Event Registration Best Practices

When team-building events are part of your program design, it's important to give some creative muscle to the planning process so that attendees aren't bored, but don't think you have to spend a lot of money to accomplish this!

Community or charitable events are typically low-cost, and participation in something that makes a positive impact on the local level strengthens bonds between those involved. Other low-cost ideas include themed department pot-lucks, trivia contests, "treasure" hunts, etc.

Whatever it is, get people interacting. Don't focus on events or activities in which you all just happen to be in the same place at the same time.

You'll find that you have plenty of money left in your pocket if you choose not to move beyond your own stomping ground. If the company or organization has enough room on-site - either indoors or outdoors - use the space to keep events on the premises.

However, if your requirements call for an off-site team-building event, you can slash the price of booking a venue nearly in half if you share the space with another group. This isn't suggesting that your events literally overlap. Rather, one group can use the venue in the morning and the other can use it later in the day, and the advantage results from both parties splitting the total cost.

If elaborate, expensive parties (that mask themselves as "team-builders") are on the way out, this doesn't mean it has to be the end of fun, high-impact events. Keep the main goal in mind: boost morale and attendee satisfaction that will translate into a positive work environment.

Wondering how to save on costs associated with speakers and performers and their required travel? Sometimes, it only requires looking into what's locally available...you'll be sure to find at least one good source of low-priced (or even free!) talent. For example, we've seen event planners tap into local universities or cities' live arts programs to find musical, acting and other forms of entertainment.

Recruit hidden talent: even if a speaker doesn't have formal "celebrity status," that doesn't mean he or she is any less intelligent, poised or inspirational. However, it does mean that the speaker is likely to charge you less for time at your event.

Use your networks! This could mean anything from enlisting executives within your own office's walls to tapping into contacts in a member organization that you're involved with. Executives will engage the audience for free, and the professionals that you network with probably won't force you to pay too much.

...and then milk them for all they're worth...

A speaker can provide more than just a speech. Ask your presenters to stick around for breakout sessions or networking "coffee breaks" to further the attendees' learning and to increase the amount of positive interactions.

If you're hosting an event at a hotel, you have the upper hand in negotiations since hotels want to groups to stay inside as much as possible. Thus, if you bring a large crowd to their restaurants, feel free to inquire about special dining prices.

Today, let's look at some ways to decrease your event budget on the Food & Beverage front:

*Limit the amount of attendees' alcohol intake - consider beer and wine in place of a full liquor selection to slash some costs, or distribute only a couple of free drink tickets per person (of course, you can still opt to follow complimentary beverages with a cash bar).

*See if the venue can serve food on smaller plates and drinks in smaller cups to shrink the portion sizes and the amount of money you need to spend.

*Can the can: choose to serve cold beverages in pitchers and ditch individual bottles and cans. Remember that you'll have to pay for every individual container opened, whether or not all of it is consumed. On another note, tap water is cheaper and eco-friendly!

*Don't feel obligated to serve food at all times; Instead of serving breakfast, start the first session of your event later so that attendees eat on their own beforehand. They may appreciate a later start, anyway! If you do keep breakfast on the menu, simply switching from hot to cold meals results in significant cost savings.

*Go directly to the source with your budget and pick the chef's brain - he or she is the person who can provide the best recommendations for what is available and affordable based on your numbers.

Is appearance everything? You'd think attendees should be focused on the content of an event, and while they do, the truth is that they form a first impression based on the "look of the place" when they walk into a venue.

And with tight budgets, most planners can't decorate with fine china or crystal, the best linens, fancy silverware, or intricate centerpieces to "wow" the crowd. But even without these indulgences, events can still appear elaborate - at a fraction of the cost!

Maybe you really can't stand the bland, white table linens that hotels usually provide. Resist the urge to order custom colored ones! Instead, ask the staff for different color options, as most venues keep stock of these and will provide them at your request.

Don't waste money on flower arrangements when you can swap them with tiered food trays. Floral packages can add up to thousands of dollars and are only there to look at before they wilt away. Trays, on the other hand, can hold beautiful arrays of cheeses, fruits, desserts, etc. Although food can't be saved and used again, at least it will be gobbled up and will serve to satisfy your attendees' hunger.

Pass on the program. It's typical for guests to skim through a printed program and then leave it on a table or trash it, which means your money goes right down the drain. First, reassess the information you're putting in them to decide if it's even a high priority. If you do think everything in there is necessary, try to use another form of media or equipment that's already up and running to display the information.

With the peak buying season for consumers right around the corner, the big trade show season is close to follow...

One smart move is to plan shows within close proximity. You cut higher transportation costs if you can move all needed materials a distance that requires only using personal vehicles or renting a small truck (if you need to carry a lot).

Whether you draw hundreds or thousands of attendees, name badges are necessary for all. To save on this budget item, simply print ones that don't require pricey holders.

Instead of ordering custom booth, you're wallet is better off renting displays and booths. Both custom and rented serve the same purpose and get the job done, and you can decorate later to brand your space any way you want.

Purchase items in larger quantities to reap long-run savings. Many Cvent clients attend or plan multiple shows throughout any given year, and they find that it's less of a hassle if they don't have to place separate orders each time an event pops up on the calendar.

When your event necessitates travel, there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure dollars get deposited back into your pocket...

Get people where they need to go with ground transportation and stay on top of last-minute changes in travelers' itineraries. Contacting ground transportation as early as possibly to notify them of any road-blocks (such as delayed flights) can help you steer clear of cancellation penalties.

Be aware of when attendees are arriving at airports. Planners who group arrivals together require less equipment and staff. In addition, try to settle on a flat price per traveler with ground transportation companies in order to simplify the budgeting process from the start.

Last but not least, research a bit to find a ground transportation company that owns its vehicles, as these companies tend to not have marked up rates in comparison to those who lease their buses, cars, limos, etc.

We're pleased to report that one of Cvent's clients, the Business Development Institute (BDI), held a successful event yesterday in NYC: The Social Consumer B2C Case Studies & Roundtables.

Maria Feola, Director of Events, explains how Cvent has turned around their organization's whole operation: "Registration and website updates used to be a nightmare because we had to send all website changes through our vendor. Registrations were constantly rejected, and we would have to process any refunds through a separate system."

That does sound scary. But now with Cvent, Maria has everything she needs in one easy-to-use program. "I can access [the system] from anywhere with an Internet connection. I don’t need HTML knowledge for the website and everything is customizable so I don’t feel trapped in another person’s idea of what MY business needs."

"Cvent is also constantly updating features to make things easier for clients and the dedicated staff is always there to answer my questions and take my suggestions. I have not had the chance to fully take advantage of all its offerings, but we plan to be fully integrated within the next year. There is no need for multiple systems for websites, registration, webinars, surveys, event email communications, etc. when Cvent has it all!"


Founded in 2001, BDI is a small corporate event planning company and a leading conference and webinar producer for communicators.

A worthwhile webcast calls for specific technical and practical aspects to be put in place. Here are 4 main areas that need consideration:

Participants - Make sure they know the objectives and agenda; Send them automatic email reminders; Provide any needed pre-event documents; and capture contact information. Cvent's email marketing capabilities help you accomplish these tasks and make it easy to send registrants important information: the webcast date/time, access code, directions for any special system requirements, event URL link, etc.

The Site - Get rid of background noise, double-check any equipment (such as microphones) to make sure they're working properly, and have backup equipment/hardware on hand in case something goes wrong.

Technology - Test the AV settings and network connections prior to the webcast; Make sure you can sign in with the access password and that the link directs you to the correct presentation; Allow any streaming content to come through by opening up firewall settings; and set your desired archive date so that people can view the webcast in the future.

Presenters - Designate a host to moderate and inform all speakers of the finalized agenda as soon as possible; Include speaker introductions and smooth transitions; Give speakers plenty of time to practice their parts; Schedule a dry run to make sure it doesn't run over the allotted time (leaving room for Q&A!); and have Plan B in place - extra notes and presentation files will come in handy if technology fails!

It takes forethought and detailed planning, but you'll get great attendee reactions by working ahead to fit all these pieces of the puzzle together!

There's no doubt that conferences and trade shows add value to any industry, but planners are admitting to attending less of them for two main reasons:

1. From an economical standpoint, corporations and other organizations are struggling to find the practicality behind these events and are currently cutting back.

2. Planners can't seem to find the time to spare in their hectic schedules.

Once the economy picks up, industries are hoping to see an increase in participation so that planners can again begin to reap the educational benefits from seminars, make new supplier contacts, meet with familiar contacts, and network with new peers.

In the meantime, meetings industry associations need to make a move to ensure that past participants don't fall off the radar. For example, they should consider consolidating and co-locating their shows over the coming months.

Convention and Visitors Bureaus are non-profit organizations who represent a certain metro area or destination. They exist to assist meeting and event planners with the coordination of several event logistics from site selection to transportation needs.

Within the Cvent Supplier Network (CSN) and our Destination Guide, you'll find an extensive list of CVBs (and nearby venues) that are promoting their cities and seeking a better community through the visitor industry. CVB members often include tourism-related groups in categories such as dining, lodging, attractions, shopping, and transportation.

CVBs combine marketing and sales approaches to promote and market their regions as ideal vacation destinations and meeting/convention locations. Be sure to check them out as viable options when planning your next event; They stand to represent and support your interests, as you are part of the greater visitor industry!

We've been on the lookout for some fun ways to liven up your next meeting or event in a professional way and are here to share some fresh ideas:

Morale-boosters such as cocktail parties never fail to draw a crowd. It's hard to say "no" to networking, tasty appetizers and fun drinks in a social atmosphere after a long day or week in the office.

Take advantage of good weather and host events at outdoor venues; The fresh air will definitely serve to invigorate attendees' senses.

Think about building community involvement into the planning process. Rally the crowds with benefit concerts, fundraisers, charity auctions, etc. Discover the needs in your local community (there's always at least one!) and pursue them. Who doesn't feel good about doing good?

Get moving! Tap into an audience that's ready for action with a little friendly competition. For example, some clients find that their attendees are former athletes, and any event that involves going head-to-head with colleagues and clients is a hit! 

After months of bad news revolving around tight budgets, massive layoffs, concern that events and meetings are "wasteful," depressed registrants and frugal ticket buyers, smart ideas and successful strategies were still able to emerge this past year.

Read on to see how you, too, can launch ambitious new programs and improve on past successes.

Finding a niche: Determine the one or two top strengths of your organization. What do employees, clients and other potential guests think of when they hear your name? Claim your leading spot in whatever space that happens to be and give your full effort and attention to being the best in whichever niche you find yourself in.

Map out a new destination: Experiment with new, creative places and iconic locations. Break away from your typical venue to avoid becoming "stale" - but don't forget to emphasize that there are no hard feelings!

Seek out more sponsors: Start making calls earlier than seems necessary and sooner than you have ever done in the past. Currently reaching out 3 months before an event? Why not try 6 months? If you want to increase sponsorship dollars, you'll have to beat any competitors to the punch, and to do that, you'll want to get on a potential sponsor's radar as soon as possible. An increase in calling efforts gives them more time to think about your proposition and secures them for your event.  

Spend time researching and getting to know attendee demographics to find out what drives them. With this information in hand, you can then model events with a purpose. With Cvent, it's possible to gain such insights with our impressive reporting tools.

A common theme runs through all of these ideas: Don't allow limited resources to limit your strategic thinking. Don't repeat things over and over. Rather, encourage news-making moments by pushing a few boundaries, and you'll ultimately find your organization being news-worthy.

While they may not voice their complaints out loud, it's likely that attendees are crying inside at the thought of another meeting in the same conference room in the trusty hotel down the street. It's time to break outside the boardroom!

When was the last time you reconsidered the options of where to host your business events? The typical conference halls and convention centers don't sound like so much fun these days...but what about a local lounge? That's right - the one with the swanky pool tables in the back!

Reignite a sense of excitement in meeting and event attendees by hosting at a unique venue - somewhere that combines great food, wireless/multimedia capabilities, and a fun social atmosphere.

Doing a bit of research can help you find places that you never knew specialized in client entertainment, team-building, business lunches, breakfast meetings, staff celebrations, and other events.

So where do you start? The Special Event Venues section of Cvent's Supplier Network has many great ideas for you to try out and to get people smiling at your meetings again!

We've recently touched upon Twitter and the benefits that social networking tools give planners. Now let's take it one step further and connect your audience as tightly as possible while planning events through Cvent!

Gone are the days when you can bombard attendees with e-mails, newsletters and web sites and call it a day. Sure, these are necessary in the event planning process, but they're tools where the events talk to them. As a planner, you need to provide ways for attendees to have real conversations and build communities around your events.

When clients give us feedback, it's evident that sometimes they find the greatest interaction with attendees through Twitter, while in other instances, LinkedIn or Facebook works better. So what's the take-home message? There probably isn't one right answer as to which tool is ultimately the best. 

Don't view this as a complication, but rather as an opportunity. There is a plethora of social networking tools at your fingertips - don't be afraid to experiment with all of them! It may be trial and error, but the reality is that with each unique event, it's hard to predict which is the right tool to get the job done right.

While working with Cvent, start implementing these options - either one at a time or in combinations - it's up to you. But no matter how you choose to go about it, your attendees will surely appreciate resources that display important content in a more relatable way!

We can't emphasize enough that the ability to visualize data is a key element of a successful events program. The real-time metrics at your fingertips will aid in the analysis of data that is most important to your unique events.

With Cvent, you'll have access to over 125 predefined reports, including over 15 customizable account-level reports for billing and administrative purposes. Planners can also create unlimited custom reports using any data from their account. We make it stress-free by supporting all the common formats, such as Excel, XML, CSV, PDF, TIFF, and Web Archive.

Our customers love the feature of "parking" reports on branded web pages that allow easy, password-protected sharing with non-Cvent users or anyone else who needs to understand relevant event data.

Customizable dashboards provide a snapshot view of your most critical cross-event data all on one page. The cross-event reports allow for the ever-important analysis of metrics over time so planners can ascertain trends with their events. The data can also be aggregated across categories of your choosing - by region, department, event type, etc.

And last but not least, all reports are presentation-ready and easy to sort and filter, with professional-looking colored charts and graphs.

With all the buzz around Twitter, you may be asking yourself, "How can this social networking tool benefit my event planning processes?"

Professionals in the event planning industry agree that tweets can effectively drive traffic before, during and after your event. Posting updates to the social networking service gives you an avenue through which you can showcase the cool things going on with your event.

Live Twitter feeds are an easy, inexpensive way to get attendees and notable event guests communicating and staying connected. Say you're hosting an event with a well-known guest speaker - starting the conversation before the event as early as possibly will help by building more buzz and positive talk.

In any situation, tweets are a great way to promote your organization and brand. The best part is that Twitter keeps the process simple, just going to show that it doesn’t have to be all glitz and glam to capture attendee attention. As long as you keep your short messages relevant to the audience, Twitter will keep them engaged.

To apply this tool in a practical way, think about doing a Twitter Q&A to get people networking and to gather some key take-away thoughts from the minds of event participants. Or have a staff member on-site tweet during the event.

Go ahead - make use of this great technology and improve your events. It's easy to set up a free account, so get logged on and tweet until your heart's content! That way, you can answer "yes" when someone asks, "...have you tweeted yet?"

Some questions you need to consider before making a decision regarding online registration software include:

"What would the effect be of losing an entire day or two of data?"

"Ultimately, what are the costs incurred if the events don't happen successfully due to system outages?"

One thing that we take very seriously at Cvent, and that warrants mentioning, is the stability of our system. Since our inception in 1999, we've never experienced unplanned outages and are proud to say that we're the only registration software vendor that truly delivers 99.9% up-time to our users.

A majority of the other vendors out in the market can't promise this high level of reliability, but Cvent is here to relieve you of any worries you have about accessing valuable registration data - or worse - losing that data permanently.

Don't settle for customer care that simply ends with product support. The highly-qualified professional services team at Cvent is available for additional support options such as data processing, campaign analysis and database management.

Our dedicated team responds to a variety of needs:

*Full-service event website and online event registration design
* Email marketing campaign and strategy consulting to achieve maximum response rates
* Database management services to help you clean, manage and grow your database
* Complete on-site support including registration and check-in, name badge production and payment processing
* Call center support that provides attendees with a phone number they can call to register, get information and resolve any issues related to your event
* Custom report creation and event data analysis

Take advantage of the extra help Professional Services offers. This group is determined to match up to our professional products, and their job is to give you the time and support that you deserve, but that many competitors in our market don't bother to provide.