Navigating Important Event Analytics Hidden in Your Registration Site

  • Event Management
Navigating Important Event Analytics Hidden in Your Registration Site

Event analytics can be found in obvious and not-so-obvious places. One undervalued place is your registration data. Buried inside your event technology platform is a whole constellation of event registration analytics just waiting for you to explore. And you won’t believe the kinds of insights waiting for you there. For instance, information that can help you improve your marketing and event planning efforts. Also, data that can help increase your overall registration, both for your current event and in the development of future event marketing campaigns.

Event Analytics in the Registration Funnel

First things first when it comes to event analytics. Visitors pour in to your site from your event marketing. Your goal is to turn as many of these people as possible into event attendees by enticing them to register for your event. If at least 25-30% of your visitors become registrants, then you are doing great! This percentage is known as the registration conversion rate, and obviously you want this to be as high as possible.

But there are a few steps along the way to reaching the goal of a solid conversion rate. First, many visitors to your event website will never do more than lurk around for a while. Fair enough. Next, some will venture a little further into the registration funnel and begin the process of signing up for your event. Great! These are people who are interested in your event and responding well to your event landing page.

Should You Forget About Incomplete Registrations?

Now, here’s where we hit the next level. Some of those folks mentioned above will go all the way to the end of the registration process and become fully registered event attendees. Ding ding ding!!!! Success! But a fair amount will abandon the process part of the way through. This could be for a number of reasons including:

  • The instructions were not clear
  • Th user realized the event wasn’t really for them
  • They discovered that the pricing was too high for their budget

In any case, these incomplete registrations become the next part in your registration funnel. You can address the abandoned or incomplete registrations by reaching out directly to these folks in a series of emails. For instance, gentle reminders that their registration hasn’t been completed yet. Another option is to offer assistance with the process. Lastly, you could even offer a reduced rate to entice them to commit to your event.

Studies have shown that a concerted effort at targeting these abandoned registrations through personalized outreach can convert at least 20% of your incomplete registrations to completed. It’s a fairly easy way to boost attendance among the people who have already shown interest in your event. This is often much easier than trying to find new potential attendees who don’t already know about your event.

Event Analytics Insights

Examine your registration conversion rate and launch a campaign to re-energize incomplete registrations through direct outreach to improve your event analytics. A strong re-engagement campaign is definitely worth the time and energy. It will likely boost attendance at your current event and it will give you plenty of actionable data to apply to all your future events.

Here Are Some Tips To Improve Conversions:

If your conversion rate is low, then perhaps you haven’t targeted your audience properly. 

Have you properly identified and effectively reached out to the correct buyer personas for your brand? Is your social media messaging on point? If your conversion rate is exceedingly low, then it would pay to revisit these aspects of your marketing campaign to ensure that you have focused your efforts in the right place.

Take another look at your event website, and in particular your event landing page. 

Is it well written, clear, accurate, and exciting? Does it inspire you to want to get on board and register for this fabulous event right away? If not, then see how you can improve the content until it really shines.

Review and test your pricing

Is it possible that you have overpriced your market? If you think this could be a factor, then you can try offering a discounted rate to your incomplete registrations and see what kind of a response you get. If more than 20% of the people you contact register after the price has dropped, then you can bet that was a key factor in them not completing the registration process in the first place.

Event Analytics Takeaways

Your event management software is designed to not only perform a key role in the event planning process, it’s designed to give you feedback in the form of analytics to help you iterate your process as you go along, and learn lessons for future events. Event planners take heed, you have a great tool at your disposal to help you boost attendance at your events, as long as you take the time to respond to the information it gives you.

For more information on how Attendease can help you make the most of a robust event website, contact us here.

It’s not you, it’s me: The psychology of breaking up with a vendor

  • Event Management News
It’s not you, it’s me: The psychology of breaking up with a vendor

Breaking up is never easy, no matter if we are talking about a romantic relationship or a business one. While we don’t have the credentials to help you end a romantic relationship, we have heard many broken heart stories of event professionals who tied the knot with the wrong tech provider and went through hardships to put an end to the relationship and look for something better.

Similarly to a romantic relationship, we tend to invest a lot of time into finding the perfect tech match of our dreams: from numerous dating demos to email exchanges and phone calls. When we decide to commit and to make the move, it can be hard to realize that the expectations weren’t quite met. It’s difficult to see it from the outside, but once the relationship gets serious is when we see the ugly and the bad. 

All the effort to dress up and look good during that dating phase are out of the window once you commit and you are left with the sad reality of a dysfunctional tool. Once we get into a routine and spend more time using the technology we realize the gaps and discover that we may have made the wrong decision. 

Some of us may even stick to it for a while, maybe years, because we just accept that perfection is not reachable. After having invested time and money into learning a new system and onboarding an entire team, it can be hard to break up and start the dating process again, but not doing it may cost you even more. Despite the fear of change and the new, we need to take action.

Think of all the efficiencies that could be gained by using a tool that is just right for you. All the headaches that could be avoided if only that tool worked better. There is a perfect match for you out there, and sometimes you just need to take that leap of faith to go find it. We’ve seen it happening, and the relief of leaving and finding something better is one of the most rewarding ones. Looking back, it will all make sense.

Learning from a break up

Once you realize the relationship is not working, you need to spend some time to evaluate why – so the problem doesn’t repeat on your next commitment. Make a list and add all the issues you’ve had with that vendor: whether it is the lack of support, usability issues, or lack of must-have features, you need to identify what went wrong so you can make a better decision next time.

If you started this relationship in the first place, probably not everything is that bad. You should also acknowledge what they did right so you know what features and services are important to you in a future relationship.

Back to dating

In a romantic relationship, you may need time to mourn, but when talking business, you have no time to lose. Before you break up, you should already vet what other technologies may be a good candidate for you. From the list of must-have features you identified, you will be able to learn more about each candidate and choose which one is “the one” for you.

Also, make sure to check online reviews and see how happy other users are with the software you are interested in. After all, past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. Sites like G2Crowd and Capterra are great options to compare software and evaluate customer reviews.

The break-up

Getting a divorce is definitely more complicated than breaking up with a more casual relationship. If you are bonded by a contract you may need to research your options. Some vendors may be open to ending a contract sooner, given they haven’t fulfilled their part of the contract, while others may be more strict. Be strong! This is the hardest part, but it will end soon.

New beginnings

We hope the dating phase doesn’t last too long, but take as much time as needed to make sure you are confident about your new decision. We know how hard it is to be in a bad relationship, but brighter days will come! Focus on the wins that the new relationship will provide you: soon enough you will be in a better place, with better customer support, a stronger set of features that work for you, and a happy team around you.

5 Strategies to Improve Your Virtual Corporate Events

  • Event Management
Virtual Corporate Events

As online events continue to grow, most companies have added more virtual corporate events to their portfolio. By now, we are all mostly well-versed in the online space, but there are ways to take your next virtual event a step further in order to provide an even better event experience. 

Brand Consistency

Most organizations use third-party technology, such as web-conferencing systems or registration tools, to host their virtual events or collect RSVPs. However, relying on third-party software is not a justification for neglecting your branding. It is important to make sure you keep your brand consistent across all touchpoints with your audience, including the email invitation, the event website and registration process, the slideshow, and the web-conference itself. 

Virtual corporate event platforms like EventUp Planner will allow you to keep your brand colors, fonts, images, and more, so you can keep control of your brand on a fully white-labeled experience.

You can go an extra-mile and build a branded background for your speakers as well. Whether you build a real studio for your online events or a virtual background, this will surely make you stand out from the crowd!

Sponsorship Opportunities

When running virtual events, you will need to adapt the sponsorship packages to a new reality. While you are no longer able to share physical banners or sponsor a dinner, online events can offer different types of opportunities with far less cost for the event producer – which can result in more ROI for you!

In addition to showcasing the sponsors on the event website (bring the physical banner to the online space!), you can also have organizations sponsor unique sessions of your multi-session event, include their logos in PDF catalogues and supporting materials, as well as showcase them during your virtual event. 

To go the extra mile, you can produce a short video clip to promote your sponsors before or in-between your sessions. Just like a recorded commercial for TV or YouTube, this pre-recorded video will make your event look even more professional, while also giving your sponsors a reason to love you!

Interactivity

Although fostering interaction online may pose some challenges, there are still ways to engage your audience and make them an integral part of your event.

You can ask questions during the presentation, encourage attendees to participate through chat, create live polls and surveys, and more. Additionally, incentivizing participation by offering prizes for the most engaged can help motivate people to involve.

Use Music to Help Set the Mood

Keeping the energy up for the duration of your online event can be challenging, particularly if it extends beyond a few hours. To help maintain the energy, consider utilizing music to your advantage.

You can use music during breaks between sessions or before introducing new speakers and sessions. You may prepare live music, or pre-record video introductions and break slides in advance.

Networking/ Messaging Capabilities

We can’t deny that one big reason people love events is due to the networking opportunities it provides. Although it can be challenging, it is not impossible to translate these opportunities to the online space.

Whether you provide a directory hall where attendees can browse the profile or fellow event-goers, or connect directly with sponsors and exhibitors to book one-on-one meetings can go a long way. Give power to the people and let them select those they’d like to connect with and book their meetings using online event technology.

Finding the Right Virtual Corporate Events Platform

It can be as simple or as complex as the technology you use allows it to be to run an online event. With EventUp Planner Virtual Studio, you can manage all your events, whether in-person or online, from one unique platform. 

The Virtual Studio is a truly integrated virtual corporate events platform that supports planners in providing a seamless experience to attendees, from start to finish. Now, your virtual events journey doesn’t have to feel like a second class citizen to your in-person events portfolio.

EventUp Planner (formerly Attendease) covers all you need to plan and manage your event including event registration, agenda management, website builder, event marketing, reporting, and more. While the Virtual Studio add-on covers all your virtual events needs. With minimal training and setup, it is easy to get started and launch your first virtual event with EventUp Planner.

If you are ready to see how this can work for you, contact our team to book a discovery call and see if this could be a fit for your event planning needs. 

How to Convince Your Boss That it’s Time to Upgrade Your Event Management System

  • Event Management News
How to Convince Your Boss That it’s Time to Upgrade Your Event Management System

We know how hard it is to get budget approved for new software, but it’s equally difficult to get buy in to switch into a completely different platform. Whether you have outgrown your current system, or feel like your current software is too clunky, considering a new solution may be the best path for you. But how do you get buy in from your team and/ or from your boss? Here are a few answers to prove that changing software is not really a choice, but a normal evolution of business processes — and that it can actually mean increase in ROI too (let’s be honest, it all comes down to $$$).

When you have outgrown your current technology

Many organizations start managing their events using multiple tools that fulfill very specific needs. For example, using a platform just to manage email marketing communications, another tool to manage ticket sales and registrations, and so on. This piecemeal approach may work when you manage few events, but once you start growing your event portfolio, it becomes a daunting process. In addition to giving you the scalability, here are a few more reasons why it makes sense to switch to a more robust event management platform.

Save time

Simple tasks that could be performed with the click of a button may take hours or even days, because of the additional steps that it takes to get things done when using multiple systems.

Here’s an example: you need to send email communications to different segments of people (e.g. people who attended your events before, people who are registered to your current event, people who are on your list but have never been in one of your events before). Using multiple tools that are not integrated means you may need to export new lists every time you need to send an email. Multiply that by the number of emails you send and the number of events you run. How much time are you spending doing something that could be done with the click of a button?

Emails are just one example, but there are many other tasks that may take up a lot of your time today and that could be cut into a few minutes per week, when using the right solution for you.

Improve your brand experience

Companies relying on a simple registration tool are usually unable to provide a branded experience to their audience. That means using third-party sites to collect payment and registrations, which doesn’t include your brand’s logo, URL, color scheme, fonts, and more. Once you upgrade to an all-in-one event management platform, like EventUp Planner (formerly Attendease), you regain control over your brand, which allows you to build fully branded registration websites, emails, and more, all in line with your brand guidelines. 

Empower your workforce

Some systems are so complex, that only a handful of people in the company hold the keys. This,makes the entire team dependant on them, adding a lot of pressure on those who have the knowledge. 

A modern software interface that is easy to learn makes training and staff adoption less cumbersome. Plus, a solution that accommodates collaboration, different levels of security and permission allows event profs to delegate some of the workload to other departments, contractors, freelancers, virtual assistants or interns, only giving them access to the parts of the platform that are relevant to them. Choosing an easy-to-use platform that all can understand and use will not only empower the entire team, but will also foster collaboration and add to employees’ satisfaction.

Make data-driven decisions

How are you tracking performance? Managing Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) from a spreadsheet may not paint a full picture on how your events are doing and it can drain a lot of precious time out of your week. Event management platforms like EventUp Planner can provide you with data visualization dashboards that can pull in information based on the event settings and give you a clear idea of your event’s performance — with no need to search and input numbers into an Exel file. From the number of registrations to revenue generated, capacity limits per session, or attendee satisfaction, an event management platform will provide you with important data to help you make better decisions.

Integration with other platforms, like Google Analytics, social media tracking pixels, and CRM systems, can help to paint the entire picture and give you all the data you need to successfully manage the performance of your events.

Scalability at your fingertips 

As more events are added to the marketing mix, it becomes unrealistic to execute them using human resources alone or using the piecemeal approach we mentioned earlier. Eventually, it will be time to “graduate” to more sophisticated event-specific software in order to achieve scale. 

When managing a large portfolio of events, is important to adopt processes that can help your team work more efficiently, saving time and money. That can include a variety of inputs, such as the ability to clone past events’ settings and websites to create new events. That will save a significant amount of time and will relieve the team from depending on web developers and designers to create new websites from scratch every time there is a new event. Having the data from all events in one unique platform can also assist with the process of scaling, as you can visualize and compare the performance of your events as well as analyze attendee data across multiple-events.

Minimize errors

When you manage your event details from one unique platform, you minimize the occurrence of errors. That’s because all your event data is interconnected, so you don’t need to update the same information in multiple platforms. For example, any change to your event settings using the EventUp Planner platform will automatically push the changes to your event website and event app. That includes change in schedule, speaker, date and time, and more. 

Vetting technologies for your business

In the same way that marketing and sales processes matured with the introduction of marketing automation and robust CRM platforms, it’s easy to imagine that Event Management Software will provide the same lift to event planning. Such newfound visibility will draw even more event tech solutions into the market. To avoid the analysis paralysis that often comes with a flood of offerings, it’s important for companies to expand the criteria for evaluating solutions to include ways that they can be used to empower the company and not just manage events. Here are some things to consider when considering event tech providers:

  • Ability to provide fully-branded experiences (white-labeled event websites, emails, registration, etc.)
  • Integration with other tools you currently use, or are considering using, including CRM system, marketing automation platforms, day-of-event solutions, and more.
  • Option to clone past events to create new ones using the same settings and website templates, so you don’t need to start from scratch every time
  • Data collection capabilities, including custom forms and surveys
  • Ability to create a variety of passes, add-ons, promo codes
  • Ability to manage speakers, sponsors and exhibitors profiles
  • Option to carry event in multiple languages and accept multiple currencies

These are just a few things to consider when selecting vendors for your event management needs. We recommend that you list all features that are required and which ones would be good to have, and then start vetting the options available in the market.

Conclusion

Getting buy in to adopt new technology can be difficult, but don’t be discouraged. With data to back you up, you can build a strong case and prove all the many benefits that are behind the adoption of new systems. From time savings to improved brand experience, empowered workforce, data gathering, scalability capabilities, and error reduction, there are so many reasons to make the switch. 

If you would like to learn more about what EventUp Planner can offer, book a demo with our team.

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Book a call with our team to learn how EventUp Planner fits your needs.

How Event Registration Tool Can Help You Avoid Pitfalls That May Ruin the Attendee Experience

  • Event Management News
Top Events to Attend in 2018 - For Event Professionals

We all recognize the importance of first impressions. Event registration is usually the first touchpoint for attendees, so it’s important to create a positive experience from the start. Offering a seamless experience with the right event registration tool will help ensure that registrants are focused on the excitement of the event, not the friction of poor registration processes.

However, creating a stress-free, optimized registration process isn’t as simple as throwing up a generic registration form on your website. As an event planner, it’s important to pay attention to your attendees’—and your own—pain points to help optimize the experience. Addressing these challenges head-on with a high-performance and user-friendly event registration tool will ensure you put your best foot forward.

When seeking an event registration tool, look for these four things to help you overcome common registration pitfalls.

Flexibility

Flexible online registration is key to a positive registration experience. This can be a challenge to achieve because one size does not fit all. For example, registering for a webinar or an in-house educational seminar differs greatly from the registration process for a multi-day conference. Accordingly, event registration tools must have the flexibility to accommodate various requirements—whether attendees are requesting a special meal, registering multiple attendees at once, or indicating accommodation preferences. Furthermore, the ability to tie registration to different tracks is pivotal so that you can easily identify regular attendees, VIPs, or speakers, and tailor their experiences accordingly.

Conditional Fields-hiddenif2.gif

Automated Data Collection and Integration

The registration process can yield valuable attendee data, but tracking, storing, analyzing, and effectively utilizing the volume of data for all your events is no small feat. Thankfully, sophisticated event registration tools like Attendease provide event reporting capabilities that can simplify the task.

In addition to providing one source of truth for your event data, Attendease also offers integration with other software, such as HubSpot, Salesforce, Marketo, among others.

You can also garner value from post-registration survey data, and export reports that track performance through the entire event lifecycle—from registration through post-event follow-up.

User-friendly Registration Process

Long gone are the days of waiting in line for tickets! In today’s increasingly ecommerce-driven world, attendees expect to be able to pay for tickets online and without hassle. If your event registration software supports customizable forms, use them to make the online payment process as simple and as flexible as possible for attendees. Providing a variety of ticketing options (ie. a single-day ticket vs. a weekend pass), accommodating discounts and refunds, and offering promotional codes are great opportunities to help make the payment process more flexible. These options can also help make your event more accessible, or more exclusive, depending on the context. For event managers, there’s plenty of reasons to seek user-friendliness too! For example, an integrated payment solutions not only begin to create a positive attendee experience, but they also save you time and administrative headaches!

event registration tool

Optimized Registration Forms

Creating mobile-friendly registration forms that provide attendees with all the information, choices, and flexibility they require can be a challenge. In order to tackle this, it is important that your event registration software is sufficiently adaptable. It should be flexible enough to create forms that work in each of the major browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox) both on mobile and off. Every browser is unique, and what looks good or works in one browser may sometimes not work in another. If registrants can’t complete their enrolment, it reflects poorly on the event and increases the likelihood of losing the registration. Customizable forms for different event groups, custom ‘help’ text, and conditional fields for more sophisticated registration scenarios help streamline the attendee registration experience, too. Lastly, from an event management perspective, event planners should seek out event registration software that supports last-minute changes and the ability to edit forms on-the-fly.

registration form blog.png

Attendease is a powerful event registration platform whose features provide the foundation for all your meetings and events. With Attendease, you can provide a seamless experience by allowing attendees to register for the event without ever leaving your event website!

Here are some more great features:

  • Manage pricing categories, promo codes, and group passes
  • Use advanced form features, including global fields, conditional logic, custom fields
  • Manage secure payments with Stripe, Microsoft, Apple and/or Google Pay
  • Measure real-time registration, sales, and refunds

Key Pillars to Boost Your Event Registration Strategies

  • Event Management News
event registration strategies

When organizing an event, prioritizing a frictionless, successful registration experience will have a positive ripple effect that can be felt through the entire event and beyond. Registering for an event is often the first touchpoint for attendees, and having flexible online registration is paramount to a positive registration experience. However, when it comes to event registration, one size does not fit all. For example, registering for a webinar or an in-house educational seminar differs greatly from the registration process for a multi-day user conference. 

Accordingly, your event registration software needs to have the flexibility to accommodate various requirements, whether attendees are requesting a special meal, registering multiple people at once, or indicating accommodation preferences. Your event registration platform of choice may also need to provide the flexibility to create separate, optional add-on sessions such as gala dinners or pre-conference education sessions. Finally, the ability to tie registration to different tracks may be pivotal, so you can easily identify regular attendees, VIPs, or speakers and tailor their experiences accordingly.

Communicating Your Event Registration

The first step in any registration campaign is deciding how you’re going to announce—and then communicate—your upcoming event registration with your audience. It’s important to keep the tone and positioning consistent with other brand communications, so the process often begins by examining the same marketing channels that are already familiar to your audience. 

Track Your Marketing Efforts

Take advantage of trackable URLs—also known as UTM parameters—or promo codes to define the success of each of your marketing campaigns. Both trackable URLs and promo codes can be shared with industry influencers, speakers, sponsors, and other collaborators, and will make it easier for you to define the success of your marketing efforts and measure ROI. 

Consider The Entire Experience

Poor registration experience is a major contributor to registration drop-offs: when visitors who started the registration process don’t complete it. Consider technical aspects that are more “behind the scenes” but help reduce friction. 

For instance, if your audience primarily interacts with your brand on mobile devices rather than on desktop browsers, make sure your registration software allows for mobile-friendly registrations.

Make sure you only ask what is absolutely necessary for your registration process, and use functionalities like conditioning fields and global fields to make it easier for your attendees to complete their registration. Conditional fields will help to ask questions that are only relevant to a certain group of people, and global fields will allow you to pre-fill data about the attendee that you may already have in your event platform, saving your attendee time and making it easier for them to complete the registration.

Make Your Event Website Stand Out

Event websites continue to be an extremely powerful marketing tool for promoting your upcoming events. They provide potential attendees with detailed information about the event while educating them on why they must not miss it. 

Ensure that your event registration platform allows you to utilize your branding and messaging so you can keep your brand consistent across all platforms. It’s entirely possible that your potential attendees are visiting your website after they’ve seen the event advertised elsewhere, simply because they want to know more about your event, or because they need one final push before committing to the registration. 

Want another great website tip? Don’t forget to complete the look and feel of your website by using professional images from past events. Great photos help to induce FOMO; if you effectively showcase a can’t-miss event, your audience will respond to the additional social proof with increased registrations.

How to Optimize Your Event Registration Strategies and Process

Regardless of its format and content, there’s no event without your attendees! It’s, therefore, crucial to design your event’s onboarding process to be as easy and smooth as possible to encourage registrations. Below are a few pointers on how to optimize your event registration process to encourage a large turnout and make your event as successful as possible.

Encourage Group Registration

For many events, it makes sense to offer streamlined registration for groups, such as companies and organizations. In order for this to work, your event registration app must be flexible enough to handle group categorizations, and an optimized event registration process for groups should match the ease and simplicity of the standard individual registration process. As an extra incentive, it’s a great idea to provide discounts in the form of coupons to encourage group registrations.

Keep Event Registration Forms Concise

Whittle your form down to its essentials and only ask for information that’s pertinent to the event registration. Research has consistently shown that the more pages someone must fill out in a form, the likelier they are to abandon it.

Avoid Repetitive Event Registration Forms

If a common event registration pain point is having to fill out lengthy forms, it’s best practice to avoid making return attendees fill out the same forms more than once. Because if an individual has already attended a previous event from the organizer, why should they have to fill out the same lengthy form again? Your event registration system should be intelligent enough to pre-populate personal information from its database to reduce the frustration that comes with filling out forms.

Place Registration Forms On The Event Website

Many registration platforms take the user from the event website to a third party registration site, which disrupts the user experience and, many times, doesn’t carry the branding forward from the website to the registration. To provide a better user experience and keep control of your brand, consider event registration platforms that can provide a seamless registration experience to your attendees, which can also increase trust.

Ensure Brand Consistency Across Registration Forms and Website

A professional, consistent look between your conference’s website and the online registration form helps potential attendees feel comfortable. If registrants land on a page that looks nothing like the site they came from, they might feel like they are in the wrong place and feel hesitant to complete the form. Keeping a consistent representation of your brand gives your registrant confidence in your organization and your event. 

Ensure Registration Forms Work Across Browsers

Whether you are developing your own registration form, using a plug-in, or using online event registration software, you will want to test your form in each of the major browsers. Chrome, Safari, and Firefox are a great start. Every browser is unique, and what looks good or works in one browser may sometimes not work in another. Although most issues are minor, such as alignment or spacing inconsistencies, in some cases your form may not work at all. If registrants can’t complete their enrollment, it reflects poorly on the event and increases the likelihood of losing the registration.

Design a Mobile-Friendly Event Registration Process

With mobile devices taking a 55% market share over desktop devices between January 2021 and January 2022 according to Statcounter, it is more important than ever to ensure that the online registration process is mobile-friendly. This means that your conference’s registration should be accessible not only from a desktop computer, but also from any tablet or phone. By taking this step, you offer your registrants the convenience of registering immediately from wherever they happen to be.

Prioritize User-Friendly Payments

With e-commerce becoming increasingly common, attendees expect to be able to pay for tickets digitally without hassle. If your event management software supports customizable registration forms, you can make the online payment process as simple as possible for attendees. Plus, integrated payment solutions not only begin to create a positive attendee experience, but they also save you time and administrative headaches. 

Offer a choice of secure payment processing methods and the ability to choose different event pass types at various price points, i.e. single-day tickets versus 3-day passes. Providing a variety of ticketing options, accommodating discounts and refunds, and offering promotional codes take the guesswork out of the process for attendees and can also allow more people to attend your event.

If you host international events, consider a platform that can accept payments in multiple currencies.

4 Easy Tips to Drive Your Registration Further

1. Remarketing Can Boost Registration By 20%

Incomplete registrants—the people who have stalled midway through your event registration process—are an often-overlooked source of additional event attendees. A study conducted by the Baymard Institute found that e-commerce transaction abandonment rates averaged almost 70%, with some studies reporting rates up to 84%. That’s a lot of lost registrations! 

Event registration case studies (including this one by the RFID Journal) have shown that, with a solid remarketing campaign, you can gain back 20% or more of your event registrations that have stalled somewhere along the way. That’s 6% of your overall registration total. With some thoughtful target marketing and a series of strategic email campaigns, you can boost attendance to your event and increase your revenues significantly.

Using the registration module of your event technology platform, you should be able to compile a comprehensive report that will identify all of the partially completed or incomplete registration forms. Then, set up a series of automated yet personalized emails to go out to these people who have abandoned their registration process, regardless of where in the funnel they dropped out. 

If you think it might apply, you can also include some reassuring language to your event’s legal policy or terms and conditions. The tone should be friendly and lighthearted. Here are some great examples of effective emails to inspire you.

Registration abandonment emails typically have much higher click-to-open and open rates than usual. This is because the prospective attendees are already familiar with the event and just need a little reminder or encouragement to complete their registration form. By creating an email campaign filled with engaging event content, keynote speaker highlights, or even a discount for prospective attendees, you can increase your event registration revenues considerably.

2. Be Proactive and Catch Problems Early

Sometimes people drop out of the registration process due to design flaws in your event registration forms. Most people will not take the time to tell you that they experienced a problem, so be proactive: take the time to double-check and test all scenarios before launching your forms to the public.

3. Schedule and Send Event Registration Reminders

If your event invitation contains an early bird discount, you can use the upcoming deadline as a reason to send another email reminder to your incomplete or abandoned registrants. Make sure you send it at least a few days, if not a week, before the deadline to give them adequate time to take advantage of the opportunity. Sending another one the day before the deadline is not taboo either. Remember, these are people who have already shown interest in your event. They just need a little nudge!

4. Utilize Valuable Post-Event Data 

The registration process can yield some valuable attendee data. But tracking, storing, analyzing, and effectively utilizing the volume of event data for all your events is no small feat. Thankfully, sophisticated event planning software like EventUp Planner can simplify the task by integrating with marketing automation tools (HubSpot), marketing analytics software (Marketo), CRM solutions (Salesforce), and email marketing tools (MailChimp, Infusionsoft). By integrating your event registration software with your marketing tech stack, you can send automated follow-up emails after registration to ensure attendees are consistently engaged, garner value from post-registration survey data, and export reports that track performance through the entire event lifecycle, from registration through post-event follow-up.

Technology to Support Your Event Registration Strategies

We’ve spent a lot of time discussing how flexible event registration software needs to be to accomplish a successful event in today’s market, and just how many pain points there can be if you haven’t yet discovered a solution.

EventUp Planner is a powerful event registration platform that simplifies the management of the meetings and events that your organization relies on. From digital marketing and registration to speakers, attendees, rooms and sponsors, EventUp Planner simplifies the complexity of event registration. 

Our built-in templates and drag-and-drop interface enable your teams to quickly build and launch event websites, registration, and communication flows that are on-brand and look amazing. 

Here are a few features of EventUp Planner (formerly Attendease) that will support you with your event registration strategies:

  • Design white-labeled, fully branded event websites
  • Create branded email templates for every event
  • Design a custom event app
  • Easily handle different registration types and waitlists
  • Manage pricing categories, promo codes, and group passes
  • Manage secure payments with Stripe, Microsoft, Apple and/or Google Pay
  • Create unique registration forms for specific pass types
  • Save registration forms to use again in future meetings and events
  • Keep attendees up-to-date through our mobile event app
  • Track and measure your event performance

Want to learn more about EventUp Planner and how it can help you streamline your event registration strategies? Book a demo today!

5 Things to Consider When Planning Your Next Product Launch Event

  • Event Management News
product launch

The importance of a great product launch event cannot be overstated. Momentum is everything! Curating a fantastic first impression to both your customers and the market-at-large can have a drastic, long-lasting impact on your product’s success.

On the other hand, an underwhelming launch can have negative effects, increasing the likelihood that your product fizzles out and fades away faster than you can say “Microsoft Zune” or “Google Glass”. 

Consider these five tips when preparing for your next release and ensure you launch your new product with a bang, not a whisper.

1. Create Hype for Your Launch Event

The hype machine is, in fact, real. A truly great launch will have people everywhere wondering what all the fuss is about. Once they’ve discovered your product for themselves, they’ll be sure to leave their own enthusiastic reviews, increasing momentum even further.

In today’s e-commerce driven environment, reviews are valuable social currency. According to Bazaarvoice, just 50 reviews have the potential to increase sales by 30%!

With social platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok being viewed as conversion drivers and trend spotters, generating online awareness has never been more important. In addition, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic greatly accelerated the adoption of e-commerce to the masses: According to McKinsey & Company, 10 years’ development happened in Q1 2020 alone. A strong online presence should no longer be seen as optional in your product launch, but rather a requisite piece of its success.

2. Anticipate Uncertainty

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us all anything, it is to continue to expect the unexpected.

Manufacturing and supply chain delays remain a challenge for many industries, including automotive, fashion, and electronics. Throughout 2021, shipping container prices increased tenfold, the pandemic adversely affected manufacturers in developing countries, and consumer spending increased significantly in North America, further exacerbating existing issues.

Sony’s long-awaited PlayStation 5 video game console, which was released in November 2020, was met with immediate supply challenges, citing a worldwide semiconductor shortage. Coupled with the increased desire for video game consoles during the pandemic, Sony nonetheless still managed to break its previous generation’s launch records despite the shortage.

This would appear to be a success at first glance. However, with unauthorized resellers driving up resale prices of the new console and online communities forming around predicting product “drops” at retailers, the hype had become so large that Sony still had room to grow their sales significantly. So, they pivoted to extend the life cycle of the previous PlayStation 4 console past its original expected discontinuation in 2021 to try and meet consumer demands, and continued to produce both PS4 and PS5 in tandem into 2022.

The challenges that COVID-19 brought will affect both product availability and consumer trust well into the future. Your product launch needs to be robust enough to forecast how to overcome these challenges and more.

3. Plan Early

How do you create hype and anticipate the unexpected? The best way to do so is to start planning early. Here are our recommendations for elements to consider: 

  • Begin brainstorming your launch 6-12 months in advance. This often involves communicating with retail partners, event planning, and scheduling product availability dates long before the launch.
  • Ensure your creative team readies a concept 5-6 months prior to launch. This way, you can align everyone executing your marketing in correctly promoting the product’s branding, unique selling propositions, and key features. 
  • Distribute the product to brand ambassadors at least 90 days before launch and begin to give product samples to consumers to start generating ratings, reviews, and images. This early feedback is pivotal and allows you to course-correct or adjust materials if needed prior to the official launch.
  • In the weeks prior to your product launch, run countdown campaigns across your brand’s social media channels. This can include CTAs for consumers to sign up for email alerts, teaser videos, and social media-specific presales. Don’t forget product-specific or event hashtags to help you go viral!

4. Curate an Exclusive Launch Event

 Ideally, you should build your product launch event around two groups of people:

  1. Your existing customer base and social media followers; and
  1. Those that can help grow your following to help your product reach new heights. Examples of this would be influencers, media, and industry experts.

Your existing customers already know and love your brand, so be sure to find ways to give them an experience that is both on-brand yet unlike anything they’ve experienced from you prior. Encourage exclusivity throughout. This can be as simple as a product-related goody bag or discount code, or as elaborate as a one-on-one VIP session at your event. These experiences are proven to improve sales: 91% of consumers “have more positive feelings about brands after attending events and experiences” and 85% are “likely to purchase after participating in events and experiences,” according to EventTrack.

For influencers, sample campaigns and other branded goodies are a great way to get buy-in prior to the event alongside an invite to the event itself. It’s a small price to pay to gain access to a loyal following that may not otherwise have exposure to your products.

Attendease, the leading event registration platform, can help you organize and leverage your product launch audience. Our built-in templates and easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface enable your teams to quickly build and launch event websites, registration, and communication flows that are on brand and look amazing. The Attendease platform provides the foundation that ensures all event details are addressed, changes are simple, and repetitive tasks are automated—allowing planners to focus on amazing event design.

If you’re still not sure where to begin, we recommend reading our guide on How to Plan a Successful Product Launch Event.

5. Have a Follow-Up Plan

The hours, days, and weeks after your launch event present an opportunity to squeeze every last drop of hype out of your release, so don’t miss out!

This is a crucial time to capitalize from customers new and old who could not make your event but wanted to, or those who have heard the hype but were hesitant to commit at first. Use the same strategies you employed pre-event (i.e. exclusive hashtags, email campaigns, and social media activity) and combine them with newfound footage generated by attendees over the course of your launch for added social capital.

Conclusion

A successful launch is not a flash in the pan, but rather a well-thought-out process that helps build momentum and drive your product forward before, during, and after the launch. The stronger the launch, the bigger the hype…The bigger the hype, the stronger the reviews…And the stronger the reviews, the more success your product will have.

Book a free consultation to learn how Attendease can help you configure your event registration process and provide a smooth registration and post-event experience to your attendees.

Zoom Alternatives for Your Virtual Event

  • Event Management News
Zoom Alternatives for Your Online Event

With the sudden change in the event industry forcing events to be canceled, postponed, or brought into an online format, Zoom quickly became the go-to platform for web conferencing world-wide. Have you ever wonder if there are any Zoom alternatives?

According to Business of Apps, Zoom daily peak of participants rose from 10M in December 2019 to over 300M in April 2020. However, just as quickly as Zoom increased its popularity, the love phase of this relationship died off just as quickly as it came to be. As Business of Apps also points out, numerous privacy and security issues came to light regarding the Zoom platform, including: sending unauthorized data to Facebook, hoarding user data, allowing unwelcome guests to join meetings, and more. 

As a result of the various issues that arose, Zoom was banned by numerous governmental entities, organizations, and school boards, such as Canada, NASA, and the NY School Board. Consequently, event planners were faced with yet another challenge: they had to find a dependable and secure alternative to satisfy their needs, while avoiding the shortcomings of the Zoom platform.

Before You Choose a Platform, Know your Requirements

Before you jump into the next Zoom alternatives or Webex platform, we have some advice for you: think about your virtual event requirements beyond your web conferencing needs, because there are so many tools out there that can do way more than simply providing you with a basic web conferencing functionality. 

  • Do you need to provide networking opportunities? 
  • Do you need to share print material prior to the meeting?
  • Do you need to keep attendees engaged for a full-day online event?
  • Do you need more opportunities to showcase your event sponsors?

As an event professional, you already know that different events will have different requirements, so start by making a list of what you need for your event: from the must-haves to the good-to-have.

If you can have one unique platform fulfilling multiple requirements, that means you can decrease the number of tools you use, have less subscriptions to manage, and have all data integrated within fewer software. As a result, you can save time, money, and headaches.

Now that you have a clear vision of what you need, if you are looking for a Zoom alternative for your next online event, we have a few options for you depending on your requirements.

Event Tech Alternatives to Zoom

Attendease

Attendease is a robust event management platform that can help you manage your entire portfolio of events, whether online or in-person, free or paid, private or public. All from one unique platform that provides you with the functionality to manage all moving parts of your event:

  • Build fully branded event websites and registration process
  • Send automated email messages to specific groups of contacts
  • Track registrations, revenue, and ROI from an advanced analytics dashboard
  • Easily create new events by cloning the settings and web design of your previous event
  • Integrate with other tools you use
  • And more

Attendease is launching a series of new features to take your virtual event experience to the next level, which includes a native streaming capability. With this feature, your attendees can watch your virtual sessions directly from your branded website, rather than moving away to a third-party application.

In addition, a new functionality will allow attendees to book meetings with exhibitors and sponsors, and also network among other event-goers. This solution is ideal for event planners who are managing a large portfolio of events.

attendease registration

Donut

If you need to bring up the morale of your team while working remotely, Donut may be a great solution for you. The platform, that integrates with Slack, allows large teams to meet up for coffee break chats and casual meetings, just like we used to do in-person, on the pre-COVID times (that seems like a century ago, doesn’t it?). 

If you miss the human interaction in the office and would like to foster conversations, Donut can be a great solution. Some of the features include:

  • CEO lottery: Randomly draw lucky staff members to meet with the CEO for a virtual coffee periodically.
  • Allyship in action: Foster meaningful dialogue and shared accountability for behaviors of inclusion. Create a dedicated channel and invite everyone to join – especially senior leaders.
  • Virtual coffee program:  Give your team opportunities for human connection through biweekly virtual coffees.
  • Intro teammates across different regions: Minimize distance between teammates by introducing people from different locations.
  • And more

For companies operating remotely and seeking to enhance networking and connectivity opportunities for their employees via online programs, Donut is an ideal solution.

Donut Meetings

Icebreaker

If your goal is to provide fun online activities to break the ice, then Icebreaker is the tool you are looking for! You can host a number of online gatherings for your team, from Happy Hour to Self-Care Check-In, and many other topics available. 

The Icebreaker platform has everything you need to put your event live, in addition to providing prompts to get the conversation started between you staff members. 

Icebreaker Meetings

To begin your search for the appropriate technology solution for your event needs, it’s crucial to first knowing your event requirements. Once you have a clear idea of what you need, the next step is to schedule a demo with potential technology providers that could be a good fit for you. This will allow you to determine which option would be the best option for your portfolio of events. Book a demo with our team to learn if Attendease could be a good solution for you!

5 Virtual Event Ideas to Create a Lasting Impression on Your Attendees

  • Event Management News
5 Ways to Make Your Online Events Memorable

Virtual event ideas are a dime a dozen these days The shift from in-person road shows and trade shows to online programming has presented several challenges for event management professionals:

  • Finding the right technology to support digital event management
  • Translating the physical experience to an online environment
  • Keeping attendees, speakers and sponsors engaged

Another key hurdle is how to stand out in a sea of online content. 

By now, everyone has become accustomed to daily Zoom calls and Google hangouts, but that just means the bar is higher for creating an online event that stands out from all the other digital interactions people are having on a daily basis. 

How can you create an experience people will remember and talk about?

We’ve put together this list of virtual event ideas to make your online event memorable. 

1. Use video to get attendees excited

Getting people to register for your event is part of the battle; getting them to attend and stay engaged is also crucial to success. Video can help create interest in the content you will be presenting during your event, and it can also help get people amped up right before a presentation:

  • It’s likely that you are already sending confirmation and reminder emails to event registrants; including a welcome video or teaser video can help you boost your click-through rates and attendance numbers.
  • Many event organizers will kick off an online conference or session either by talking on-camera or narrating over agenda slides; starting things off with a branded video or interactive overview of what attendees will learn is a great way to grab audience attention immediately. 
  • Not all brand representatives are strong speakers. Sponsors can also benefit from using a video to explain their services in a way that is on-message and looks more polished. 

2. Encourage speaker debate

Many of us have been to expert panels where all the speakers share similar viewpoints or provide the same general advice. Attendee focus can waiver in these cases – particularly if there are a lot of panelists – but one thing that’s sure to capture attention is debate. 

If you can get one or more experts to show their passion for a subject by (civilly) disagreeing about it, you’re far more likely to get attendees to participate in the live chat to take sides and to have people discussing what they saw after the event is over. 

Pick a moderator who knows about the topic enough to ask hard-hitting questions, and who’s able to keep the action going with challenging follow-ups. 

3. Facilitate attendee interactions

One of the main reasons many professionals attend events is to network. Unfortunately, online events are not usually set up to allow the kind of one-on-one or group chats that lead to new connections. Fortunately, there are tools you can use before, during and after your online events to help attendees get to know each other: 

Before Your Event

Facebook and Slack groups are a great way to get registrants talking to each other (and to you) before your event begins. You can include a link to your event group on the registration page or thank you page and in confirmation emails. 

During Your Event

Day-long or multi-day events can get monotonous; baking socialization sessions into the agenda is a great way to inject some energy into the online event experience. 

One great tool for getting attendees bonding is icebreaker.video – it allows for group chats and randomized one on one video sessions so attendees can meet and greet each other while recapturing some of the surprise aspects of learning who’s in the room. 

After Your Event

As a bonus for attending your online event, you can offer people the chance to connect with each other individually or in a group using Braindate Virtual – a video platform that enables conversations around shared topics of interest. 

4. Provide a digital or physical souvenir

In-person events usually include some kind of refreshments, and they often incorporate other physical elements like swag, a photo booth or takeaway bags from sponsors that attendees can experience or bring home with them. 

With a little advanced planning and creativity, there’s no reason you can’t replicate these tangible event experiences and create lasting memories for attendees. 

Refreshments

Hanging out by the food table is a tradition many attendees miss, now that they’re stuck with what’s in the kitchen fridge. Consider surprising and delighting your online event registrants by mailing them a snack pack or a promo code for one when they register so they have the fuel to stay focused on your presentations. 

Swag

Just because you don’t have a booth, that doesn’t mean you can’t give attendees something to remember you by long after they’ve attended your virtual event. 

Now that everyone’s in loungewear, swag items like soft t-shirts, hoodies and slippers are in high demand. You could also send registrants useful household items like a branded mug, candle, hand soap or tote bag. 

Digital Takeaways

If you want to keep the gifting digital, you can offer feel-good items like local business gift cards or charitable donations

Sponsors and partners can get in on the action, too, by offering attendees virtual goodies as a thank you. 

Event-specific promo codes, exclusive downloads and free consultations are all popular options.

5. Bonus Tip: Stay in touch

Most event organizers provide registrants and attendees with on-demand recordings… and that’s the end of the interaction until the next online event. 

If you have other, related content that your new audience would find interesting, don’t be afraid to follow up and share it as a post-event email nurture campaign. Staying top of mind is a long game, after all. 

If you have other virtual event ideas, leave them in the comments below.

Future-Proof Your Events

  • Event Management News
Future-Proof Your Events

If you’re like most of the event management professionals we work with, odds are that your plan for 2023 has been completely derailed by the pandemic.  Over the past few months, everyone’s had to scramble to turn a calendar of in-person events into a series of virtual programs.   

Now that the reactive phase is out of the way, how can you proactively plan your events and make sure that no surprises come your way? Taking advantage of the flexibility and convenience of a hybrid event platform can help you future-proof your events, so you are ready to quickly adapt to new demands.   

The future demands flexibility and adaptability: while things are uncertain, it’s better to be safe rather than sorry. Re-evaluating your current systems, processes, and tools will be key to those who want to thrive in this ever-changing scenario.  

Attendease can support your needs by providing a hybrid event platform where you can manage your entire event portfolio, whether in-person or online, and you can easily update components as needed.

Some of our customers were able to completely pivot their 10,000+ attendee conference from in-person to online within a week timeframe.  If you want to gain some more insights in what the future holds and how to prepare yourself for uncertainties, join us for a free webinar on July 23rd, as we will discuss how planners can future-proof their events and be ready to adapt fast when needed.  Here are some things we will discuss: 

  • How companies are pivoting from in-person to virtual events  
  • Best practices and tips for making the most of your hybrid platform 
  • Hybrid platform features that support your event planning needs 
  • And more. 

If you didn’t attend the webinar, you can still watch the recording to help you with your virtual and hybrid events. Register here to watch the recording.

Future Proof Social Banner