There are some powerful online event registration software products out there, packed with fancy features and tools that let you do far more than just accept registrations on the web.
Whether you realize it or not, it’s likely that your software can do more to help you increase your signups. So the question is: are you taking advantage of all the tools that are available to you?
Here are three things you should be doing with your event management system:
1) Tracking Abandoned Registrations
This is a big one because if you can track people who have started registering but haven’t finished, you have a great start to closing those extra registrations. People who take the time to click on the link and start the process have shown interest, so they’ll likely be your easiest targets.
Many systems will let you download a report that tells you who left your site without completing the process. Send those people a personal email reminding them that they haven’t yet completed their registration, and you’ll likely convert at least some of them to attendees.
2) Tracking Where Registrations Are Coming From
You likely promote your event through many different channels – partner websites, social media, and in advertisements. It’s important to understand where your registrants are hearing about your event so you can direct your marketing time and resources to the most productive channels.
How do you know where people are hearing about your event? A simple way is to “tag” your registration links. This simply means adding a unique label to the end of the link for each of your referring channels. It takes no time at all, and many online registration systems will allow you to download a report that shows you exactly where each registrant was referred from.
3) Using Promo Codes
The right promotion targeted to the right group of people can do amazing things for your registration numbers. The classic promotion for events is early bird registration, but there are so many other ways to discount tickets. You can set up promo codes to offer special rates to certain membership types, run a refer-a-friend promotion, or offer special pricing in advertisements.
If you aren’t already using discount promo codes, it can’t hurt to try them out. It’s easy to set them up if your system has the functionality in place, and the results might surprise you.