Mobile vs. Paper
Over the past year 79% of C2Auctions’ clients chose a mobile bidding platform to support their auction fundraising, and that percentage has been growing for several years. Why go mobile?
Physical proximity, engage with multiple items
Autobid functionalities
Engage remote bidders
Avoid mistakes and conflicts
Is there still a place for paper bidding?
1. It’s All About the Benjamins
For most nonprofits, justifying the upfront cost and additional expense to implement a new technology is probably the biggest concern. Mobile bidding allows you to streamline the bidding procesS, invite people who are not able to attend your event, and allow people to engage with multiple items up until the last second.
Paper bidding also has the advantage of being more affordable. You might not be ready to go mobile if your audience is more mature or has strong prefences.
2. Better Bidding Experience for Your Donors
Based on a survey conducted by Bidding for Good, 39% of bidders at silent auctions using paper bidding cited “fighting the crowd” as the biggest drawback of their experience while 29% “didn’t like it when they didn’t know they had been outbid.” The key reason for using technology is to increase revenues while making it easier for the bidders.
Sometimes when the bidding tables get crowded, it takes a while for people to browse through the items and decide on which items they want to bid. With the app, donors can bid from wherever they are in the room while socializing with other guests.
3. Collect and Analyze Data from Your Donors with Less Error and Effort
Mobile-bidding apps record all the participant information and bidding data for you automatically. Your staff no longer needs to collect data manually and record each entry into a spreadsheet or database. Aside from saving a lot of time, digitizing the process also significantly reduces the threat of human error. Some mobile bidding apps also provide advanced post-event reports that provide organizations with useful insights for planning their next events. GiveSmart’s post event reports generates all of the information the staff needs to thank every donor for their contribution. The data collected through the app can help organizations make informed decisions about future guest lists, bidding items and event planning, to make the next event even more successful.
Mobile Bidding Software Providers
Currently, there are many different software packages available that provide mobile bidding service to non-profits C2Auctions is willing to work with any technology but we have working relationships with AuctionMaestro for paper bidding and recommend OneCause and GiveSmart for clients ready to go mobile.