Outdoor and lifestyle brands face fierce competition, and earning customer loyalty now depends on delivering authentic, memorable experiences. Measuring the impact of these efforts and using them for growth, however, can be tough. This guide shows how Experience Management Software (EMS) helps turn your brand experiences into measurable revenue, valuable first-party data, and a foundation for lasting customer advocacy. Let’s explore why EMS is a must-have tool for staying ahead in today’s experience-driven market.
Why Outdoor & Lifestyle Brands Can’t Skip Experience Management Software
With privacy rules tightening and digital clutter growing, direct brand experiences offer a powerful way to connect with consumers. In the outdoor and lifestyle space, companies like The North Face, Arc'teryx, and Salomon are focusing on community-driven events to engage customers and build their brand, moving away from just product-focused marketing.
This change reflects a new way of creating value. Customers aren’t only buying gear, they’re buying into a lifestyle, an identity, and a community tied to adventure. Authentic stories and creative events help these brands stand out.
But this shift brings challenges that old marketing tools can’t solve. Here are the main issues outdoor brands face:
- Disjointed systems for booking, scheduling, payments, and customer tracking lead to manual errors and inconsistent experiences.
- Proving the financial impact of events is hard without clear data, making budget approvals for premium experiences difficult.
- Most event tools only collect basic info from the person booking, missing deeper insights from other attendees.
- Turning memorable moments into lasting customer relationships is tricky without follow-up and personalized strategies.
Want to turn these challenges into strengths? Schedule a demo with AnyRoad to see how tailored EMS can elevate your customer engagement.
What Is Experience Management Software? Key Features and Benefits
Experience Management Software moves beyond basic event planning to a data-focused approach for experiential marketing. It’s a unified platform that handles planning, execution, analysis, and improvement of brand experiences, all while prioritizing customer data ownership.
Unlike simple booking or event tools, EMS treats every interaction as a chance to gather insights, build stronger connections, and achieve real business results. For outdoor brands, this means turning trail runs, gear demos, or meetups into valuable assets.
Streamline Operations with Experience Management Tools
Managing diverse events like gear demos or large festivals can get complex. EMS acts as a central hub to create and oversee all types of experiences from one platform, ensuring consistency and efficiency.
Automated scheduling, resource allocation, and staff coordination cut down on manual work. This lets teams focus on delivering standout experiences that leave a lasting impression on customers.
Elevate Guest Experiences While Capturing Key Data
A smooth, branded guest journey matters, and EMS ensures it starts before the event and extends afterward. Custom booking systems integrate into your website, keeping your brand at the forefront without sending users to third-party sites.
On-site, mobile tools like the AnyRoad Front Desk app handle check-ins, payments, and digital waivers, creating an efficient process. Data collection goes beyond basics, using custom questions to uncover attendee preferences, satisfaction, and buying intent. Features like FullView capture details from everyone in a group, not just the lead booker.
Compliance tools, such as ID scanning for age verification, also help meet regulations, especially for events with alcohol or age limits common in outdoor settings.
Turn Data into Decisions with Atlas Insights
Atlas Insights analyzes event data to deliver actionable business intel. It goes beyond attendance numbers to track metrics like Brand Affinity, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and purchase intent for outdoor brands.
AI tools process feedback instantly, highlighting themes and areas for improvement. You can filter data by event type, location, or demographics to see what works for different audiences, helping refine your strategy across markets.
Build Lasting Loyalty with Targeted Tools
Experiences can turn one-time customers into advocates. Since acquiring new customers costs more than retaining existing ones, loyalty through events is a smart financial move. Increasing retention by just 5% can lift profits significantly.
Post-event incentives via SMS encourage purchases, with tracking to measure revenue impact. Using detailed data, brands can send personalized follow-ups, building a loyal community and boosting Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV).
Connect Seamlessly with Your Tech Stack
EMS fits into your existing systems, ensuring event data supports wider operations. It integrates with CRM tools like Salesforce, marketing platforms like Klaviyo, e-commerce systems like Shopify, and more.
APIs and webhooks allow custom connections, automating workflows and enriching customer profiles. This keeps experiential data tied to your overall customer insights, not stuck in silos.
Curious how EMS integrations can enhance your data? Book a demo with AnyRoad to see the impact on your marketing and sales.
How to Implement EMS Effectively for Your Outdoor Brand
Getting the most from EMS takes more than just installing software. You need to align it with your business goals and ensure it improves how you deliver experiences.
Should You Build or Buy an EMS Solution?
Building a custom system for experiential marketing sounds appealing but involves high costs and complexity. Creating booking, payment, analytics, and mobile tools in-house can take years, pulling focus from core operations.
A dedicated EMS like AnyRoad provides tested features, scalability, and reliability. It’s built for outdoor brands’ needs, like managing weather-dependent events or tracking gear demos, without the burden of constant updates.
Track the Right Metrics for Success
Measuring experiential marketing means looking beyond headcounts. Focus on engagement quality, like interaction depth or post-event activity. Track brand perception with NPS, affinity shifts, and feedback sentiment.
Financial results matter too. Monitor direct sales from events, CLTV growth among participants, and overall return on investment. Long-term loyalty shows in repeat attendance, cross-selling, and advocacy behaviors.
Get Your Team Ready for Change
EMS touches multiple teams, from marketing to operations. Marketing staff need training on data analysis and campaign tweaks. Operations should adapt workflows for on-site tools and logistics.
Leadership must understand timelines, resources, and expected results. Customer service teams benefit from experiential data to offer better, tailored support.
Avoid Common Mistakes in EMS Rollout
Even prepared teams can stumble. Don’t focus only on booking leads, missing data from other attendees. Ensure event data integrates with marketing and sales systems.
Follow up after events to sustain relationships. Use real-time insights from EMS to adjust on the fly, rather than waiting until events end to review performance.
Real Results: AnyRoad Success with Outdoor & Lifestyle Brands
Seeing EMS in action shows its value. These examples highlight how outdoor brands use AnyRoad to achieve concrete outcomes.
Growing Loyalty Programs with a 75% Conversion Rate
A major outdoor retailer used AnyRoad to expand its loyalty program during events, gathering 15,000 guest records. Of these, 9,000 joined as new members, and 3,000 confirmed existing status, hitting a 75% conversion rate.
AnyRoad’s detailed data collection and seamless integration with loyalty systems made personalized follow-ups easy, driving this success.
Scaling Event Budgets with Solid Data
Another global brand started with 12 small events, using AnyRoad analytics to track engagement and results. The insights justified doubling their budget, leading to their largest event ever.
Combining hard numbers and AI-analyzed feedback provided undeniable proof of ROI, supporting bigger investments.
Turning Activations into Advocacy for a Footwear Brand
An iconic footwear brand worked with Eventus Outdoor and AnyRoad for festival activations like Tuck Fest. They aimed to build deeper ties with outdoor fans and measure outcomes.
Using hands-on hikes and product demos, backed by AnyRoad’s registration, surveys, and real-time data, they collected over 1,000 records, achieved a 100% marketing opt-in rate, an NPS of 77, and a 60% conversion rate to future purchases.
Feedback like, "First outing with this brand, and I’ll definitely try them again," showed genuine connection. AnyRoad’s AI insights helped refine future events.
Ready to see similar wins for your brand? Schedule a demo with AnyRoad to learn how EMS can deliver results.
Why Choose AnyRoad? Comparing EMS Options
With various EMS tools out there, knowing the differences helps outdoor brands pick the best fit for experiential marketing.
Understanding the EMS Market
Generic booking platforms like FareHarbor focus on scheduling but lack deep data tools. Ticketing systems like Eventbrite prioritize sales over relationship-building. CRMs offer broad customer tracking but need heavy customization for event-specific needs.
Other tools, like Acuity Scheduling or Accesso, handle narrow tasks but often miss the full scope required for strategic engagement through experiences.
How AnyRoad Stands Apart
Feature / Characteristic | AnyRoad | Booking Solutions (e.g., FareHarbor) | Ticketing Platforms (e.g., Eventbrite) | Generic CRMs |
Primary Focus | Experiential Marketing, Data, Loyalty | Booking Efficiency | Event Sales, Demand | General Customer Management |
First-Party Data Capture | Comprehensive for All Attendees | Limited, Varies | Varies, May Support | Basic, Not Event-Specific |
ROI Measurement | Advanced with AI (NPS, Affinity) | Basic Metrics | Varies, Some Analytics | Needs Customization |
Tailored for Experiences | Yes, Built for Brand Events | Yes, but Limited Scope | Yes, for Public Events | No, Broad Focus |
Brand Control | Full Website Integration | Varies, May Offer | Varies, May Support | Not Applicable |
Loyalty Tools | Built-In Conversion, Follow-Up | Minimal or None | Varies, Some Tools | Needs Add-Ons |
AI Insights | Yes, for Feedback Analysis | No | Varies, Some Features | No Native Tools |
AnyRoad’s Edge: Brand and Data Focus
AnyRoad prioritizes helping brands own the customer journey with robust data collection and AI-driven insights. Its white-labeled booking keeps users on your site, while tools like FullView gather info from all attendees.
Integration with existing systems ensures event data boosts overall marketing and sales, making AnyRoad a specialized choice for experience management.
Common Questions About EMS for Outdoor Brands
How Does EMS Improve ROI Measurement?
EMS goes beyond counting attendees to evaluate true business impact. AnyRoad tracks shifts in brand affinity, NPS, and purchase intent through surveys and AI feedback analysis, connecting events to sales with post-event offer tracking.
What First-Party Data Can EMS Collect?
EMS gathers detailed info like demographics, preferences, feedback, and buying intent from all attendees, not just bookers. This data helps outdoor brands personalize marketing, guide product development, and segment audiences effectively.
How Does EMS Support Long-Term Loyalty?
EMS creates consistent brand experiences and collects data for tailored engagement. Post-event offers via SMS drive sales, while tracking identifies likely repeat customers, strengthening emotional ties over time.
Can EMS Work with Existing Tools?
Yes, AnyRoad connects with CRMs like Salesforce, marketing tools like Klaviyo, and e-commerce systems like Shopify. APIs ensure data flows smoothly, avoiding silos and enhancing customer profiles.
Why Is EMS Especially Useful for Outdoor Brands?
Outdoor brands sell a lifestyle, making authentic experiences vital. EMS optimizes complex events like gear demos, while measuring satisfaction fuels word-of-mouth growth in passionate communities.
Maximize Your Experiential Marketing with EMS
For outdoor and lifestyle brands, meaningful experiences set you apart in a crowded market. As digital overload grows and privacy rules shift, connecting through events is critical for growth and loyalty.
Experience Management Software unlocks this potential by turning interactions into data and relationship opportunities. AnyRoad provides a full solution with efficient operations, deep analytics, and loyalty tools to drive revenue.
Brands achieving high conversion rates, larger budgets, and strong NPS scores prove EMS works. Ready to make your events a key asset? Schedule a demo with AnyRoad today to see how EMS can elevate your experiential marketing.