Waiting in lines. We all know that if the line is moving at a slow pace, it’s probably a painful experience for your attendees. Sometimes, lines are just inevitable and therefore, not a thrilling experience. What if we said you could help make it an enjoyable one?
We’ve put together 2 painless waiting-in-line tips that will ease the pain and get your attendees moving to the front in no time:
Inform Them of Their Wait Ahead
The biggest question while waiting in a line that seems to take forever is: “When am I going to make it to the front?” My biggest advice would be to put your event staff and volunteers along the line, estimating your attendee’s wait time and answering any of their questions they may have before they get to the front. Not to say it’s a distraction, but it is, AND it gives the people in line some security in knowing that they will be to the front shortly and that you’re aware of the situation.
Pro tip: if there are quick fixes like fixing a name badge, swapping out a t-shirt size, or logistical question, etc., have event staff going through the line making that happen. It will make the line go much quicker and give the other line-waiters validation that their turn is valuable!
Incorporate an Interactive Experience
Maybe an out of the box idea…but hey! If you’re an organization that knows that people will be waiting in line to get themselves registered into a conference, here’s an idea! Create an interactive experience with your line-waiters. Not sure what that looks like? Take a look:
- Have a dance-off and the winner wins a gift card
- Host trivia in line! The same thing applies – winner gets a gift card or event swag
- Pass out sweet treats to make their wait a little sweeter
- Have an activity on your stand alone conference event app
If you’ve ever been to the Apple store, you know that they have their customer experience strategy down to a T. While their customers are waiting for a Genius to assist them with their products, they host small 30 minute workshops teaching people a new skill. It really is a genius way to keep customers entertained and happy while waiting! And this type of strategy can definitely apply to conferences and attendees as well.
If you’re hosting a conference, you’ll want to avoid lines at all costs. With ePly’s barcode check-in scanning, you’ll be sure to move attendees along! However, we all know lines are sometimes unavoidable. It’s all about putting the attendees first! And when they are at the top of mind, their waiting in line experience is bound to be more pleasurable than normal.
Planning an event for the first time and not sure where to start? Check out our new guide: Event Planning for Non-event Professionals below.
