At the heart of any positive event experience are the small details that make attendees feel valued, respected, and engaged. Among these details is the check-in and badging process, which sets the tone for the whole event. Both event planners and attendees know that this process can be frustrating and cause delays if all the details are not ironed out.
However, you don't have to overhaul your entire check-in process to see significant improvements. You can make small tweaks and adjustments that enhance check-in and badging for everyone involved.
Below are five tips that can help get your event off on the right foot.
1. Perform a Trial Run of Your Check-in Process
You never know how easy or difficult something is until you try it for yourself. We suggest having around 10 people or more to test the flow of your check-in process from beginning to end. Have each member pretend to be a newcomer who is unfamiliar with the process (or even better, get folks who don' know anything about it) and have them go through the whole thing. At the end of the trial, ask your testers these questions:
- Was there any part of the process that was unclear (i.e., directions, signs, printing out badges)?
- Did you see any gaps where staff would fill or provide extra guidance with?
- Did you experience a slowdown in the process that was unexpected or surprising?
These questions can help you get started on the road to improving your check-in experience, but if you want some more guidance, reach out to an expert to learn more or visit our insights page.
2. Avoid Information Overload
Information overload right at the entrance can be overwhelming. Instead, send out key pieces of information with scheduled reminders before the event. This will help attendees mentally prepare for the event and give them a firm understanding of the check-in process. This will not only make your attendees feel taken care of, but it will also be a great way to highlight important information that might impact their experience at your event.
At Cadmium, we like to arm event organizers with a "Know Before You Go Message" they can send out before an event, which can also be turned into push notifications sent via Mobile App, enabling short and concise day of reminders.
This message should include information such as:
- A personable message reminding attendees that their event is coming up and gets them excited for it.
- Check-in information with a scannable QR code attendees can use to check in and print their badges with.
- Instructions for attendees to log into their accounts and update their information.
- However, if there is not a way for attendees to do this, then include your meeting planner's contact details for any questions or concerns.
- Additional information that will help the attendee navigate to or access the event such as parking information, the full address of where the event is located, its proximity to the airport, and any available public transportation options.
3. Provide Clear Directions at the Entrance
Having a friendly face that welcomes visitors to the event and points them in the direction they need to go will immediately set the event's tone and help keep the flow of people moving. Imagine a friendlier version of the TSA agents you encounter who, instead of yelling at people to take off their jackets and join a line, gently keeps attendees moving throughout the check-in process and prevents any confusion.
If you want a more minimal approach, we suggest placing legible signs that guide your attendees to the lines they need to join, and clearly mark exits and entrances. As stated in our previous article about streamlining your check-in and badging process, signs should be positioned high enough for attendees to see and use your logos and brand colors.
4. Make it Easy to Print Out Badges
Printing and collecting badges should be a breeze for your attendees. By allowing them to review their badges at home to make sure all the information is correct and update it at home, they won't have to spend time standing in line waiting for a staff member to change it at registration. Attendees can also add personal touches to their badges they would not have considered like icons and important information like food sensitivities.
To make the badge printing process even easier, add a separate help desk so those needing assistance with changing their names, finding their badge details, or any other issues that arise. This will keep your other lines moving smoothly and get attendees into the event without having to deal with bottlenecks.
5. Set Your Onsite Staff Up for Success
This tends to be a detail that gets overlooked, but providing your onsite staff with clear and accessible instructions will help keep things in shape on your end. Instructions for your onsite team on how to set up kiosks and troubleshoot any problems will help prevent any hold-ups or snags from slowing your check-ins down. Additionally, instructions should include how to help both attendees manually and touchlessly scan into the event, just in case your staff have to deal with any check-in or scanning issues.
Make Your Future Check-in and Badging Process Seamless
Implementing these small yet significant changes can substantially streamline your event's check-in process, setting a positive tone from the very beginning. The smoother the start, the more open attendees will be to the experiences that await them inside.
If you want to see a streamlined check-in and badging solution built with these tips in mind, take a look at Cadmium's NEW Check-in and Badging solution. Download the guide to learn more.
