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Friday, October 31, 2008

Your Registration Can Make or Break Your Event

When you attend an event, your overall experience can be 1 of 2 ways, it can be a glorious or a horrible occurrence. One of the first experiences you have when you attend a special event is the registration process.

That's why this week, I would like to focus on your registration and how it can make or break your event. I've attended events where the registration process was disorganized and unfriendly. This caused unnecessary stress on my part as well as the event organizers, and I made sure they knew about my displeasure during an event evaluation. When this occurs, your attendees speak about their experience and everyone in marketing knows that if one person has a bad experience, they tell upwards of 10 or more people. Those people tell 10 people, and before you know it, 100 people know that your registration process sucks!!

However, this can be avoided if you remember one simple rule: “Your registration can make or break your event”. Logistics are key when setting up your registration process. Here are some simple tips to ensure that your registration works well for any event:

· Know your audience
o How many attendees do you have registered?
o Do they have any special needs (dietary, handicaps, etc)?
o Will you need extra space for attendees with wheelchairs?

· Have a copy of your completed registration forms available just in case there is no record of a registration on your sign-in sheet
o Keep all returned registration pages in a notebook at the registration table showing when the person registered and when they paid
o Remember that clerical accidents can occur, names can be misspelled or not added to your list. It’s far easier to be safe rather than have an unhappy guest.

· Utilize your resources
o Speak with your site contact and make sure they have your tables setup prior to the event, that way you know the location and can move, if necessary
o Ask volunteers to come early to help you setup
o Consult with your registration staff prior to the registration day

· Preparation is Key
o Prepare all pre-paid name badges and alphabetize them for each of your pre-paid registered guests
o Have extra badges available for on-site registration
o Organize your registration bags/gift prior to the event (use your volunteers to stuff inserts into the bags)
o Have a timeline available for consistent coverage of your registration table throughout the registration time (you don’t want someone coming to register late and there’s no one supervising the table also this helps you avoid materials from “walking”)
o Have an established process on how to accept on-site registration (collecting funds, processing payments, dispersing refunds, distribution of conference materials, etc.)
o Establish a supervisor or a contact person to make a decision in case of any issues
o Collect the contact information and hotel room numbers of all of your registration table workers (people can become ill or they can oversleep)
o Have alternate registration workers available and trained to step in place a worker does not appear

Hopefully, with this information, you will create an inviting atmosphere for your guests as they register for your event. If your guests are computer savvy, a great website for online registration is http://www.eventbrite.com/.

For more tips, stay tuned next week as we provide other tips on how to save your event and your sanity. If you are looking for an event planner to assist you in your registration and other event needs, please visit our website at http://www.nov8iveevents.com/.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Finally Finished!!

I finally finished my website for Nov8ive Events & Designs, LLC. Check it out at www.nov8iveevents.com ! Feel free to post what you think on this blog. I have them linked together!!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Tis the season to Blog!

In an effort to create a brand for myself, I decided to begin with a Blog page. I do ask that you be patient with me. This is my first time blogging, but if you're reading this, that means that I am on the pathway to success!! Thank you so much for visiting my blog, and be sure to come back weekly so that you can view the various subjects surrounding marketing and event planning.