How to Choose the Best Conference Ticketing System

Conferences are a great way to learn about the latest industry trends and make valuable connections.

They’re also a great way to collect a lot of free swag.

But you need a good conference ticketing system for it all to be a success. Without that, you’ll spend the day dealing with queues and tallying attendees. (If they show up at all.)

We’ve put together a guide to help you choose the right conference ticketing system for you.

In this guide, you’ll learn why it’s important that your system…

• Makes it easy for the user to book a ticket
• Is trusted by other users online
• Easily integrates with your other platforms
• Collects user data and gives you valuable insights
• Makes it easy to check in on the day of the conference

It can be difficult to sift through all the options available to you. We hope this article helps you focus your research.

Read on to find out what to look for in a conference ticketing system.

It puts the user first

People who attend conferences are busy. That’s why they attend conferences; to learn and network as much as possible in a short space of time.

They don’t have time to figure out a complex new system just to book their ticket. That’s why reserving their spot at the event should be easy and intuitive.

The conference ticketing system you choose should put the user first. All the relevant information should be readily available when they visit your site.

Remember to include

• What the conference is about
• Who it is aimed at
• Who will be speaking
• Which companies are sponsoring
• How much it costs
• When and where it takes place
• Why people should attend

Get a friend to test the system. You should preferably pick someone who knows nothing about the conference or ticketing system.

Then ask them some questions to find out what their experience was like:

• Did the website load in a timely manner?
• Did it work as well on mobile as on a desktop?
• How long did it take them to understand what the conference was about?
• Most importantly, how long did it take them to register?

You’ll want as few steps as possible between discovering the conference and registering for it.

It is trusted by other users

It’s never been easier to suss out a company’s credibility than it is today.

A quick Google search with the name of the company plus the word “review” tells you everything.

That’s important for you as a conference organiser because you need to know if you can trust the ticketing system.

If even a third of the reviews are negative, that means a 30% risk that you’ll have trouble down the line.

But credibility and trust also mean the world to the people you want to attend.

If they can see that the conference ticketing system has a bad rep, it’ll reflect badly on you too. Your conference could be amazing, but the attendees won’t risk the trouble with booking the tickets.

This goes for new and emerging ticketing systems as well. While they might not have a bad reputation, they don’t have a good one, either.

It can often pay to be a first-mover when it comes to new technology. But that’s usually only the case when it’s risk-free. People become apprehensive the moment they have to put their money on it.

Here’s what to look for in a conference ticketing system when it concerns trust:

• Good online reviews
• Proper policy concerning the personal data of users
• Compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI)

The last point is really important because it ensures that all credit card information is stored securely.

It integrates with all your other platforms

You probably have a website for your conference. You’ve hopefully also put it on your social media profiles.

It’s a good idea to have as big of a presence online as possible. You never know where people will hear about your conference.

But that also poses a problem for your conference ticketing system.

If it doesn’t integrate with your website and social media, it will make it more difficult to book a ticket.

The best conference ticketing systems will be integrated with Facebook, for example. That means people who’ve clicked “Attending” on a Facebook Event can also book a ticket directly from their Facebook app.

But social media integration is not the only thing to look for.

You might use a CRM system or email marketing platform as well. Your conference ticketing system needs to work with all of them so you avoid technical hiccups.

It gives you customer insights

Every website you visit and any app you use collects data on you. Although it can sound nefarious, it’s ultimately to improve your user experience (so you buy more).

Your conference ticketing system should be no different.

Your marketing efforts will be made a lot easier if you can capture some data from people registering for your conference.

The best conference ticketing systems allow you to customise the data you collect from your attendees. That can be as little as a name and an email. But you can add as many details as you want.

Yet collecting the data is not enough. You ideally want to own the data as well.

Some ticketing systems will limit the amount of data you can see. Choose one that gives you complete ownership over it.

Finally, you should ensure that there’s data integration between your ticketing system and your other platforms. Can you synchronise the data from your CRM platform with your ticketing system?

It makes it easy to check in

A good ticketing system will make the lead-up to your conference smooth sailing. But a great ticketing system will also help you out on the day itself.

Your guests will have to check in at the conference before they gain entry. That can quickly end in long queues and delays.

Look for a conference ticketing system that…

• Allows delegates to access their tickets on their phone or tablet
• Enables you to scan the QR codes on their tickets with your own phone
• Allows for multiple devices to check in guests at the same time
• Has a manual check-in option in case someone forgets their ticket

Finally, you should make sure that the ticketing system is synchronised in real time. That way, you can see who has already checked in and who hasn’t arrived yet.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are quite a lot of things to consider before deciding on a conference ticketing system.

You want a system that…

• Makes it easy for the user to register
• Is trusted and credible
• Works with your other online platforms
• Collects data and gives you insights
• Helps you out with check-ins on the day

Billetto ticks all the boxes. Our platform enables you to both promote your conference and sell your tickets. It also gives you live insights before, during, and after the conference.

Most importantly, it comes at no up-front cost and people love it.

Ready? Go see for yourself.