Should You Use Online Registration For Your Next Corporate Event?

When planning your next corporate event, you might be asking yourself: is online registration worth it?

Online registration promises smoother processes and better experiences for attendees.

But you may be wondering, does it actually deliver the benefits you're looking for, or is it just an extra expense?

Let’s take a closer look at how online registration can benefit your upcoming corporate event and how it could change the way you manage attendance.

Interview With the CEO of Getregistered

We recently caught up with Jon Summersfield, CEO of getregistered and an event planner with over 30 years of experience, to dig into whether online registration is worth the investment and what advantages it offers.

Jon’s company, getregistered, provides a straightforward and effective online registration platform for event managers and corporate events to use. GoGather works closely with getregistered to deliver the best corporate event experiences to Fortune 1,000 companies around the world.  

Understanding Event Registration

Registration is a core component of every event. 

It's where you collect important details, from attendee lists to contact info, dietary restrictions, and accommodation needs. Getting this information beforehand helps everything run smoothly on the big day. 

What We Mean by Event Registration

When talking about event registration, it’s important to clarify what we mean. 

There’s often confusion between online registration—where attendees sign up before the event—and the in-person registration team that handles things on the day of the event. This article will focus on online registration.

Here are the major differences between the two:

The Online Event Registration Platform Itself

Online event registration is a tool that simplifies and enhances the event registration process. It involves several components:

• Building the Event Site: This includes creating an engaging and user-friendly website where attendees can find all the necessary information about the event.
• Creating the Registration Form: The form needs to be designed to collect all relevant data, including contact information, dietary restrictions, and preferences for activities or meetings.
• Managing Mobile Apps: Developing and maintaining a mobile app can further streamline the attendee experience, offering features such as event schedules, networking opportunities, and real-time updates.
• Lead Retrieval for Exhibitors/Suppliers: This feature helps exhibitors and suppliers gather valuable information about potential leads, enhancing their engagement and follow-up opportunities.
• Name-Badge Printing: Efficient management of name badges is essential for smooth event check-in and to ensure that all attendees are easily identifiable.

Related: 7 top event registration software and how to maximize their potential.

Registration/Housing Management Team

A dedicated housing management team is vital for handling the daily operations related to attendee management. Their responsibilities include:

• Day-to-Day Management: Overseeing the registration process, addressing any issues that come up, and ensuring that all correspondence from registered attendees is managed effectively.
• Housing Management: Coordinating room blocks at hotels and managing accommodation needs to ensure that all attendees have appropriate lodging.
• Tracking and Reporting: Monitoring overall registration numbers, capacity tracking, and generating reports to keep everything on track and to provide valuable insights for future events.

Check out our article here for more details on the benefits of having an in-person registration team.

For this article, we'll focus on the online registration process that occurs before the event starts. This aspect of registration is important for streamlining the attendee experience and ensuring everything is in place well ahead of time.

What Goes Into Online Event Registration?

Since online registration is often the first interaction your attendees have with your event, it’s critical to make a great impression. 

Let’s break down what goes into an online event registration platform and why you need one for your next corporate event. 

Running a Successful Event: The 3 Main Goals

The 3 main goals of any corporate event are to: 

1. Market the Event
2. Get People to Register
3. Manage the Data

Marketing the Event

Before attendees can register, you need to market your event effectively.

This involves promoting your event through various channels to attract attendees and build excitement. Whether it’s through social media, email campaigns, or other marketing strategies, you want your event to stand out and capture interest.

An online event registration platform can boost your marketing efforts before the event in several ways:

• Data Collection and Insights: These platforms capture valuable attendee data, such as demographics, preferences, and engagement history, which can be used to tailor marketing campaigns. 
• Streamlined Communication: With built-in email marketing tools, online registration platforms enable event organizers to send timely updates, reminders, and promotional content to registered participants. 
• Social Media Integration: Many platforms offer seamless integration with social media channels, making it easy for attendees to share their registration on their networks. 
• Enhanced SEO and Visibility: These platforms often include event pages optimized for search engines, improving your event’s visibility online. 

Related: Marketing strategies to boost attendance at your next corporate event.

Getting People to Register

Once you’ve piqued their interest, it’s time to make it easy for them to sign up.

An effective online registration system simplifies the process for attendees, making it straightforward for them to secure their spot.

Related: How to drive early conference registrations. 

Managing the Data

After registration, managing the collected data on your end is crucial. 

Relying on spreadsheets can be risky due to the potential for human error and difficulties in updating information. 

Instead, a streamlined system helps you manage data efficiently, run reports, and keep track of financial and registration metrics with ease.

Related: 10 event management app tools to streamline event planning in 2024. 

Why Streamline Online Registration?

To streamline the registration process, you need a platform that puts your event in the best light and makes it easy for attendees to sign up. 

From the attendee’s perspective, the registration experience should be smooth and user-friendly. 

From an administrative standpoint, you should be able to manage data, generate reports, and track registrations effortlessly.

Related: How much do event registration platforms cost? 

Features of an Easy-to-Use Online Registration Platform

Platforms like getregistered provide a variety of features aimed at streamlining event registration. 

While not all registration platforms offer these capabilities, getregistered includes the following:

• Event Website Creation: Build a dedicated event site with easy-to-use templates and editing tools. Ensure it reflects your event’s branding, provides all necessary information, and creates the registration form.
• Registration Management: Handle all aspects of registration, including collecting details like dietary restrictions, session preferences, and more.
• Breakout Session Management: Set up and manage breakout sessions, track capacity, and set prices.
• Attendee Tracking: View and sort attendees by categories like VIPs, see who is signed up for specific sessions or meetings, and manage dietary requests.
• Reporting: Access comprehensive reports to track registrations, finances, and other key metrics.
• Name Badge Printing: Easily manage and print name badges for attendees.
• Sponsor Management: Track and manage sponsorships.
• Multilingual Support: Offer registration in multiple languages to accommodate a diverse audience.

• Integrations: Performing necessary development work for integrating with third-party platforms (e.g., a CRM system) via a flexible API.
• Review Period: Conducting a review just before the site goes live to ensure everything is in order.
• Ongoing Support: Providing customer support throughout the event’s lifecycle to address any issues and ensure smooth operations.

Need more proof? Check out our article on how online registration platforms keep your conference running smoothly.

Plan Your Next Conference with GoGather

Streamline your planning, achieve better results, and wow your attendees – without sacrificing your time or resources. Let’s chat about how GoGather can help you create your best corporate event yet.