5 Easy Steps to choosing
the Right Event Registration System

There’s been an explosion of registration and ticketing systems into the marketplace over the last 5 years, offering more choice than ever to conference and event producers.  From monthly subscriptions, free systems or pay as you go, knowing what you need and doing thorough research before putting registrations on sale, can save you a lot of money and hassle in the long run.

1. PREPARE – Before you start looking at what system you think you want to evaluate, start a list of all the outcomes you want from the system you use. Once you know what you want from a system, only then can you start to compare different systems with each other.
2. PLAN – Now you can look at which systems you are considering and start to build a little matrix to develop a picture of where the gaps may be in the system you’re considering, or which system has all the things you need. Using the handy list you can create your own matrix to evaluate each system against each other, to ensure the system you choose prioritises what you need. 
3. PREVIEW – Now, before you are tempted to book based on price alone there’s a few more things to consider such as;
4. Is the organisation based in Australia or overseas? Does it matter? Is the organisation PCI compliant? Or do you need to comply with GDPR guidelines? Do you need to be able to negotiate payment terms?Are there hidden costs such as if you have to refund someone?Is the reporting comprehensive and does it include what you need? How much if you want a custom report? Do you receive all the data you ask registrants to fill in? Some systems only give you the minimum data and don’t share the rest! Or worse still, they market to your customer.
5. TEST & IMPLEMENT – We all know that events and conferences are flexible and movable beasts – is your system flexible? Can you talk to someone on the phone? Can you request bespoke changes that don’t cost the earth? If the contract allows, you might like to consider running 2 systems on a smaller event, or for the opening week of registration. Do as much testing as you can before it gets too hard to change.
6. FEEDBACK & REPORTING – Ask your colleagues and friends to be mystery shoppers during the testing phase. The more testers you can get, the better. And the earlier you do the testing, the easier it is to shift. Once some testing has been done, try running some reports. Make sure they show the data you are wanting to collect. The data is the most important asset you have so be sure to sign up to a system that provides you with the best data capture.