Humans love life hacks that free up their time.

Take online booking technology, for example. Most people won’t leave their house unless their dinner reservation, haircut appointment, or gym class has been confirmed (with an email to prove it).

In fact, being immediately seated in a restaurant has a lot in common with event pre-registration, and experiential marketers who do this well tend to earn all five stars on their event ROI.

Here are some of the often-overlooked, powerful benefits of pre-registration:

Consumers get right to the experience and skip the admin work. First name, last name, email address, and other vital consumer data points are best entered on one’s own terms (using a laptop from a comfy sofa, for example). Pre-registration gets this essential task out of the way, with more complete data, so consumers only need to show up and focus on the event.

Get a head start on the outreach process. Begin segmenting and targeting consumers (directly and through behavioral ad targeting) before the doors even open. With the right platform design, you can build a customized in-person experience.

Manage traffic flow. If you have activities at your display that can cause a bottleneck, pre-registration is the key to better managing them, creating a vibe that your event is incredibly organized and professional.

Boost organic event promotion. Once a confirmation email has been received and calendar appointment inserted, the event becomes part of one’s schedule. It’s also easy to forward an email to a friend or colleague, increasing the word-of-mouth factor.

Compare event performance. With the right reporting, you can measure the effectiveness of pre-event marketing as well as understand different consumer behaviors based on registration type. You can also begin ROI projections before the event starts, rather than investing in a venue and hoping for the best.

The bottom line: never overlook the importance of a pre-event strategy and its ability to have a positive impact on the in-person experience!

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