9 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Registration System

Technology developed specifically for courses and training are important tools for course organizers to drive business innovation, increase their efficiency and signup magnitude, as well as to impress course participants.

Efficient registration systems make up a large part of this technology and thus, choosing the right registration solution has become an important factor in the success of many course companies.

Whether you are running a small course business or organizing courses globally, there are a number of factors to consider when choosing a registration system for your business.

In this blog post, we will highlight 9 factors to consider when determining what the right registration system for your business is.

Before we cover the 9 points, we will take a look at what a registration system actually is.

What is a registration system?

A modern registration system is a system that allows a course provider to accept and register course sign-ups.

There are many different registration system solutions. Some consist of simple registration forms for your website that send you sign-up receipts by e-mail, while other systems allow you to process the registrations in the cloud and includes a larger portion of the administrative work of the course provider.

There are registration systems that are adapted to course activities, as well as more generic solutions.

Now, over to what you need to look for to find a signup solution that suits your business as a course provider!

Does the registration system offer a mobile friendly sign-up form?

The global statistics show that as many as 52% of searches for information online are made from mobile phones. When someone is looking for courses they can sign up for, there is a high probability that they will do so from their phone.

Surveys carried out on the topic show that a registration page that is not mobile-friendly causes a loss of up to 30% of potential registrants.

A mobile friendly registration form has a design that automatically adapts itself to the size of the screen on which the form is displayed, which makes the registration form functional on computers, phones and tablets. This means that course registration can be done from any device, regardless of screen size.

Another reason why you should go for a mobile-friendly online sign-up form is that Google penalizes websites that lack mobile friendliness by reducing your website’s ranking in mobile search results. This means that you lose traffic on your website and potential course participants use the more mobile friendly pages of your competitors.

Does the registration system increase the likelihood of sign ups?

The design of the registration form on your website can be imperative for whether a visitor to the website converts and signs up as a course participant. Some sign-up system providers have premade forms that can hardly be changed, while others allow you to make your own adjustments and customize them to suit your needs.

It can be easy to assume that the systems that allow you to be endlessly creative are the best, however, this is not necessarily the case. The reason for this is that the designers of the registration forms are experienced in this field and know what kind of design leads a potential course participant to register.

Does the registration system save you spending time on administrative tasks?

Would you like a solution that only allows you to receive registrations from your own website, or would you like a complete course administration solution that increases the number of registrations and will save you time?

With the help of a complete course administration system with a built-in registration solution, you will be able to save a considerable amount of time.

Instead of needing to cooperate with a number of different system providers and moving participant information across several different platforms, you can put your time to better use by growing and improving other parts of your business, such as the participant experience.

Course providers who choose separate solutions to create course calendars, registration forms, checklists, course completion follow-up methods, for sending emails and information and to manage course participants often experience an interrupted workflow and decreased overall efficiency.

A complete course administration solution will be both time efficient and more user friendly than combining many different solutions and systems. You won’t have to waste time updating the same information on many platforms and you get the opportunity to work smarter and more efficiently without wasting time.

Does the registration system suit your business?

When choosing a registration solution, it is important that the functionality suits the course activities. “One size fits all” does not apply to registration systems.

When it comes to registration solutions, you should consider quality over quantity. There is no point buying a solution with lots of unnecessary features that are not adapted to the course activities. Find a system that has the tools you need for a successful course execution, and make sure they are of high quality.

Additionally, make sure the system allows you to create a registration form that is in line with the branding of the company. Consistency in the color theme of a brand strengthens the brand’s identity in the market and creates trust – something that is important for converting a course applicant into a course participant.

Here is a selection of different registration forms made with FrontCore’s registration solution.

Does the system provide a good overview?

True understanding comes from being able to analyze data. By using a complete course administration system with a built-in sign-up solution, you collect all the important data in one place. This allows you to gain valuable insights that can help you increase the number of registrants to your courses.

The typical data you receive in total course administration systems include the number of registrations for a selected period and the sales value of the registrations, as well as which marketing campaigns lead to the highest number of course registrations.

The problem with registration forms that do not have an associated course administration solution is that they are not specifically designed for course providers. The data of interest for the course provider is therefore not available, and thus, they report poor user experience.

How does the participant experience the registration solution?

It can be easy to evaluate a registration system solely from your own point of view as a course provider. However, it is important to see the solution also from the participants’ perspective. How user friendly is it? Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

• Is the registration form inviting?
• Is it easy to understand which fields to fill out?
• Can the participant be sure that the registration form is safe to use?
• Will the participant be able to pay when registering?
• Will the solution help the participant feel that he/she is adequately guided through the process?

How secure is the registration system?

In the course industry, you are dealing with a large flow of personal information, so focusing on the safety aspect is highly important. Many course providers are now more aware of the security issues related to their registration systems than before, thanks to the introduction of the new GDPR privacy legislation.

When choosing a registration system, you should make sure that the registration form and the solution behind is secure and complies with the requirements of the law. The solution should also make it easy for you as a course provider to manage the GDPR principles correctly.

How good is the service you get from the supplier of the registration solution?

When conducting course activities, it is important that you have a solution that works optimally. Further, it is important that there is a support function, so that maintenance and assistance is provided when needed.

Therefore, when choosing a registration system, you should make sure that the business providing the system is able to give you good customer service. How easy is it to reach them? How good is their insight into typical problems for course providers, and how adaptable are they?

Conclusion: How to choose the right registration system

The best registration system is the solution that suits your overall goals and objectives the best. It should also provide you with the greatest flexibility, whilst giving you the tools you need to increase the number of registrations and functions to easily manage the participants.

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