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9 Tips for an Efficient Attendee Management During your Event

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Attract potential attendees to the event, collect information on them and keep in touch with them: a variety of individual processes is required for attendee management to function smoothly from start to finish. To avoid getting lost in these processes, having a well planned and executed attendee management system is vital for organisers.

We have therefore compiled 9 tips for optimising your attendee management which will enhance efficiency before, during and after the event.

The term ‘Efficiency’ almost goes hand in hand with the subject of digitalisation. The use of digital tools provides attractive advantages for an efficient attendee management:

Easy registration process for attendees Generates valuable attendee data Sustainable customer relationship management Easier control of event management processes

The way to achieving these advantages is explained on the following pages.

9 Tips for an Efficient Attendee Management During your Event

What is attendee management?

All attendee-related activities before, during and after the event. This entails the registration phase and event communication, the event itself as well as event controlling.

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Our 9 Tips for an Efficient Attendee Management

1. Choose an appropriate event management software: What suits your event size, number of attendees and target group?

2. Set up your ticket shop professionally and speed up your attendees’ pur-chase of tickets.

3. Place your ticket shop on the right channels and maximise your event visi-bility.

4. Leverage attendee data for your event communication: Which channels suit best and what is the right content?

5. Transfer data into your own CRM system, thereby complementing your inter-nal workflows.

6. Facilitate entry with the right software

7. Offer your attendees opportunities to interact during the event: What are your options and how do you encourage your guests?

8. Stay in touch with your attendees even after the event and boost customer retention.

9. Leverage the collected data to organise your next event: How can you reach your target group and when should you start your event communication?

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1. Choose the appropriate event management software.

Software can be used to comfortably control attendee management. The scope of such software depends on the number of attendee management phases cov-ered. The best solutions allow you to control all processes and phases through a single system since all data are compiled in one location. Additionally, you can combine your attendee management with other event management activities, e.g. event marketing. To be able to use these advantages, special functionalities and tools need to be integrated within the software. These are detailed as follows:

Collect attendee date via online registration: To be able to manage your attend-ees, the first step is to collect their data. These data are obtained through an integrated ticket shop, which allows attendees to register easily and also offers you an opportunity to request valuable attendee data in a targeted way. You can then directly use these data in further organising your event.

At our open Facebook Intensive Workshops, query options during the booking process and comfortable payment options for our attendees proved to be very practical. We are now very successfully using both. Sascha Tebben, Tebben Consulting/CC Club

After purchase comes ticket delivery: Online registration simplifies purchasing tickets for your attendees so ticket delivery should certainly follow in the same vein. How? By automatically generating invoices and tickets through the software. All formal documents will be directly sent to your attendees after purchasing tickets so there is no need for you as the organiser to do anything. This means no long waits and also no need to synchronise your attendee data with payment formalities.

Besides default ques-tions about their name, address and email, you should specifically ask for details: allergies, intolerances (if meals are part of the event), reasons for attending or how they found out about the event.

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The success of an event depends on various details. An event management software allows you to combine tasks. Organisers can thus keep an overview and even details under control. This is the only way to ensure professionality.

In this regard, it does not matter whether we are talking about a small network-ing meeting, a lecture or a conference. Quality is not about size but about your own requirements. An event attendee also has expectations with regards to the external image.

I am convinced that besides providing information and professionality, a soft-ware creates safety and trust in an event attendee. It is furthermore convenient and state of the art nowadays, for example, to print your own tickets or to be able to take a look at the list of attendees.Practical tip, Monika Zehmisch (XING Düsseldorf)

Supporting event communication: Good event software supports both marketing activities and communication with your attendees. Using an embedded func-tionality to send email campaigns allows you to handle communication directly through the software. All attendee data are saved in one location and can be used to create different campaigns. You can filter email recipients e.g. by attend-ee status, and send targeted messages to different attendee and prospective groups.

Attendee management at entry: Nobody likes long queues. To start your event on a positive note, your entry process should run smoothly. Event management software gives you the opportunity to optimise it in advance: Scan your attend-ees’ tickets conveniently with your smartphone – or alternatively with a barcode scanner – during admission. Admission is conducted much faster, and thus in-creases attendee satisfaction.

You should always ensure data protection and safety for your attendees during the payment process. Check therefore in advance whether the software is HTTPS/SSL-encrypted.

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2. Set up your ticket shop professionally.

An online ticket shop speeds up your attendees’ registration process and lays the foundation for requesting attendee details. An easy, uncomplicated registra-tion process gives a positive first impression to your attendees. At the same time, their registration data gives you the basis for your further event communication. Having a clear and structured design for the ticket shop is essential in achieving this:

During the creation process, make sure to tailor it to the target group. The target group represents the guideline for the ticket shop’s tonality and design.

To create more transparency during the payment process, give your attendees key information regarding ticket purchase and payment at the very beginning.

Ticket categories allow you to address your guests in a way that is oriented toward the target group. If you are organising a dinner, you could, for example, create a special ticket category for vegetarians allowing you to consider this information when planning the menu. You can set up discounted or free tickets with promotion codes that you can even customise. A good event management software allows you to “hide” these campaigns to make them invisible to other guests. Early Bird categories, i.e. tickets that are only offered in the ticket shop during the initial stage and that contain a discount or add-on, are another great option for planning an event. This will help you to boost ticket sales.Practical tip, Monika Zehmisch (XING Düsseldorf)

At the ticket purchase stage, give your buyers specific information that they can view after purchase, e.g. the Wi-Fi password for the event location. Add a comment field to the online registration for your attendees, so they can share comments or questions with you from the start.

Create several ticket categories, so your attendees can choose between different offers.

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3. Place your ticket shop on the right channels.

So that your event reaches the right target group, you should utilise the ticket shop on different channels. This gives your attendees more opportunities to reg-ister for the event.

If you are using a ticket shop from an external service provider, you can usually also create your own event website directly in the respective event management system. This gives you an additional platform for advertising your event. It should have an attractive layout that matches the design of your event.

Upload your official event banner to increase your event’s recognition value. This is the first element that potential attendees will see on your event website and it thus serves as a visual point of reference.

Add a concise event description. Inform your potential attendees what they can expect during the event and what makes your event stand out – both from a content and a framework perspective. Upload your agenda for this purpose, for example.

For each category, specify additional information about the ticket, e.g.:

When will the tickets for a specific category become available? Which buyer group can buy the tickets (students, seniors, a particular occupa-tional group)? What services are included in the ticket (catering, shuttle service, after event parties)?How many tickets are available for the respective categories? None? Mark it with a “No longer available” for a more transparent information policy.

If applicable, create a multilingual ticket shop to address an international target group.

A short attendee survey can be carried out as early as the ticket purchase stage. You can then ask for valuable information pertaining to further event organisa-tion, e.g. preferred foods for planning catering.

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If possible, add a gallery with pictures of previous events of this kind. This will give potential attendees a great insight into the event.

Beside your external service provider’s event page, the official event website is an important reference point from which to obtain information on the event. The ticket shop should therefore also be integrated in this – either directly on the home page or on a separate web page. It depends on your objectives as to which alternative suits best: The ticket shop can easily be found on the home page and offers prospective attendees a direct overview over all the ticket options. If you are using a separate ticket page, you are disconnecting the ticket purchase from the event information and can thus highlight your event’s presentation on the home page. Website visitors are then directed from this location to the ticket shop page.

Another channel in which to integrate your ticket shop is social media. Keep your attendees informed about recent event news through articles on social media while creating a direct purchase incentive by embedding your ticket shop. This means there is no need to redirect to your website since this always comes with the risk of a certain cancellation rate.

Once your attendees have registered through one of these channels, all required attendee data are available to you. You can use these data for your event com-munication in the next step.

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4. Leverage attendee data for your event communication.

Our experience in Social Media Consulting for advertising events – both com-munity events and social media workshops – has proven that only a good mix of channels adapted to the target group leads to success. Sascha Tebben, Tebben Consulting/CC Club

For event communication, direct and personalised exchange of information with your attendees takes top priority in boosting customer retention. Email market-ing is a good method for this. Depending on the time of sending and the recipi-ents, you can share and visually process different information about your event.With a few mouse clicks, capable software allows you to select the group of per-sons to which an email campaign is to be sent. This helps you to gear the email content toward the respective attendee group. To do this, your event manage-ment software should provide you with information about specific criteria from which to make your selection, e.g. attendance status.

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It is crucial to stay in contact with potential attendees and guests from the plan-ning stage up until after the event. Your event management software allows you to get in touch with your guests. Shortly before the event, your guests expect to be informed about the programme, arrival and parking options.

Put yourself in your guests’ position. While you have been busy organising the event for weeks, your attendee did not have any linkage to the event after the registration/purchasing tickets. If you notify your attendees via email about the programme shortly before the event, they will consider this as especially ser-vice-oriented, polite and helpful. It also increases their anticipation for the event.

You should, however, also contact your attendees after the event: By thanking attendees and providing a summary – maybe even with dates of lectures and speeches in PDF format – you create attendee retention for the next event and a professional image of yourself.

Social networks are a great way to attract attendees. The keyword is Content Marketing, a tool to excite people for your event. Stories about the event, rele-vant content-related information or background material about speakers or VIPs constantly provide interesting content for your social media channels. Drawing attention to your event via online PR is a good method to increase visibility on the Web.Practical Tip, Monika Zehmisch (XING Düsseldorf)

Not using social media marketing for event communication means only reaching a fraction of potential attendees. Presence on social media is therefore vital to stay competitive on the market. Your subscribers already form the core of poten-tial attendees. Now the goal is to turn subscribers into attendees and existing attendees into interactive attendees. Interactivity always contains a touch of virality which increases the visibility and reach of your event.

What is viral marketing? Viral marketing is based on product or service recommen-dations between customers. This can take place online or offline via different channels, e.g. blogs, social media or personal meetings. A vital part of viral marketing is con-tent that is considered relevant and hence builds trust.

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Recommendations by colleagues, friends and acquaintances are always regarded as trustworthy. Organisers should therefore not underestimate viral marketing for event communication. By using this method, your attendees recruit other atten-dees while you as the organiser can follow-up this process online via statistics.

Media partners and sponsors support your event and should be involved as well: make sure to include this attendee group into your management. Integrate them directly into your programme and facilitate communication with your affiliates. An affiliate marketing functionality in your event management software not only provides an overview over all partners and sponsors but also gives you the op-portunity to set their commissions according to your needs.

For each successful recommendation, offer a bonus or cash discount to attendees actively recruiting new attendees. This will motivate them to recommend your event, and you as the organiser will benefit from re-duced advertising costs.

What are affiliates?

Affiliates are partners who acquire customers based on an agency commission. They could be sponsors, media partners or brand ambassadors.

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5. Transfer attendee data to your own CRM system.

Your event communication does not have to be completely run through an event management system. Why? Many organisers already have established internal routine workflows and processes for their event management. Such processes are only disrupted and changed with reluctance since there is a fear that change may lead to less efficiency and effectiveness.

Fortunately, good event management systems can be connected to your own CRM application, so that organisers can leverage the benefits of these systems with-out having to sacrifice their established solutions. The integration of a suitable event management software does not therefore interrupt established processes but rather complements them.

However, how does this connecting process work? All data collected during the registration phase can be transferred into your own CRM system via APIs (Appli-cation Programming Interface). As a result, all key information on attendees is available for further processing in your established system. You can thus benefit from data collection via the event management software and continue maintain-ing these data in your CRM system, e.g. for email campaigns.

6. Facilitate entry with the right soft-ware.

Whether or not an efficient attendee management is used becomes clear during the admission process: If handling is fast and uncomplicated, a good system is in place. A suitable event management software not only lets you lay the foun-dation for an efficient attendee management but also simplifies the admission process for your attendees.

What are the points of contact between attendee and admission management?

After purchasing tickets, a ticket is automatically sent to your attendees via email or mail. The barcode or QR code it contains serves as an admission ticket. During admission, barcode/QR scanners or smartphones are used to scan tickets that have these codes, thereby speeding up and simplifying the admission process with the result that your event immediately starts on a positive note.

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What are the benefits for you as an organiser?

You will receive a digital overview of the registered attendees and the informa-tion they have entered. Real time statistics enable you to see how many attend-ees have already passed through admission control and how many attendees are still expected. This helps you to identify the peak times for admission and to plan your next event using these numbers. Another interesting point for your sta-tistics: How many attendees actually did attend and how many have cancelled? The overview serves as an appropriate tool to contact guests that did not attend via follow-up communication and to ask them for their feedback.

7. Offer your attendees opportuni-ties to interact during the event.

Activities during the breaks are an important aspect for attendee satisfaction during your event. While you can be planning your event programme for months in advance, it is difficult to control attendee interaction once the event is un-derway. During a lecture, attendees should of course be listening to the speaker. However, how can longer breaks between lectures be filled in a way that prevents attendees from being bored and what are your options as an organiser?

Naturally, ‘Networking’ is the keyword to be mentioned here. However, do not solely rely on your attendees’ willingness to make contact with others but also give shy attendees the opportunity to engage with other visitors. One option is to offer special stands where they can get to know one another. Strangers can therefore more easily start a conversation as everybody visiting the stand has the same objective. Notify your attendees of these stands immediately after they have purchased their ticket in the attendee area of your event management software.

An app that allows attendees to view and contact other attendees gives them the opportunity to get to know one other before the event and to meet up during the event to continue their exchange. Getting to know other attendees beforehand also helps shy attendees to ap-proach others during the event.

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Since not everybody is of the networking type, you should offer alternatives to fill breaks and make them entertaining. The options vary depending on the industry and target group. A younger target group, e.g. from the marketing and media industry, will enjoy mini photo shoots related to the event topic and share pictures on social media. For a more conservative event, use information stands from selected companies as a useful alternative for attendees. This gives them an opportunity to learn more about the content of the speakers’ specific topics or talk to them personally.

8. Stay in touch with your attendees even after the event.The end of an event does not mean the end of attendee management and event communication: The event may be over after your attendees have left the event location and cleanup has started, however, it should not disappear from the attendees’ minds. For this reason, it is important to remain in contact with them. By ensuring constant event communication you are preparing marketing for your next event.

The follow-up communication can be done in different ways. If you have created and actively used an event group on social media prior to the event, you should continue writing posts there. However, the content of the posts varies depending on the event stage.

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By providing this information, you ensure your former and potentially prospec-tive attendees’ and prospects’ participation. Your event thereby maintains its topicality. By discussing your posts, the emotional connection between your attendees and your event is boosted, bringing positive effects for your customer retention.

Not only is your attendees’ satisfaction of importance but also their feedback. You should therefore also integrate surveys as part of your follow-up commu-nication. This helps you to collect key information that can be taken into con-sideration when planning the next event. Sending out surveys further proves to your attendees that you are interested in their opinion and continually striving to optimise your event. This is another way to make a positive impression on your attendees.

Besides surveys, content related campaigns are another great option for emails sent as part of follow-up communications. Whether event highlights or opin-ions of other visitors and speakers, a flashback to the event helps you to refresh memories of the most notable moments of the event ensuring that your atten-dees are continuously engaged with your event contents.

9. Leverage collected data for or-ganising your next event.

After the event is before the event – and that also applies to attendee manage-ment. Planning begins anew and you are faced with the same challenges as the previous event:

• How do I reach my target group?• When are the peak times for ticket sales and when should I start event com-

munication? • How can I boost customer retention and optimise my image with attendees?

Send materials from the previous event for up-coming events to your attendees directly and also invite them to attend again at the same time.

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Many of these questions are answered through the statistics and data of your previous events. This makes having a coherent event controlling for every event at hand vital. To be in a position to optimally control the next event, you should therefore already be measuring various parameters during the current event.

You can derive recommended actions and optimisation approaches for upcoming events and your future attendee management from event controlling. An event management software helps you to reduce data collection efforts, especially in the case of attendee management in all its different forms.

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10. Conclusion

The use of powerful event management software is the foundation for an effi-cient and sustainable attendee management.

Ideally, this software will allow you to control all processes of your attendee management, making your attendee management simpler and clearer.

Your attendees will benefit from a simple and fast registration and admission process while allowing you to generate valuable attendee data via the ticket shop for the further event flow and evaluation.

Furthermore, you can target your event communication toward specific attend-ee groups. This helps you to win the attendees’ trust by providing useful con-tent while keeping their interest. As part of a sustainable customer relationship management, you should stay in contact even after the event. Channels such as social media and emails allow for discussions with prospective and former attendees and maintain the topicality of the event. Attendee management is therefore an important factor for event success. Thus, leverage your opportunity to generate a higher attendee satisfaction by using event management software.

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Together we will makeyour event successful.

Contact us today – we`re delighted to assist you.

Phone: +49 89 55 27 358 0Email: offers@xing-events.com Find out more at www.xing-events.com XING Events GmbH

Sandstr. 3380335 MünchenDeutschland

About XING Events

XING Events is the only provider that combines event management software and business networking. With XING Events, organisers have already sold and billed 8 million tickets worldwide at more than 210,000 profes-sional events.

XING Events aims to support organisers with the best solution for every stage of their business events. Before the event, organisers can reach their target groups on XING and provide any new attendees with a profes-sional ticket shop. During the event, organisers will be provided with customised solutions for all conceivable admissions scenarios. After the event, exclusive opportunities for customer relationship and community man-agement are offered through XING Groups.

As part of XING AG, the social network for professional contacts, XING Events connects more than 10 million potential participants in German-speaking regions with relevant events. As an expert in events with profes-sional standards, XING also creates a bridge between the online and the offline world by bringing people together at events.

Author: Marina BullerLayout: Anna EdelburgTranslation: JB Languages

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