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Using promotional codes to encourage attendance at your next event

Promotional codes are becoming a regular feature of our lives, with members of the public presenting coupons and vouchers to buy everything from groceries to books.

A recent poll by Savoo found that 70 per cent of men have used discount vouchers, while 83 per cent of women will only allow themselves to splash out on a luxury item if they have one. Those aged 25 to 34 are more likely to produce one to receive money off.

Promo codes are great for events

You may assume that promotional codes only apply in retail, but the truth is that you can easily use them as an events organizer to generate interest in your conferences or exhibitions and encourage higher levels of registration.

 

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Promo codes can be in the form of dollar or percentage discount and applied only to selected ticket types

 

Providing a discount for tickets is the most common way of applying promo codes, which people like because it increases the perceived value they are getting. In a similar vein, applying a code for a free T-shirt or goody bag also makes attendees feel they are receiving more value for money.

You could also find that people who receive codes are more likely to attend future events, because they feel a sense of loyalty to your brand. This is particularly the case if you word your invitations with a thank-you, for example, “for being such a good customer”.

This is easy as you can easily use your WYSIWYG editor to change the text in the emails and thus, segment your communication based on the marketing list that the recipients belong to.

A promotional code can also help to generate a sense of urgency – sending out a discount that only applies for a limited time could encourage early bird registration for an event.

Distribute promotional codes via your Channels and Exhibitors

Channel partners and exhibitors can provide a great source of marketing outreach so do consider generating promo codes for your key partners.

 

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You can generate unique promo codes for each of your channel partner or exhibitor

 

Keep checking their progress for maximum results

However, don’t forget to track the progress of your codes by seeing how many are applied to ticket orders compared to the amount sent out. That way, you will know where to send your new codes next time and the marketing list to target to make the process more efficient. This will also help you to determine who is your best channel partner to tap on for your next event.

One final caveat – don’t make your promo codes too complicated, as this might discourage use, particularly via mobile devices where people cannot cut and paste text as easily as PC users. Make the code a simple word and two or three numbers so that recipients can remember it and share it.

Doing this should ensure a high conversion rate and result in bustling attendance levels for your event.

Level up your events with Gevme’s omnichannel event platform

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