Beat the backlash: The top 10 issues with event registration systems

People rarely remember when things are plain sailing. We expect, demand, and account for things to go smoothly. But when things go slightly off the rails? That’s memorable.

When it comes to planning an event, it can feel like guiding a rocket through a meteor shower. Every decision, from picking the perfect venue to catering for participants, involves countless moving pieces. 

The event registration process is a key piece of this puzzle. Here’s a user-friendly guide to the top ten issues you might encounter with online event registration systems and tips to avoid them.

Technical difficulties with event registration systems

Imagine being an event planner and finding that your event registration system has crashed. It’s the digital equivalent of your event’s front door getting jammed. 

Attendees who were keen to sign up might be left staring at a frozen screen or an error message. Technical glitches like these can scare off your guests before they have set foot at your event.

The fallout can vary from a slight hiccup to a full-scale crisis. Attendees who face technical problems could vent their frustration online, casting a shadow over your event. Worse still, they might choose to skip the event entirely, reducing your turnout.

Solution

• Check Event Registration Systems Regularly: Keep an eye on your event registration system. Regular check-ups help catch and fix small issues before they balloon into big problems.
• Opt for Adaptable Solutions: As your event gains traction, you can expect more registrations. Choose a registration system that can grow with your event.
• Have a Backup: Always keep a backup option ready. If your main event registration tool stumbles, you have something to fall back on.
• Ensure Strong Customer Support: Opt for a platform with a helpful customer support team. When technical glitches arise, quick fixes can make the difference between a botched and successful registration process. Take no chances with Sched’s priority customer support for your team.
• Choose a Solid Event Registration Platform: A sturdy event registration platform guarantees a fuss-free process. An easy-to-use interface allows attendees to sign up for your event in a snap.

Poor user experience

An eager participant shouldn’t get lost in a complicated event registration process. 

Is your form a maze? Is the registration site mobile-friendly? Will attendees hit a wall with the payment process? Can they make sense of the site layout? 

A challenging user experience could turn a participant’s joy into frustration, often leading to a higher chance of them giving up. Even worse, it could lead to negative word-of-mouth and fewer people showing up at future events.

Your event software’s user interface directly impacts how an attendee sees your organization. Don’t let your first impression be slow, clunky, and ugly. Opt for smooth, user-friendly, and fun instead.

Solution

• Choose a User-Friendly Event Registration Tool: Opt for tools that put user experience at the forefront.
• Keep the Event Registration Process Simple: Only ask for what you need. The quicker a participant can sign up, the less likely they are to abandon ship.
• Provide Multiple Registration Options: Let your participants choose how they want to register. They could use their email, or their Sched, Google, or Facebook accounts. This flexibility can make their event registration experience smoother.
• Make It Mobile-Friendly: A lot of your audience will be on mobile. Make sure your event registration process is mobile-friendly. A responsive design that works well on all devices is key.
• Use Clear Instructions: Make the registration process as straightforward as possible. If necessary, provide a step-by-step guide.
• Customize the Experience: Allow participants to personalize their experience. This could involve creating custom tickets or offering coupon codes.
• Test the User Experience: Try the online event registration process yourself regularly. This way, you can spot any issues and fix them before they affect your participants.

Limited customization choices 

Event planners use event management software because it helps them. That’s why limited customization choices are really frustrating. Event apps should help, not hinder.

Picture this: You’re organizing an annual conference, and you plan to offer early bird tickets, student discounts, and VIP passes for special workshops. Yet, your event registration systems throws a wrench in your plans—it doesn’t let you customize as per your needs. 

Now you’re stuck bending your event to fit your software’s limitations. Event registration tools with limited customization options can prevent you from crafting a unique and special event experience. 

If your event registration platform is rigid, your potential to meet attendees’ expectations and deliver a unique experience takes a hit. It might even push away potential attendees who need more flexible or specific registration choices.

Solution

• Use External Tools: If your current event registration platform isn’t flexible, consider using external tools that offer more native options. Look for platforms that love customization. For example, an online event registration tool like Sched lets you modify registration forms, provide different types of tickets, and use promotional codes, among other things.
• Offer Different Ticket Types: Not all attendees are the same. To cater to this, think about offering different types of tickets. This can range from early bird or last-minute tickets to VIP passes or student discounts.
• Use Promo Codes: Promo codes let you offer discounts, or give special access to your event. They can also help you to track your marketing efforts. Make sure your event registration systems let you do this.
• Tailor Registration Forms: Your registration form should ask for what you need without overwhelming attendees. A flexible form can help find this balance.

Problems with payments 

The quickest way to give an attendee anxiety is to put them through a frustrating and glitchy payment system. It’s like inviting yourself to dinner and telling your host to hurry up with it.

Imagine this: You’ve put in endless hours to organize an amazing event and market it well. Now, registrations are flying in through your online event registration tool. But hold on! Attendees can’t complete their payment: the process is too complex or some credit cards are causing issues.

Suddenly, you’re swamped with emails and calls from annoyed potential attendees, and your event’s good name is in danger.

Solution

• Offer Multiple Payment Methods: Cater to all attendees by offering various payment options like credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, and digital wallets.
•  Keep It Secure: Make sure your payment gateway is safe. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption is a must to protect your attendees’ sensitive information.
•  Keep It Simple: Make the payment process as easy and smooth as possible. The easier it is for attendees to pay, the less likely they will leave their event registration unfinished.
• Trustworthy Payment Platform: Choose a reliable and efficient platform for handling payments. Sched’s link with Stripe, a top online payment processor, is one option. It helps make transactions easy and safe through your event registration system.

Limited support 

Even the best of us have limited patience. And what patience we have is never tested more than when we need help with online stuff.

Consider an attendee who’s ready to handle your online event registration. However, they’re having trouble with the process. They’re not sure how to sign up for multiple sessions, or they’ve entered some incorrect information. 

They ask for help, but there’s no answer. Time’s running out, their frustration is building, and you risk losing their registration.

When attendees run into issues, they need quick and helpful answers to keep them from quitting altogether. If the help they get is unresponsive, slow, or ineffective, they may become frustrated and abandon their event registration.

Solution

• Set Up a Dedicated Help Team: Whether it’s by email, live chat, or phone, make sure you have a dedicated team ready to help attendees with their event registration questions. Having a responsive and efficient help team can significantly improve the registration experience. If you need a hand, consider a service like Sched’s priority support for event participants. 
• FAQs and Self-Service Guides: Put together comprehensive FAQs and self-service guides to help attendees handle online event registration themselves. The quicker they can find solutions, the less likely they are to abandon the registration process.
• Train Your Staff: Make sure that your help team knows the event registration systems inside and out, so they can guide attendees and resolve issues. Sched’s Premium Plan includes onboarding and training for your whole team. 

Unclear communication

We’ve all got that one friend, don’t we? They just can’t coordinate and communicate. It could be their own wedding and they’ll give you an address the morning of the big day in a two-sentence text.

Let’s play pretend. A ready-and-willing attendee signs up for your event via your event registration platform. And then… silence. They’re left wondering about the next steps, details, or changes to the event.

Poor communication can lead to confusion, lost chances, and unhappy attendees. Transparent, timely, and effective communication is a key piece of the puzzle for successful event registration.

N.B. Be careful not to over-correct and communicate too much. Getting spammed with constant emails is just exhausting.

Solution

Fixing this issue isn’t about showering attendees with endless amounts of information. Instead, it’s about sharing the right details at the right time. Here are some ways to boost communication with your attendees:

• Email Smartly: Send timely, useful emails to your attendees. This might include a welcome email after they complete the event registration process, event updates, and schedule reminders.
•  Use Social Media: Use social media platforms to share updates, post exciting news, and build a sense of community among attendees who used your event registration tool.
• Mobile Event Apps: If it fits, a mobile event app can provide instant updates, push notifications, and a handy platform for attendees to check registration information.
• Feedback Channels: Set up communication channels for attendee feedback. This lets attendees share their needs and expectations after they’ve completed the event registration.

Too many or too few attendees

A famous singer once sang, you can plan a pretty picnic but you can’t predict the weather. Such is the case with attendance numbers. 

Yes, you can plan an event. But it’s a touch harder to predict attendance.

An event organizer’s biggest nightmare could be the wrong number of attendees. Picture an event so packed that attendees can barely move, causing a frenzy and discomfort because you underestimated your catering. 

Or imagine an event hall built for 200, but only 20 guests show up through your online event registration systems – empty chairs are painfully noticeable. 

Packing in too many attendees or not having enough can not only cause logistical hiccups but can also dampen the overall experience for your guests. It could also raise safety concerns and logistical headaches. On the other hand, having too few attendees can kill the buzz of the event, lead to financial setbacks, and limit networking opportunities.

Solution

• Predict Accurately: Use data from previous event registrations to project how many attendees you might have. Consider factors like event size, location, and timing.
• Create Waitlists: Set up waitlists for your events using your event registration systems. This lets you have a backup list of attendees if there are any last-minute dropouts.
• Monitor in Real-Time: Keep an eye on ticket sales as they happen in your event registration platform to tweak your marketing efforts as needed.
• Choose a Flexible Venue: If you can, pick a venue that can handle different numbers of attendees.

Not keeping attendee data safe

Modern life is moving between accepting one set of data preferences to another: tick this box, accept this. 

As a user, we don’t usually think about these things much. They’re generally just a roadblock delaying us from buying or seeing what we want. But for the event planner, this data demands care and respect.

Imagine a situation where attendee data leaks due to weak safety measures in your event registration tool. This could result in dire outcomes like identity theft, financial loss for attendees, and legal troubles for your organization. Plus, it could greatly harm your reputation, making people think twice before attending your future events.

Solution

• Safe Payment Systems: Make sure that the payment systems used for event registrations meet PCI standards and use encryption to transmit data.
• Clear Privacy Policy: A straightforward and clear privacy policy reassures attendees about their data rights and how their details will be used.
•  Use Trusted Platforms: Pick event registration platforms that put safety first and have solid measures in place to protect user data.
• Regular Updates: Keep all your systems, including your online event registration tool, up-to-date with the latest safety patches to ward off any potential threats.

Lack of insights

Your event ended on a high note, but you need to learn more about your attendees’ behavior, their favorite sessions, or how well the overall event registration performed. 

Are you getting the most from your event? Are your attendees really involved? What hit the mark, and what was missed? 

Without reports and analysis, you’re walking blind, basing your decisions on guesses instead of data. This lack of knowledge can mean missed chances for improvement and a lower return on your events.

Solution

• Feedback Tools: Use feedback tools to understand the attendees’ experience and get suggestions for improving the event registration systems.
• Keep an Eye on Social Media: Watch social media activity to know what attendees are saying about your event registration process.
• Google Analytics: Google Analytics can help monitor website traffic and user behavior, giving you useful knowledge about your audience.
• Use Event Management Software: Use software that gives you analytics and reports on what attendees are doing during the online event registration.

Issues linking other event tools

The cool thing about the world of event software is that you can treat it like a buffet. You can pick and choose the pieces you want for different tasks. 

This is where 3rd party integration is crucial for event planners and for effective event-planning software.

An event is a symphony. Every tool is an instrument, and your event registration tool is the conductor. If one instrument misses a beat, the whole concert is off-key. 

If your event registration tool can’t work with your other event tools, the logistics turn needlessly complex, disrupting the rhythm. This lack of coordination can waste time, energy, and resources.

Solution

• APIs and CSV Imports: Tools that offer API access or allow CSV imports can be a godsend for data transfer and working with other event registration systems.
• Check and Double-check: Always trial the links before the actual event. This ensures all your tools talk to each other without a hitch in the event registration process.
• Pick Platforms that Play Nice: Go for event tools that are built to work well with others. They should provide easy linking with popular tools and platforms you’re already using for event registration.

Transforming event management with Sched

In the high-stakes game of event planning, efficient, reliable event registration systems can make all the difference. With Sched, you can tackle these top ten registration glitches head-on, ensuring a smooth and successful event. 

Sched provides an all-in-one solution to this problem. It also supports spreadsheet imports and API links, ensuring the logistical side of your event registration flows like a well-oiled machine. With Sched, you

Ready to see how Sched can help you elevate your event? Start your free trial today!