Registration is one of the first, and certainly one of the key, touchpoints your attendees have with your event (and maybe event brand). It’s essential that it’s seamless. Perhaps you’re a seasoned event prof that has it down to a science, but the speed of change when it comes to attendee expectations, advances in tech, and evolving U/I and U/X research means constant vigilance when it comes to the gateway to your event. 

Even subtle flaws in event registration can affect turnout and engagement or potentially rear their heads down the line in the form of logistical headaches. Here’s the thing: you may not even realize these mistakes are happening until registration numbers plateau, complaints trickle in, or unexpected chaos strikes. Here are some tips to help you avoid often-overlooked event registration mistakes.

Not test driving the attendee experience

Scenario: Your registration forms auto-populate and use clever conditional logic. What a win, you think. You’ve built a registration process that works well and enables a speedy process for your valued registrants. But, did you experience the process yourself? Even better, did you ask a peer to QA and provide feedback? What may be intuitive to you as an event professional may not be obvious to a registrant.

Solution: Test the registration process from start to finish for ease of use and ask a trusted colleague to run through the experience as well. Building and using registration forms are two different experiences, and in testing out the latter, you may uncover hidden pain points.

Using too much jargon

Scenario: You know what they say about making assumptions… You might assume because someone is attending an event, they’re “in the know” about a number of industry-specific terms but they might not be. Unknown terms and abbreviations could confuse and alienate attendees. Even common event terms should be clarified. Phrases like “tiered ticket option” may be obvious to you, but might deter attendees out of confusion or uncertainty. 

Solution: Make sure your language is concise, simple, and straightforward. Consider whether certain phrases or language is intuitive, and if not, include a short explanation or definition where necessary.

Building registration for single attendees only

Scenario: Too often, registration forms are created for individual attendees to register. But, company groups and teams may want to register as a group and end up having to complete registration multiple times. This is tedious and time-consuming.

Solution: It’s always a good idea to remove every obstacle to acquiring more registrants.Offering group registration allows multiple attendees from the same group to register at once. This creates an easy and quick process, where they can enter key details without repeating the entire registration process for each individual.

Failing to accommodate payment options across regions

Scenario: You have a tried and true payment system – until someone tries to register from outside of your region. 

Solution: Even if your event isn’t technically an “international” affair, give careful thought to your requirements for payment options. Test your payment process across every region you expect attendees to come from. Confirming that alternative payment methods and support for multiple currencies will prevent last-minute drop-offs during registration completions.

Skipping waitlist automation and communications

Scenario: Interested registrants are blocked out of your event because the full event or a session is filled and have no option to indicate their interest. 

Solution: Incorporate a waitlist feature that can notify attendees when more spots become available. By having an automated system, you’ll save yourself the tedious legwork of individually reaching out to individuals and ensure potential attendees stay informed and engaged.

Betting on early bird discounts

Scenario: Promoting early bird pricing to drive initial registrations results in lack of incentive to register after the discount ends.

Solution: Mitigate this risk with plans to drive registrations that accommodate early, average, and late sign-ups. This could involve tiered pricing or bonus incentives beyond the early bird phase or offering limited-time perks, like access to VIP sessions or priority seating to maintain steady urgency prior to the event.

Sending the same confirmation email to everyone

Scenario: Confirmation emails are a must, but one confirmation email does not fit all. 

Solution: A one-size-fits-all generic email can cause missed opportunities for personalized engagement and special offers. Confirmation emails should be segmented based on factors like ticket type, attendee category, or other segments that are meaningful to your attendees to achieve as much relevancy and personalization as possible. For example, VIP attendees can receive different information based on their ticket type, such as exclusive access information and offers. General attendees may receive standard event logistics, and could be presented with different promotional offers. Segmenting your confirmation emails not only improves clarity for attendees, but also drives engagement.

Treating registration like a gate

Scenario: You’ve heard a lot about keeping “forms short” – and you’ve cut out every unnecessary field from the registration page. 

Solution: Registration strategy and design is a cornerstone of event and post-event success. Arguably, it’s your first opportunity to collect information to ensure you run an inclusive and contextually relevant event. For instance, you may use registration fields to understand learning preferences – in this gesture, you’re collecting data to build an optimal experience and signaling to registrants that their preferences are driving your event session formats.

Small fixes, big event wins

By addressing often overlooked event registration mistakes, you’ll create a smoother event registration experience, boost event attendance, and set the tone for a successful event. 

Don’t let registration roadblocks set you back. Discover how Streampoint’s event registration platform and event technology solutions can help you streamline the process and enhance attendee satisfaction. Talk to an expert today.