How to Use Online RSVP Features to Create Better Customer Experiences event rsvp

There’s a hotel in Austin, Texas that has every guest complete a survey after they confirm their RSVP to stay in one of their accommodations. At first, the survey seems a little over the top with questions about wine and beer preferences and if you need any breakfast foods. Yet, walk into one of their rooms and you’ll be delighted to see a personalized gift waiting for you. Ignoring the fluffy pillows and panoramic city views, the small gesture of putting together a few favorite items ends up stealing the show. Isn’t this an experience that every business would love to create for their customers?

RSVP technology has capabilities beyond predicting attendance rates. Services now allow you to add customized surveys to your RSVP forms, send out event reminders, and store customer email addresses for future use. Basically, you are only limited by your creativity as far as your RSVP tools are concerned. As that Austin hotel proves, it’s now easier than ever to surprise your customers with the personalized touches they weren’t expecting. And RSVP tools can make it happen.

How Does RSVP Technology Work?

When you sign up for an RSVP service, you’ll get the standard capabilities you’re expecting–allowing your customers to RSVP to your event. Beyond this basic requirement, you’ll also notice that you can also build a dedicated landing page to host your RSVP within the RSVP software. There’s no need to use generic pages with boring “yes” and “no” attendance checkboxes. Turn your RSVP page into a fun and engaging sales page that connects with your company’s vision. If you already have a landing page built, that’s no problem; simply embed your RSVP into one of your existing web pages.

Now you have a beautiful landing page that allows your customers to RSVP to your event. What else can you do? Taking the lead from the Austin hotel, you can create a survey for your customers to fill out prior to the event. If you’re hosting a writer’s retreat, for example, maybe you want to know about the types of authors your attendees prefer. On the other hand, a networking conference may want to know the industries that their attendees work in. Think critically about what you need to know about your customers in order to make your event great and don’t be afraid to ask for the answers you need. The end result will be an amazing event that both you and your customers will be happy with.

Don’t forget to ask for email addresses! RSVP tools can integrate seamlessly with your email marketing provider, making it easy to send out event reminders and important details that your customers may need to know prior to event day. In addition, collecting emails along with your RSVPs is a great way to grow your list and stay connected with your customers long term.

Optimizing RSVP Tools for the Best Customer Experience

Ok, so you’ve created a beautiful landing page and asked your customers some crucial questions as they complete their RSVP. Is it time to sit back, relax, and wait for event day? No! Let’s say that you’re hosting an internal professional development day in your office. On your survey, you ask your staff whether they prefer coffee or tea. Knowing that all of your confirmed attendees work in the same building, you send out an email announcing a morning mixer where all of the coffee fanatics can get together. The next week, you host an event for the tea contingent. By the time your actual event arrives, your staff will have already begun networking and developing meaningful connections.

Knowledge is power. RSVP tools let you understand who your event attendees are, which lets you begin to shape their experience even before your event happens. Are there training videos you can send out that address the skills your seminar attendees said they wanted to work on? Is there any branded merchandise that your customers said they prefer? Don’t simply use RSVP technology’s custom question capabilities simply for the sake of using it. Treat the answers you receive as valuable data that gives you insight into what your customers want, need, and feel. This is information you can use, not only for the purposes of your event, but for any interactions during the customer lifecycle.

What RSVP Tools Can’t Do For Your Business

As with all tools, their amazing capabilities are only as powerful as your plans to use them. It’s important that you incorporate RSVP calendar services into the foundation of your marketing strategy and take the time to evaluate how you plan to optimize them for your business’s success. How is your landing page branded to fit the mission and vision of your company? Are the questions you’re asking your customers relevant to what you need to know to offer the best experience possible? How are you using email addresses even after the event has passed?

Following your event, take some time to consider how you will use the information you gained about your customers to stay connected with them and continue to provide a great experience. Maybe there are follow up events you can offer given what you now know about your customers’ needs and interests. Maybe there is a product you can develop that will address a pain point that became apparent in your pre-event survey.

Like the Austin hotel, being intentional about your customer interaction prior to your event can go a long way in creating a positive customer experience both at the event and beyond. You can be sure that hotel guests still remember how great it was to see their favorite bottle of wine when they stepped into their rooms. Use RSVP technology to reach beyond the rote requirements of securing attendance numbers and, instead, see it as a great opportunity to connect with your customers and create lasting memories.

AddEvent’s RSVP technology lets your imagination run wild and use all of the amazing features that RSVP tools have to offer. With fully customizable landing pages, easy to use email integrations, effective event reminders, and customer surveys, AddEvent is changing the way that businesses host events.