Is your professional association or industry conference maximizing revenue with optimized event registration services and audience engagement at every touchpoint?
At AnswerNet, we are lucky to encounter a wide array of new technologies our clients are leveraging to sell out their events through new, savvy engagement tactics. As we kick off 2025, we’re sharing this compilation of platforms, apps and best practices that our client event organizers are leveraging to ensure their conferences reach full capacity. Hopefully, one or more of these will help steer your upcoming event in the right direction.
P.S.—These aren’t paid endorsements. However, if you need outbound telemarketing, telesales or inbound customer care to drive early success or break attendance records, reach out to us!
1. Personalized Registration Experience
Creating customized and dynamic event registration services is important to engaging attendees from the moment they visit your event page.
Platforms:
- Bizzabo: An AI-driven platform offering tailored attendee journeys and dynamic pricing.
- Cvent: A comprehensive tool providing personalized registration forms and attendee communication.
Note: These platforms can be incorporated into a larger campaign strategy that incorporates your telemarketing lists and inbound call center strategies.
2. Mobile-First Registration Platforms
With more and more people registering via smartphones, mobile optimization is essential.
Platforms:
- Eventbrite: Mobile-friendly registration and payment options.
- Whova: A mobile-first platform that integrates registration with event apps for scheduling and networking.
Note: These are still the top mobile registration platforms for a reason. Both are web-based and easy to integrate into your larger workflow including your outsourced call center registration teams.
3. Integrated Networking Features
Networking is one of the biggest draws for attendees. Providing tools to schedule meetings and make meaningful connections is a must. There are dozens of networking platforms available and most seem to carry the same basic features. We’ve been told attendees are starting to prefer using these apps to collect contact info and schedule meetings in place of penciling in plans on personal calendars and collecting shoeboxes full of business cards . . . Bad news if you just bought a new box of 2,500 cards for the bulk discount!
Platforms:
- Brella: AI-powered matchmaking to schedule meetings and foster connections.
- Grip: Networking through personalized matchmaking and analytics.
4. Advanced Payment and Financing Options
This is new. Flexibility in payment methods helps increase attendance, especially for large-scale, high-priced events. We love this new option because it helps prospective attendees make quicker decisions or take advantage of promotions and early registration discounts ahead of figuring out budgets.
Platforms:
- RegFox: Offers installment plans and payment gateway integrations.
- Ticket Tailor: Provides customizable ticketing with no per-ticket fees.
Note: AnswerNet is PCI DSS certified, offering secure payment processing tailored to your workflow and security needs.
5. Real-Time Ticket Management
Real-time ticketing data helps promoters adjust marketing efforts and optimize attendee experiences.
Platforms:
- Accelevents: Live ticket sales dashboards and QR-code-based check-in.
- Eventzilla: Real-time analytics and mobile check-in features.
Building Anticipation: One of the most exciting aspects of promoting events in 2025 is the ability to build early anticipation and drive interest through strategic keynote announcements. From there, successful promoters maintain momentum with continuous updates—like adding new speakers, enhancing the schedule and promoting must-see sessions and roundtables. Large-scale events are stretching their marketing cycles by offering a series of teases and value-packed announcements that keep attendees engaged right up until the event day.
6. Gamified Registration Incentives
Incorporating game mechanics such as leaderboards and rewards can increase engagement and early registration.
Platforms:
- Socio: Gamification features, including leaderboards and rewards.
- EventMobi: Interactive challenges and real-time polling.
Pro Tip—Focus on Exclusive Experiences: Skip the usual giveaways and room upgrades. Today’s attendees crave personalized experiences that offer exclusive access or learning opportunities. For example, you could enter the first 100 registrants into a drawing for a private dinner with a keynote speaker or a seat at an exclusive roundtable session. These unique, high-value experiences tap into the FOMO, making your event even more enticing.
7. Sustainability-Focused Registration Options
Eco-friendly initiatives are becoming increasingly important to event attendees, especially in industries where sustainability is a key concern. Offering digital-first options such as paperless tickets, reusable badges and digital agendas can position your event as both modern and impact-driven. While these choices may not directly boost sales, they can enhance your event’s reputation and attract environmentally-conscious participants.
Platforms:
- Eventleaf: Paperless ticketing and digital materials.
- Grenadine Event Planner: Digital agendas and reusable badges.
8. Integrated Travel and Accommodation Booking
Simplifying travel arrangements can help attendees commit to your event, especially for international conferences or leadership summits in exotic locations. In these cases, attendees may appreciate packaged options that include transportation, accommodations and event access. However, for many events, giving attendees control over their travel choices remains important.
Platforms:
- Conferma Pay: Travel payments and expense management.
- Lanyon: Comprehensive travel booking and hotel sourcing.
9. AI Chat Assistants
AI chatbots can enhance the registration process by providing instant support to attendees. They’re particularly effective for events planned far in advance, where it may not be feasible to staff customer care teams for routine questions. Chatbots can quickly highlight key event details like location, ticket options, and registration policies, making them a valuable tool for attendee engagement.
Platforms:
- Drift: Automated responses to FAQs and supports real-time attendee inquiries.
- Intercom: AI-powered chatbots for attendee assistance.
- AnswerNet: Our own bots that can be easily configured to enhance your larger campaign. Naturally, we’re big fans of our own toolset.
10. Real-Time Analytics for Organizers
Data visualization tools allow event registration managers and promoters to monitor and optimize registration in real-time. These tools help you optimize your marketing and outreach efforts to build interest in your event and they aso help you keep up-to-date budgets so you don’t overbook your event spaces (or run out of mini quiche).
Platforms:
- Hubilo: Provides dashboards for registration trends and attendee engagement.
- Attendify: Offers live data insights to inform marketing and planning.
11. Exclusive Pre-event Content Access
Engage your registrants early by giving them access to valuable content before the event.
Platforms:
12. Integration with Event Apps
Attendees expect full integration between registration and event apps for convenience and a better experience. Seriously—there’s nothing worse than not knowing where you go for one piece of information or content when there are multiple systems for your event.
Platforms:
- Guidebook: Customizable event apps with registration and schedule integration.
- Eventdex: Event apps with session RSVPs and attendee networking.
How Can AnswerNet Can Help You Exceed Event Goals?
With more than 20 years of experience, AnswerNet has helped new and established event organizers surpass registration goals. Our call center and customer experience solutions are customized to support your event registration services, aligning with your budget and revenue objectives.
Click here to visit our event registration page and fill out the contact form to chat with an event registration expert about what you can do to ensure your next event is a huge success.
