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Tip 1: Sell More Registrations With a Good Cancellation Policy

At ePly, we want to help you sell more registrations and fill your event. With that in mind, we're now starting a series of tips to help ensure your events' success.

Tip 1 - Make friendly cancellation polices that encourage people to register early, that don't scare people away and still protect the interests of the event planner.

Here are a few points to consider when formulating your cancellation policy:

Clearly state important dates

Ensure dates for full refunds, partial refunds, changes, etc. are clearly stated. This will help to reduce disputes and give you something to refer to if an issue does arise.

Clearly state refund or change fees

You may not want to charge a fee in the name of good customer service, but remember that if the transaction was on a credit card, the credit card processing fees on the initial transaction cannot be recouped, so you must be prepared to absorb this amount.

Keep it simple and professional

Try to provide a brief explanation as to why you have selected certain dates and policies. A statement like "Any change requests must be made before November 24th as we need to confirm meals and seating with the venue" may get a better reaction than "No changes after November 24th".

Provide change request instructions

Be sure to state that cancellation or change requests be made in writing. At a minimum, provide the name, phone number and email address of the person to contact.

Give alternatives

Allow event participants to send an alternate person to the event
Provide a credit towards another event if applicable
If working with a charity, reiterate that in the policy, so registrants know the reason you may not be providing a refund is due to the funds going to the particular cause

Remember, in most cases the main goal is to get people to register for your event. By adding some flexibility to your refund and cancellation policies and giving some alternatives, you are likely to attract more registrations.

Here are three sample cancellation policies.

The registration deadline is March 23, 2010. Full refunds are available prior to January 31, 2010. After this date you may send an alternate to the event without additional charge. To request a cancellation or to make a change please send an email to the Event Planner at eventplanner@theevent.com.
Refunds less a $25.00 cancellation fee will be provided for cancellations received in writing to eventplanner@theevent.com prior to January 31, 2010. Following this date, no refunds will be given, but a credit will be issued to use towards another event within one year.
Sorry, tickets are non refundable as all proceeds go to charity, so please consider your purchase as a donation.

We have plenty of tips of our own, but if there is one in particular you feel the world needs to know, send it over, or contact us

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments about this article.

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