In our Ultimate Guide to Event Registration, we briefly talked about what event registration software is and why you need it. Here, we’ll dig deeper and explain why event marketers and organizers need event registration software to help them manage their events.
Article Outline
What is Event Registration Software?
Event registration software gives you the ability to accept event registrations online either through an event website or a landing page. If you are organizing free events, you can use event registration software to create registrations forms. And if you’re hosting a paid event, you can create and sell event tickets and accept registrations online using event registration software.
Event registration software can be used for all sorts of free, paid, and virtual events. For example, you can use it to sell tickets and accept registrations for conferences, non-profit fundraisers and galas, classes, sports events, and many other types of events.
5 Top Reasons You Need Event Registration Software
Here are the top five reasons why you need to start using event registration software today:
#1: To sell tickets, increase revenue, and commit your audience to attend paid events
Event registration software lets you create different types of tickets to sell to prospective attendees. This means that you can offer different types of event-going experiences and maximize ticket sales. In addition to this, you can also create tickets for multiple dates and times for a single event.
Event registration software lets you accept payments directly into your own organizations’s bank account. This makes it easier to manage the event budget and improve cash flow. You can also use event registration software to allow other parties – vendors, sponsors, cities – to help promote your event.
You can create tickets for different event-going experiences. For instance, you can create a general admission ticket that offers the bare minimum and a VIP pass that gives attendees something extra in addition to their ticket such as free parking or a goody bag.
You can also use event registration software to set quantity limits to create urgency and control access in a time when it’s very important to scale down events.
We need a paragraph about committing audiences to attend.
Event registration software also lets you create printable or electronic tickets and validate tickets with mobile apps to enhance the attendees’ event experience.
#2: To automate the online event registration process
Event registration software can help you automate the online event registration process. This way, you can offer attendees an intuitive registration experience while standardizing the online event registration process. For this, you’ll need to use event registration software that allows you to create event registration forms to add to your event website or landing pages.
When creating event registration forms, remember to ask only what’s necessary but also weigh the need to collect enough information to give attendees the best experience possible and plan for successful events and marketing to the audience in the future (more on this below). In most cases, this will be the attendee’s email address, the tickets they’d like to purchase, and payment information. In addition to this, use clear calls to actions such as Register Now or Get Your Ticket.
#3: To gather the right data that can help make the event successful
Event registration software makes it easy for event marketers to gather data and use it to gain insight. You can collect all sorts of information about attendees such as their contact information, choices and preferences, and which tickets they purchased.
This is useful for sending out targeted email marketing campaigns and to generate reports that can be used to increase event attendance for future events. There are tons of different event metrics you can track to improve future events. For instance, the number of event registrations versus event attendance tells you how many people actually showed up to the event after registering.
Keep in mind that you need to be GDPR-compliant when collecting and processing attendee data.
#4: To save time and money
One way event registration software helps you save time and money is by making it possible to go paperless. This way, there will be much less manual work to do which in turn means you’ll need fewer staff members and volunteers to organize an event.
Use event registration software that lets you duplicate or copy events. This way, you can quickly create new events and start selling tickets instead of setting it up from scratch.
It’s also a good idea to provide as much information as possible on your event website and in registration confirmation emails to minimize email back and forth. This includes event details (the venue, date, and time), event calendar, and information about speakers and presenters.
#5: To improve efficiency and reduce errors
Event registration software can help event organizers improve efficiency and reduce errors by standardizing and automating the event registration process. By setting up a registration form on your event website, you can process attendee registrations and sell tickets around the clock.
Consider using event registration software to set up an event website with an event registration form and collect payments online for tickets. Store the data you collect from attendees in a CRM like Infusionsoft and use email marketing tools like Mailchimp to reach out to attendees.
Conclusion
Event registration software is an extension of your event marketing plan. It can help you sell tickets for events, automate the online event registration process, and gather data from attendees to improve future events. This way, you can save time (and money) on event planning activities while improving efficiency.
Next check out Chapter 2 of our Ultimate Guide:
Chapter 2: What Are the Most Important Event Registration Features and Tools?
And don’t miss the rest of our “Ultimate Guide“:
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
Looking for event registration software for your website or curious how event registration software can work for you? Try the Event Espresso demo or contact us today!