Your Event and The Fear of Coronavirus

If you’re like many of the customers we’ve spoken with this month, you’re feeling the stress of the Coronavirus threat for the event industry. I want you to know, I spent over 15 years running live events and I understand the weight of what you’re facing. I also know Event Organizers are a special breed of guts, grit and creativity. That’s why I’m not going to send you a link to the CDC or tips on how to wash your hands. Instead, let’s talk about the real issue - people are afraid. The first thing we need to do is define what we are facing. We aren’t simply facing a new virus, we believe that what we are truly facing is fear. Fear of what might happen in the future. This personal and financial fear is what’s really causing would-be attendees to hesitate clicking that submit button. We need to look fear in the face and then find a way around it. Our strength during this time is that we don’t have to face it alone. As your online registration partner, we want you to know that we are in your corner. We believe you will not only survive, but thrive in these difficult times. So we’ve put together our recommendations to help you navigate what’s next.

Neutralize The Risk With A Great Refund Policy

The best way to combat hesitation in your registrants is a clearly stated refund policy. Remember that fear is a major factor influencing your registrants, and none of us are immune to it. We recommend offering a 100% money-back cancellation policy for the time being. It removes all of the worry and fear about the future. A clear refund policy will make your customers feel secure in their purchase and communicate your care. To assist you, we’ve put together our recommended steps to add this to your RegFox page.

Consider Alternatives To Cancelling The Event

We know this is real life right now, and being put in this position is hard. We also want you to know that we’ve seen successful alternatives to cancelling the event.

1. Reschedule the event for a later date. You can do this in two easy steps, at no additional cost. First, update your Event Date to the new date. Second, send an email to your registrants to notify them of the change. We recommend a Scheduled Reminder, because it includes all of their registration details.
2. Offer a coupon code for a future event for those who are fearful to attend. Instead of a refund, you can issue a unique code to the registrant. This code will be valid on any of your RegFox pages in the future, for the value of their original purchase.
3. Offer the event online, instead of in person. If possible, this is a great option to still bring value to your registrants. You can use our Communication Center to send out recordings and/or online meeting links to registered attendees.

If you need anything, our team is here to help. You've got this, John & Eric Co-Founders of Webconnex