They walk amongst us, relatively unobtrusively and generally bothering no-one. You probably don’t even notice them quietly going their own way, even though if you look closely you’ll see the tell-tale tools they carry. And you usually don’t even need to care that they even exist. Until suddenly, BAM! They come up against your online event registration system and you may be put in the position of losing one, or even many valuable customers.

These people are Leadites, defined, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, by Wordspy as “n. A person whose opposition to technology manifests itself in, among other things, a preference for pencils.” Leadite is a modern variant of the word Luddite, though usually without the violence to machines, more of an abstinence of use. Whether the Leadites in your life are your managers, staff or registrants, you need to be able to recognise them and have strategies for dealing with these shadowy people.

Your plans to move to an online event registration system can be derailed before they even get started if the Leadite in your life is your boss/company owner/ board members. It’s easy to spot this trait — your boss will say things like “We’ve always handled registrations over the phone and it’s worked just fine” or “I’ve just gotten used to the fax machine — and everybody has one of those!”

The key to convincing these technologically-reluctant decision-makers to move online is to talk about all the cost savings involved – in terms of dollars, time and labour-intensive effort. Present both the tangible savings, such as labour costs, communication dollars, printing and mailing $$s, and the intangible ones, including up-to-the-minute information, accuracy of registrations, and professional image for the company. Keep the PowerPoint slides simple though, as you don’t want to intimidate with technology. We have a great blog post that goes into much more detail about how to “sell” online registration to the powers-that-be.

If you’ve got the go-ahead to implement an online event registration system, you may run into reluctance from your staff. This may manifest overtly in vocal protests or in more hidden ways, perhaps through trying to “break” the system or finding faults with it. Some of the resistance may be genuine Leadite thinking — not wanting to participate in the digital world, though this is a strange choice when they’re working in a modern office environment. Chances are, though, that this viewpoint is driven by fear of some kind — fear of change, of being “supplanted by machines”, of losing their jobs, of being sidelined into really boring work. The good news here is that these emotions and thoughts are relatively easy to address.

You need to be upfront with your staff about how they’ll be spending the time they usually devote to registration tasks. This won’t be a problem if they’re expected to carry out these duties in addition to their regular workload; but those team members dedicated to registrations need to be reassured that they still have a role in the process, albeit a revised one. No more data entry, checking inaccurate information or stuffing envelopes; now they can monitor the process and deal with any phone inquiries. Most will find this more interesting!

We’re not sure how much of an urban legend the customer who won’t register online for an event is. We’re told that there are still some out there, but no-one has any stats on the matter so it may be just one or two people per event. We suggest that you do offer an alternative way to register — phone, mail or even fax — but make it less attractive to do so. It’s perfectly OK to impose a processing fee to cover the extra workload involved. This may deter those who have just a mild aversion to using the online system. Additionally, design your registration form to be non-intimidating, simple, and straightforward to use to help those who become overwhelmed when looking at any computer screen.

We’re not questioning the existence of Leadites, those who prefer not to become involved with the digital world, but we have to ask if there may be other reasons for potential event participants not wanting to use online registration systems. And you don’t have to look far, or ask many people, to come up with concerns about the security and privacy of personal information on the Internet, especially financial information.

Everyone’s heard about hacking, internet scams and the hijacking of web pages. Your registrants don’t know much about your company, and even less about the individuals there, and you’re asking them for all kinds of sensitive information. Write your privacy policy in regular language, don’t ask for unnecessary information, and give registrants a real person to contact if they have any questions or concerns. Just doing this may allay their fears, even if they don’t make use of the option, and encourage them to sign-up for the event online.

Here are three other articles that will help you make your online event registration form non-threatening and comfortable to use. Browse through our blog – there’s plenty more help there.

How to Spot a Leadite — and What to do if You Find One

How to Spot a Leadite — and What to do if You Find One

Your Boss Says No To Online Registration

Your Staff Are Reluctant To Make a Change

Your Customers Resist Using a New Registration System

Leadites

How to convince the higher-ups

Settle your staff down

Addressing the real problems

More help with Leadites

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