features that help you boost your sales by a lot - promo codes, special offers and conversion triggers. Imagine them being set up, managed, shown and used through your awards management platform.
Evalato is the awards management software that provides a registration form where all those special offers and conversion triggers are displayed to entice and make those sales happen! You can:
If your awards marketing strategy is based on dynamic pricing, Evalato is definitely your one-stop shop.
Are your data and that of your applicants safe with this service? We live in a world where this is arguably a joke...
So, you need to make sure your and your customers’ data is safe with the awards management solution you choose. Evalato is designed with hands down the best security practices to keep data safe. Before making up your mind about the software to manage your awards, check:
Does the software integrate with other services and apps you use? That way, you can literally streamline all your work. Apart from the obligatory Google Analytics integration, Evalato also connects to 2000+ apps via Zapier, allowing you to automate your tasks and speed up your work.
Do the entry fees you collect go directly to your bank account?
We believe that your money should go straight into your bank account. Evalato doesn’t hold your money and don’t charge you any fees from payment gateways.
Does the awards management platform provide different payment methods? An online payment method is a must but bank transfers and a custom payment method are definitely a big plus and unlike most similar solutions, Evalato provides them all.
Does it have the localization options you need? It’s really important for your awards management platform to “speak” the language of your entrants - they’d appreciate it! Evalato supports almost any language out there and all currencies available.
Once, you’ve done your basic research, shortlist 2-3 top solutions on the basis of key factors and features, comes the most important part - test them. And I don’t mean just a demo, where a sales guy has set up everything for you and shows you quickly how it works.
I mean test it yourself! That’s the only way to see what will work for you and if the platform you’ve chosen “on paper” is truly intuitive and robust enough. We’d also advise you to invite other members of your team to try the platform as well so that you all test how you can collaborate when working with it. With us you get unlimited free testing of Evalato - no credit card required or risk involved.
Our Co-Founder Simona put it best: “We’re so confident in our product that we offer unlimited free testing of the platform!”Now you know the ins and outs of choosing an awards management software, go ahead and test Evalato for free for as long as you need.
