From the bustling corridors of in-person trade shows to the digital space of virtual webinars, event planners know that a successful event begins with a seamless registration experience. But with many providers, from Accelevents, Bizzabo, and Cvent, to Eventbrite, Vfairs and Whova, how do you choose the best event registration software to match your needs?
This post reviews the key features to look out for that truly drive event success. So sit back, grab a coffee, and explore this exciting terrain together.
1. Your Event Website
First impressions count! When attendees stumble upon your event registration page, the user experience, aesthetics, and functionality can significantly impact their decision to register.
Look for a platform that offers an event page builder with customizable templates to quickly build a professional, robust registration website that effectively reflects your brand and event theme. Shameless plug: Accelevents offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop event website builder worth exploring!
2. Email Management and Marketing Tools
Attendees what to stay updated and in the know, whether you're hosting conferences, seminars, webinars, fundraisers, or any other type of event.
So look for an event registration platform with comprehensive email management tools. This functionality lets you send personalized invites, event reminders, order confirmations, and abandoned cart emails.
Additionally, if you're hosting an onsite trade show or conference, your platform should include a user-friendly event app, allowing you to send event attendees updates and promotional content through push notifications.
3. Registration and Ticketing
Picture this - a prospective attendee lands on your beautifully crafted event website, but the registration process is so convoluted that they abandon their cart. Crushing, right?
To prevent such a scenario, opt for an online event registration system that combines intuitive navigation with a range of helpful features. Look for a system that allows you to:
- Use an event page builder to construct a visually appealing event site with an integrated event registration form.
- Customize event page templates with your logo, fonts, and color scheme.
- Seamlessly embed a registration widget on any website.
- Incorporate custom fields to gather additional information.
- Segment registrants based on conditional questions.
- Create various ticket types with diverse pricing options.
- Offer additional items such as merchandise or bundled event experiences.
- Provide secure online payment processing.
- Streamline payment collection by sending invoices with multiple payment options.
- Automatically send confirmation emails and reminders.
4. Data Management and Analytics
Gathering attendee information before, during, and after your event is your ticket to data-driven decision-making.
Your ideal platform should provide comprehensive analytics and reporting capabilities. Moreover, you'll require a user-friendly dashboard for monitoring real-time metrics, including registrations, ticket sales, event marketing metrics, and more.
Opt for an event ticketing and registration platform that seamlessly integrates with your CRM, streamlining data collection and management at every stage of the event registration process.
5. Badge Design and Printing
To enhance the in-person event experience, opt for an event registration platform equipped with a badge designer, such as Accelevents. With this tool, you can easily craft and print polished, branded badges for attendees, speakers, exhibitors, and sponsors—right from your office (or couch, no judgment here).
Create badges in diverse formats, incorporating attendee information collected during registration, company logos, and QR codes for effortless scanning.
Once you're satisfied with your design, you have the flexibility to either pre-print badges or print them onsite on event day.
6. Check-In
Nobody likes long queues; it’s a bad attendee experience and it reflects poorly on your event. So be sure to expedite the check-in process by offering assisted event check-in and self-check-in options.
At Accelevents, we find that self-serve kiosks accelerate check-in as attendees can scan the QR codes on their mobile app, print their badge themselves, and voila, they're ready to dive into the event experience!
7. Integrations
One last thing to consider: Event data should flow freely within your tech stack. So look for an event registration platform that easily integrates with your marketing automation platform or CRM. Accelevents offers native integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce and Marketo, as well as an array of other integration methods using Zapier, webhooks and the Accelevents API.
Your chosen software platform should also offer social media integrations that make it easy for event organizers and attendees to share their excitement about the event online.
The Power of an All-In-One Event Registration Platform
In an ever-evolving event landscape, having the right event registration tools is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Whether you're a veteran or new to event planning, a solution-oriented event technology provider like Accelevents can take your event game up several notches.
Interested in learning more? Book a demo to explore how our event management software can streamline your event workflow, maximize attendee engagement and deliver real-time insights into your event performance.
Whether you're planning a large conference, career fair, local fundraiser for your non-profit, or a training workshop for your key executives, we'd love to support your future events!
