How to improve attendee experience with a smooth registration process

It is known that in business the first impression can be a deal-breaker, especially if you are a small company trying to work your way up. But does this rule apply to the event management industry? Do you think that an attendee’s first impression about your conference can affect your business? Well, the answer is yes!

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And even though it’s fair to say that the very first impression may occur when a customer tries to buy a ticket, let’s talk about the greeting and the registration process (and how to make sure that your attendees feel welcome).

Here are some insights:

Use the right software

It is impossible to ensure a smooth process if you need 3 minutes to check in or register each attendee. Here are some things you might do to welcome your guests: search each guest by name, look for their printed badge, collect their data. All these things add up to the registration time. But if you use an effective app, you just need to scan a barcode or a qr code to identify and welcome your guest. Here’s what you might do afterwards: check in, collect data into your database and have the badge ready for print. Easy enough when you have the right tools.

Make sure everything is functional

As Kelsey Ogletree said, technology has a dark side and I think it’s safe to say that a registration system crashing in the morning of your event falls into the not-so-bright category  . This is why you should always triple check your registration systems prior to your big event (and all the switches/cable). And also make sure that everyone who is involved in the registration process is well trained in using the registration software.

Divide the check in process into tasks

If you want to save some time with the registration process (and who doesn’t?) you should encourage the registration team to work with predefined tasks. For example, here’s a way of splitting responsibilities among three team members:

    1. One staff member scanned the ticket and verified access credentials
    1. One staff member printed the badge
  1. One staff member assisted attendees with the wristbands

The result? It takes a lot less time to check in/register each guest.

And some more tips for a perfect start:

Keep your team informed

Make sure your staff members know the basic information an attendee could ask (where is the wardrobe, where are the restrooms, which stairs to use – if there are any etc). On the other hand it’s wise to have an info point with permanent assistance for more specific questions and/or complaints (although you might think everything is in place – and maybe it is – chances are your guests will be at times in need of assistance).

Check in has it’s peak point.  Adapt

Keep in mind  that technology cannot solve all issues, so for the registration peak point you should open some extra check in points (most of your attendees will arrive 30 minutes prior to the start, so make sure you have some extra registration points in the first part of the day). Afterwards you can close some of them and your team members can focus on different tasks.

Take care of your team

Let me just quote sir Richard Branson on this one: “The way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers”. Make sure your team is fully prepared, motivated AND happy (yes, it is hard work, but you can still have fun doing it). Your attendees will be greeted with a big natural smile and that’s always the best way for them to start the day, and they are more likely to overlook any shortcomings that may occur later.

Not everyone will respect the schedule

Some of the participants may arrive earlier than expected: some traveled from out of town and came directly to the venue, some are just impatient and some misread the schedule… Don’t forget they are your guests, so treat them right. Ask them in, offer them a cup of coffee/water and explain that they will have to wait for registration. Keep in mind this is a very important part of your customer care process.

Water and coffee for everybody

Make sure you have plenty of water and coffee for all your attendees. It is best you let them accommodate with a welcome coffee; you will also need coffee breaks every 2 hours or so, otherwise your attendees will lose their focus.

If you host a full day event you be sure to include a lunch break in the schedule (if you don’t cater the lunch at least offer some information about restaurants nearby).

Don’t be afraid to get creative

Let’s admit it: we all love cool stuff. So do yourself a favor and use a cool badge (use a registration software that offers you this feature)  and nice colored wristbands. Trust me, your attendees will notice your attention for detail and will help you spread the word about your “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” event  by posting photos on social media.

There are many aspects that you must have in mind when planning an event, from the speakers  list to venue and suppliers. But don’t forget that the registration process is a an important part of your guest’s overall experience and keep in mind that a very good first impression works wonders.

May 31, 2017 Access management, Business events No comments yet

Top 7 ways to increase event registrations to your conference

Everything is planned for your event – speakers, schedule, catering, and location. All you have left to do is start registering attendees to your event and this is not an easy task. You have to make your event stand out in the crowd and convince people to spend money on registrations. Therefore, here are some proven tactics to increase your sales, especially when you’re using the right event registration software.

1. Set up your pricing strategy

Before setting a price for your event registration, take time to research what other prices are on the market. Don’t go way over the average price, even if you’re planning for an wonderful event and you have great speakers and a diverse schedule. Also, don’t go too low, because that will position your event as a low quality one. A good idea is to have a high, but affordable price, and offer some discounts, every now and then.

2. Early bird or last minute event registrations

Set a date until attendees can register at a lower cost. This way, you encourage potential attendees to register to your events sooner, so they can receive a better pricing. One other tip is selling last minute registration, at a great cost, but make sure you do this very close to the event. Don’t start the last minute campaign too early, because you will discourage people registering in advance, in the future. A good idea is to sell last minute registrations two or maximum three days prior to your event.

3. Reach out to former attendees

If your event is recurrent a good way to build a strong attendee base is to announce the event to your former attendees. If they attended once in the past and they’ve enjoyed the experience, they are more likely to register again. To increase your chances, you can offer them a discount or a special gift – for example, you can give them free access to a special conference during your event or maybe access to a welcome-drink with the speakers. It’s up to you how you choose to reward them for their loyalty.

4. Ask for help from partners

Ask your partners to promote your event. They don’t have to do anything complicated: Facebook posts are a great way to engage their audience. Imagine that: if you have 10 partners for your events and they all share it on social media, 10 different communities will find out about your event, so your chances of people buying tickets increase greatly.

5. Fuel sales with employee contests

So you plan an event and have a team of, let’s say, 15 people working on this project. Challenge them. You can make a fun contest for the team: each of them can become an event ambassador and help with sales and registrations. The one with the most registrants brought on board will win a prize of your choice: a gym membership, a day at the spa or anything that you know your employees may want – of course, at a reasonable price. Or you can even hand out prizes with low costs: a free day or an work-at-home day, a better desk for the winner, a new chair or a new set of headphones. The point is to make it fun for the team and build up event awareness with the help of the people closest to the planning.

6. Go full digital with the perfect online tool

A good idea for handling registrations is going full digital. Use an online event registration software, such as Oveit. Oveit is a cloud tool that allows event organizers to manage events, registration data, customer relationship and cash flow. Oveit runs embedded on your website and implementation is as easy as copy and paste! You get multiple marketing options and an easy way of handling sales, managing your team and finances.

7. Distribute your message on Social Media

Your social media pages need to be constantly updated. You can post news about your event, live videos showing the preparations and short interviews with the speakers. You can also offer  some small (or larger) contests, where you an offer discount for the registrations, or advertise on social media, a good way to target your potential attendees.

November 4, 2016 Business events, Event management, Event professionals, Events No comments yet