Event registration guide: Maximise live attendance

Event registration can be a hassle but the right tech will help you get more people through the door at live shows.

Event registration technology is a key part of this process and one that shouldn’t be tackled as a last-minute solution.

This event registration guide will explain how event tech software makes the check-in process seamless – helping avoid queues at venues and optimising your ability to track registrants and their information after the show is over.

Here’s what all you will read:

• Importance of a good check-in experience at live events
• What is online event registration software?
• Benefits of using event registration software
• Features of event registration technology
• How Exhibitor Manual can be used to help onboard exhibitors
• Importance of Lead Scanning and Retrieval in the registration journey
• Event registration integrations offered by ExpoPlatform
• Conclusion

Importance of a good check-in experience at live events

First impressions at an event are shaped by the check-in process. It’s the experience that greatly sets the tone for the rest of the event.

Organisers put a lot of work into planning engaging exhibits and speakers, but if people are left to stand in queues for hours – that’s all for nothing.

A slow or chaotic check-in experience gives an impression that the event may be disorganised. Visitors may feel stressed and avoid returning to your event in the future.

Meanwhile, a seamless check-in process with minimal wait time creates a positive attendee experience and contributes to word-of-mouth publicity. This is where event registration software can make a huge difference.

What is online event registration software?

Live events like exhibitions and tradeshows are widely used to generate industry buzz, promote brands and generate business growth. But the logistics of running a largescale show can be daunting.

From collecting visitor information to providing onsite solutions and post-event follow-ups, you need a technology partner who can handle the details.

Event registration software is widely used to track registrants and process payments at live events. It is a cloud-based system used by organisers to manage event registration and attendance.

The best online event registration software can handle complex forms and collect thousands of leads with ease.

Modern registration tools have a number of features to make the planning experience more seamless. Some important functions include:

Ability to track registrants – You need to know who has registered for your event and whether those attending have the appropriate credentials.

Processing payments – Visitors can easily pay for their registration online, minimising queues on the day of the event.

Managing lead capture – Collect details of visitors such as their email addresses, company names and social profiles. You can use this information to follow up and nurture leads once the event is over.

Let’s understand it better with an example.

ExpoPlatform’s event registration module

The registration module is part of the event management suite and helps makes it easier to handle visitor and exhibitor registration, payments and badging.

It features a drag-and-drop registration builder that allows you to collect high-quality data for future marketing campaigns and other analyses. 

The system also sends automated reminders to visitors as the show date approaches. Registration forms can be embedded on any page of the website and referrals as well as the URL of the registration pages are tracked.

Additionally, combining the registration module with the mobile app helps organisers run a completely badgeless event.

Benefits of using event registration software

Features of event registration technology

Here are some key features you should look for while selecting an online registration software for your shows:

Drag-and-Drop Registration Builder

A drag-and-drop feature lets you create registration forms without having to code anything. The tool allows you to add fields, images, videos and links from within the admin panel. It also provides the ability to set up rules for each field so that only valid entries are accepted.

Multiple categories of participants

You can categorise participants into different groups based on their role – exhibitors, speakers, sponsors etc –  and then assign them to specific sessions. This helps organisers identify which type of participant needs what kind of support during the event.

Contact Details and Professional Information

Event registration software collects all the necessary information about attendees such as name, address, phone number, email id, company name, job title, industry, country, gender and more. Organisers can use this data to send out personalised emails, newsletters and mobile notifications.

Email builder to send activation messages

Organisers can use the software to create custom email messages for their event registrations. You can personalise and design the sender’s name, subject line, and the message body of the email. It also gives you more control over who you can send emails to by choosing which groups of people you want to include in their message by adding or removing contacts from a list.

Conditional logic fields

The conditional logic feature lets you set conditions for certain fields. For example, if someone has already registered for an event, they won’t have to fill in the same information again. This also helps create custom registration flows for different visitors to provide an enhanced event experience.

Badge builder

The badge builder feature lets you create badges for exhibitors, speakers, sponsors and volunteers. You can create a custom layout of these badges and decide what information needs to be displayed.

Ticketing and Invoicing

You can manage ticket sales and generate invoices with event reg software. It becomes easy for organisers to sell tickets online and collect payments through integrated gateways.

Exhibitor Registration

Register exhibitors and enable them to configure their digital profiles, manage team members, add products and upload content.

Accommodation and Activity Booking

Book accommodation and activities at hotels, conference centres and other venues using the booking feature.

Registration Statistics

Track how many people attended your event and the total new registrations made. Use the dashboard to analyse the digital journey of each registrant and map the engagement data to their personas for post-event follow-up.

Multi-event visitor registration

Use this feature to allow users to register multiple events at once. The same data and preferences can be used or edited for different shows.

How an Exhibitor Manual can be used to help onboard exhibitors

An Exhibitor Manual is a key tool in the registration process that helps onboard suppliers to your event. It lays down all the rules and regulations an exhibitor should follow at a tradeshow. This includes information like event schedules, dos and don’t and contact details.

What it is – A set of interactive forms to gather information + an ordering system to collect payment on checkout.

It makes the exhibitor’s journey easier by providing custom options for registration profile management, cataloguing, operations and logistics and more.

Here’s how the onboarding process unfolds:

You can create a customised exhibitor journey through a multistep pipeline. Build profiles, collect documents, share equipment orders while providing the necessary tasks and deadlines.

These unique flows for exhibitors are built using conditional logic. For example, based on their profile and tier type a customised flow is displayed that shows the different levels of access and benefits.

Exhibitors are provided dedicated vendor support for their needs e.g. additional services apart from equipment rental through the exhibitor manual.

All these exhibitor profiles can be viewed by the organiser through a tabular dashboard.

Importance of Lead Scanning and Retrieval in the registration journey

Lead scanning is the process of identifying potential leads among your audience. It involves collecting attendee information at in-person shows through the badge scanning section in the mobile app.

These details include the attendee contact number, email ID, job title, booth interactions and other event activities.

Once the lead is identified, it is retrieved and evaluated using data analytics and lead scoring. Users can export these leads using the event app.

This information helps exhibitors know which profiles to reach out to with marketing materials for further engagement.

Lead scanning and retrieval is an important part of the event registration process. It helps you store data efficiently and retrieve it easily whenever you need it.

The registration journey involves multiple steps, each one with its own challenges. Keeping track of leads generated at every step and storing them in a centralised database helps you stay organised and avoid redundancy.

These databases let you find specific records when you need them, rather than having to scroll through different documents and folders.

Event registration integrations offered by ExpoPlatform

When selecting a registration solution, it is important that the technology has integrations with various third-party services. These integrations help you eliminate duplicate data entry and allow you to streamline your workflow.

Here’s a list of registration services ExpoPlatform integrates with:

Visit – Pre-build

Aventri – Pre-build

Circdata – Pre-build

Reed Atlas – Pre-build

Eventnook – ExpoPlatform APIs

Conclusion

A smooth registration process is the bedrock of any successful event. It not only shapes the audience’s impression of the rest of your show but is also critical to ensuring revenue growth for your business.

A hassle-free experience will encourage repeat visitors while gaining valuable buyer insights will boost exhibitor confidence for future events.

Get all these benefits with ExpoPlatform’s highly secure and customisable online registration software.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article and found it useful. At ExpoPlatform, we want to help you build better events and communities. Please get in touch and ask for a demo here. Thank you.