If you are an event organiser, using an event sign up software is essential for the success of your event. Why? Foremost, you will not have an event without attendees! Your goals are unachievable if you do not have enough participants to listen to speakers, contribute to discussions, participate in surveys, or even buy event merchandise.
Revenues for your event may also drop down by 50% if you do not employ a fast and seamless way for your attendees to pay for tickets. Everyone uses technology today, and if you still employ traditional means like paper registration, your event is practically sequestered from people. This is the reason why you should continually explore different features of an online registration software.
Here are some questions to help you select the correct provider for the event registration software:
1.) What type of event are you hosting?
Since there are various providers of an event sign up software online, you may want to consider choices that specialise in specific events. This will reduce your workload since the software tackles the purpose of your event. For example, are you hosting a concert or sporting event? There are specific software that will let your registrants choose seats and that offer different pricing options for various seating blocks. This functionality is not often seen in software that are mainly tailored for conferences and exhibitions.
2.) Are you organising a free or paid event?
If you are organising a free event, you may choose free event sign up software since you would not need an advanced registration process. For paid events, however, a software can phenomenally help you in aspects such as ticket payments and in preparing specialised registration forms for different types of delegates.
3.) How many attendees are you expecting to event sign up online?
The number of attendees who will do event sign up online is an important factor when deciding to invest in a registration software. Many providers utilise specialised pricing structures based on the number of people coming to your event. Furthermore, you may also choose to negotiate with providers in terms of per-ticket fees when you are expecting high turnout.
An event with a small number of attendees may also not require you to create different delegate types to provide a personalised experience for each attendee. More importantly, small events eliminate the call to invest in additional products like check-in apps since you would not be expecting heavy human traffic at your venue. Regardless of the event size, however, you should consider using an event management app.
4.) How many events are you organising in a year?
If you are organising similar events in a year, you may need to choose an event sign up software provider that will let you easily clone a past event and just do minor tweaking for new ones. It would be taxing if you have to create an event registration page from scratch every time – especially if you have already made a fully branded interface for the last one. Furthermore, some software providers would offer discounts if you are organising many paid events in a year.
5.) Are you hosting a one-day event?
One-day events are easier to organise since even initiation and culmination happen on the same day. For events that run for days, however, you may need to set up additional parameters in the event sign up software such as travel and accommodation for your attendees. Some providers can easily integrate live booking opportunities to make the check-in process very convenient for those who have to travel to be part of your event.
6.) Do you need a self-service software with event sign-up sheets template?
The amount of customer support you require from your provider is another factor when looking for an event sign-up sheets template. If the nature of your events is not complex, you can just use a self-service software. On the contrary, if you are organising a complex or big event, your access to a 24/7 event sign up software support team is compulsory for eventualities where you would need to troubleshoot the software.
7.) How tech savvy are your attendees for the best online event sign up?
If you are expecting your attendees to be tech savvy, the best online event sign up software you can choose is one that is innovative and exciting to use. For example, if you are organising a technology event, your attendees may find it off-putting if you are using a software that looks old-fashioned or outdated. Additional integrations you can use for tech savvy audiences are event apps as well as onsite check-in kiosks that would allow self-service badge printing on the day of your event.
8.) Do you need integrations?
In terms of integrations, you can choose to invest in an event sign up software that would allow you to do additional functions like Customer Relationship Management (CRM), email marketing, and surveys. These integrations are integral to the success of your event if you would want to provide an all-inclusive experience to your attendees from one place.
To know more about different types of event technology to help you with your events, research more regarding the event planning software.