Registration Process: Getting it Right

Every event organizer  knows registration process in an event is a  crucial part to make  sure  your event is successful. Everyone knows if this process sucks, your event will be a catastrophe. This registration process is so crucial because it is the first touch point an attendee has with an event. We all know how important the first impression is.  A longer queue in an event and hearing visitors complaining is a bad image for the event organizer and the event itself. If your registration takes a long times, have many hiccups or has a  long  waiting  time,  the  attendees  will  feel  impatient  and  frustrated  and  the  words  will  spread  in  the industry on how bad your event is.

The registration process should be as quick and painless as possible. Do whatever it takes to ensure the registration  is  buttery  smooth.  Forget  all  the  gimmicky  stuffs  and  play  it  simple  if  you  don’t  have  any efficient tools. For starters, make sure you have sufficient staff managing the registration process so that your  guest  don’t  have  to  queue  in  long  lines.  These  are  a  few  tips  that  you  can  use  to  ensure  your registration process will make a good first impression:

1. Registration Counter
This is your guest first impression and one of the vital stage in registration process. Open as many  counter as  you  can (of  course it depends on the number of attendees  you’re expecting).  I’ve  been  to  many  events  where   I  can  see  long  queues  despite a quick registration process at the counter. Although, you have a quick registration process, a suitable number of registration counter also plays a big part in ensuring a smooth registration. Also don’t forget to furnish your counter so that the guest will feel welcome!

2. Use Technology
Technology  have  changed  the  way  people  run  events  today.  We  live  in  2015  so  you better  scrap  out  that  excel sheets  or  forgo  the  manual or traditional  way.  Advancement  in technology gives benefits to event organizers the most. For best result, find a solution that offers you the most convenience. There might be additional cost, however it can be justified if the whole registration process can be simplified. There are a lot of software  out  there  that  can  help  you  in  terms  of  pre­registration,  automated  invitation, RFID or QR Code check in and many more. All these will help the registration and speed up the process by a huge margin.

3. Pre register as much as possible
In  this  era,  this  is  the  key  to  ensure  a  smooth  registration.  Getting  people  to  sign  up online and delivering their packets ahead of the event reduce the time they have to spend at the registration counter. The culprit that usually slows down registration process are the on­site registration. Also  keep  your online registration as late possible as  some people register in the last minute. The other thing that you need to remember is that don’t forget to send a reminder to them to bring along the packets or the ticket because some of them might forget about it.

4. Test, Test and Test
When you’re using any technology make sure that you test, test and test it again because  you  don’t  want  any  hiccups  to  happen  during  the  event.  Another reason to do the test is to make sure that all your staff are properly briefed and you also can predict how the queue is going to look like and do some changes if it is necessary.