We accept that late registration is a fact, not a trend. We will not ignore cultural shifts. Instead we will work with them to make our marketing plan even stronger and more effective. Adding new means of communication and changing the schedule of communication are musts.
You have to embrace it. Don’t freak out.
Late registration is a side effect of making it easy for people to register.
And, with the economic challenges we face today – they are more likely to wait until the last minute to register.
This isn’t true for everyone. Your hardcore attendees and the very involved members will sign up every year. But, will they alone support the growth necessary to increase attendance and membership retention? Likely not. You need to get the other members more engaged. These are the ones you are after to make the conference a greater success.
So, what can you do?
You have two sources of power to influence potential attendees to register early. Money and availability.
The traditional early bird discount is how you can use money to influence. As for influencing through your power of availability. You can limit certain sessions to people who register early. This will add urgency to the process and communicated how much you value the content of the event.
A more radical option is to replace the early bird kick-off with a late registration push. Yes, that will make your job a little tougher. But, what’s more important to you – an easy work day or giving potential attendees what they need in order to boost attendance?
Tip:
- Reach out to the needs of all segments of your target audience.
We hope you find these tips inspiring for your next conference, and until next time keep a look out for clue #14!
The Lone Marketer
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NOT ANOTHER SNOOZELETTER.
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