Some tips when setting up registration for your event

Asking the right questions at the first stage saves a lot of time and gives you a much better chance of getting the information. Asking for additions is often time-consuming and the risk is that you won’t get everything in. So investing some time and thought into what kind of information you need to get into the registration is well worth it.

At the same time, you don’t want to make a registration form so long that participants give up halfway through. You also need to be restrictive with what you ask about and justify why each question needs to be included in the registration. Is there a clear purpose for the information or is the question included just because “it might be nice to have”?

By following our simple tips below, you have the prerequisites for a registration that will be efficient and smooth for both the participants and you. And do you have more tips? Feel free to contact us, and we will fill it up!

Food and drinks

In addition to knowing how many people are coming, you may also have to order coffee and lunch. Who wants or should have this? Does any of the participants have special diet requirements and if so which? Don’t forget to check with the caterer what type of special diet they can offer so that you specify the right options right from the start. Is your event over several days, but not everyone attends every day? Then it is good to know how many lunches and coffees are needed each day; it reduces both costs and food waste.

Interpretation and accessibility adaptation

If you are going to offer interpretation, it can probably be good to know how many people want it, so that you don’t have to order more equipment and resources than necessary. Are there participants who have other special needs, for example, accessibility adaptation, or come with a companion? You can enter all such registration fields for the participants to fill in or tick in the registration.

Information based on participant type

Suppose you need to communicate with the participants about different things. In that case, it can also be smart to divide into different ticket types, so that it will be easier to distinguish them when it’s time to send out information. Lecturers can e.g. need different information than participants. In our registration solution, you can also adapt the fields to different categories: lecturers may need to indicate technology needs, while participants need to indicate which lectures they want to attend. Students indicate a place of study instead of professional affiliation. And so on.

Deliveries and communication

If you want to send text messages to the participants, they need to enter a mobile phone number. If you are going to send letters or perhaps other material, don’t forget to ask about the postal and delivery address.

Badges

If you are going to use badges, what kind of information should these show? In addition to the name, perhaps the title and company should also be included. Asking about this directly often saves a lot of time and often ensures that names, for example, are spelled correctly.

For on-site printing, we offer onsite solutions. Badges can be printed in a matter of seconds at the entrance by scanning the QR code from the visitor’s digital ticket. This a very flexible alternative to the classic arrangement of letting participants find their name badge in a slightly crowded event entrance, where others also might see who hasn’t picked up their badge. Direct registration can be opened via the event site and/or terminals on-site, with a printing solution as well.

Additional activities and sessions

Is there any activity that requires pre-registration; perhaps a reception in the evening, or a workshop with a limited number of places? Or do you have a large congress program with many parallel sessions? Then it can be wise to get a preliminary notification right from the start, so you know if you need to move unexpectedly popular sessions to a larger hall or perhaps double them.

Geographical distribution

If you have digital parts in your event, with participants who are in different time zones, we recommend that the participant’s time zone be specified. In our platform, the participant can then choose to see all times in the time zone they entered or in the event’s time zone.

Evaluation and follow-up

In addition to evaluation and communication with the participants, after your event, you may need to produce statistics for the internal follow-up and evaluation. If you already know in advance which statistics need to be reported, it will be easier to ask the right – and the right amount of – questions in the registration.

One tip is to use predefined answer options. Compiling free-text answers takes significantly longer than compiling how many people chose predefined answers. With InvitePeople there are quick statistics with graphics where you can easily see how many people chose which answers in the registration. For detailed reports, you can export information in Excel format, which you can then format and database process.

Connections to other systems

If you are going to make an import into your CRM system, it can be helpful to know if any unique information key is required to link registered participants with customers in your CRM, and make sure that these are included in the registration.

And finally, what do you do IF you need to get additional information?

With InvitePeople’s solution, you can of course let the participants change and supplement their choices even after registration – sometimes it can be difficult to decide long before. You decide which fields the participants can change, and which only you as an admin can change.

Curious about how registration for your next event can be simplified with InvitePeople?
Book a short video meeting with one of our event experts!