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HighEdWeb - Promo Codes

Promotion Codes Provide Targeted Discounts and Incentives to Select Attendees

Challenge    Lacked means to target certain attendee types

Solution       Promo Codes offer incentives and discounts to target "key" attendees

Results         Expanded conference includes speakers and VIPs who "make the event happen"

Background

Founded in 1999, the Higher Education Web Professionals Association (HighEdWeb) is an international organization of Web professionals working at institutions of higher education. With representatives from six colleges and universities in New York State, the Higher Education Web Professionals Association (HighEdWeb) has grown to more than 700 members from public and private educational institutions. Their mission is to advance Web professionals as well as technologies and standards in higher education.

Business Challenge

Lacked means to target certain attendee types

As the primary organizer of the 2006 HighEdWebDev Conference, Conference Co-Chair Steve Lewis needed a complete solution that would allow them to customize their registration page. In addition to taking advantage of Acteva's many standard features - Quick & Easy Set Up, Plug & Play Payments and Secure Data Collection - Lewis was looking for distinct, customizable tools to provide discounts and incentives for attendees to register.

In particular, he needed a unique way to apply pre-selected discounts to speakers and presenters as a special incentive during registration for the annual conference. Lewis, who also serves as Web Manager at a campus of a large New York State University System, decided to choose Acteva's online registration solution to meet his needs.

Acteva Solution

Promo Codes offer incentives and discounts to target "key" attendees

A deciding factor in the selection process was Acteva's Promotion Code feature, which offered a means to provide customized discounts to select attendees for the 4-day conference. For Lewis, the primary reason to implement Promotion Codes was that key attendees such as conference presenters, workshop presenters and double presenters can enter a code when registering to receive a discount or special offer as configured by Lewis. The discount can be a specific dollar amount off the list price - i.e. $100 off - or a percentage - i.e. 25% off. "In the past we had a very rigid definition in terms of what we could use," says Lewis. "We could only use a dollar amount and the Promotion Code provides the option of using a percentage. It's a lot more powerful than anything we used before."

Also, for the HighEdWebDev Conference, different Promotion Codes were set up for Early Bird registrants if they register by a certain date or when committee members choose to invite others on behalf of the Association. "Our event was a conference, and we needed a mechanism to charge different people different prices, without limiting other registration options or duplicating all the details of our event," says Lewis. He adds that the Promotion Code solution achieved the goal of rewarding those who contribute to the overall success of the conference. "Using Acteva's solution, the committee members and the presenters - the people who make the event happen - were able to register at a discounted rate."

The Ideal Self-Service Solution

In regards to service, Acteva was instrumental in helping Lewis develop and implement guidelines and business rules to meet his needs. Acteva has a strong service team that can determine the best plan of action for utilizing Promotion Codes - based on the particular business requirements of a customer. "I outlined what we needed in terms of our registration process, our game plan for the conference, and how we wanted to offer incentives to our key attendees," says Lewis. "Acteva's Service Team offered a few suggestions and then helped get us up an running right away. They demonstrated how to use the Promotion Codes to maximize their effectiveness."

Another benefit for the event organizer is that Acteva's Promotion Code capability is a complete self-service solution. Organizers can set rules, determine usage and define the parameters of the Promotion Code themselves. And the codes can be designated as one-timeuse, meaning they can't be shared or abused. Lewis can also track the success of the codes for future planning. "In the past, we have printed discount codes on different pieces of advertising to track marketing efficiency and offer discounts and increase registration. We haven't needed to take these steps this year."

In addition, as part of Acteva's customer service protocol for first-time users, those implementing the Promotion Code feature are provided with an optional customer "Walk-Through." During the "Walk through," Lewis learned the various benefits and capabilities of the Promotion Codes and asked questions on how to best utilize this valuable feature to increase attendance at the conference. It also provides a useful introduction to the Promotion Code's benefits and helps organizers such as Lewis develop on overall blueprint for a successful event.

Like many first-time users, Lewis occassionally has the need to contact the Service Team at Acteva as questions arise, and he's experienced nothing but helpful, professional assistance. "The Service Team at Acteva was great,"says Lewis. "I would have to say the quality of customer service we have received when we needed assistance is the single most significant value we have received from using Acteva."

Results

Expanded conference includes speakers and VIP's who "make the event happen"

Lewis concludes by saying that the Promotion Code feature contributed to what was already a comprehensive online registration solution, adding another benefit to reward attendees and encourage future attendance. "The Promotion Code tool has exceeded our needs," says Lewis. He adds that with the help of Acteva's online registration solution, the annual conference will again grow in attendance by more than 30%.

Experience that counts

Acteva is the trusted leader in online event registration, ticketing and payment management services. Since 1998, over 14,000 customers have used Acteva to manage more than 260,000 events and process more than 4.6 million registrations. Acteva's customers include Bausch & Lomb, Pfizer, SAP, Girl Scouts of America, Whole Foods, Craigslist Foundation, BMW/MINI, NASA, VMware, Apple, DHL, PG&E and thousands of small to large-sized businesses and organizations.