September 25, 2025
To deliver a personalized and smooth event experience, organizers often need to group attendees based on details like their industry, company size, or specific role within the organization, as well as add-ons they have purchased. Unlike public attendee categories, this often happens behind the scenes to support coordinating logistics, sending targeted announcements, exporting the list, or including special information in name badges for admission checks.
That’s why a few months ago we released Attendee Segments: a behind-the-scenes way to automatically group attendees based on their registration details or add-on purchases. Since launch, organizers have used it to:
- Email only those who purchased a workshop add-on.
- Alert attendees with specific dietary needs about menu changes.
- Send transportation instructions to those requesting shuttle service.
- Export attendee lists for workshop chairs, caterers, or shuttle companies so they know exactly who to prepare for.
- Add a “W” on name badges for those who purchased a workshop add-on, making workshop check-in effortless.
Now, we’ve made it even better. Enhanced Attendee Segments support an expanded set of registration questions, so you can instantly group attendees by industry, organization size, and job function – no manual sorting needed.
And it doesn’t stop there. You can also create segments from custom multiple-choice questions (radio buttons, dropdowns, checkboxes, or consent fields). You can use this to:
- Invite specific organization sizes to sponsor appreciation events.
- Create VIP lounges for attendees in certain roles (e.g., C-level).
- Invite specific industries to join a themed roundtable discussion.
- Invite attendees who selected “Yes” to volunteer opportunities to a volunteer orientation.
- Invite attendees who indicated interest in mentoring to the mentor–mentee matching session.
Please note that this feature is ONLY available for customers who use Whova registration for their events.
Find out how to take your attendee management to the next level with Enhanced Segments!
Segment-Ready Default Questions
With Enhanced Attendee Segments, you now have even greater flexibility with an expanded selection of default registration fields that automatically generate attendee segments. In addition to the existing options, three new fields are now supported: Job Function, Industry, and Organization Size.
Add default registration fields to quickly enable automatic segment generation.
When you include these fields in your registration form, Whova will automatically create segments based on the responses. You can choose whether each question is required, but even optional questions will still segment attendees who provide an answer. This means you can build more private attendee categories as soon as registration begins without any extra effort.
As you check off which fields you want to include, you can set the answer options for Job Function, Industry, and Organization Size. For example, if your conference brings together professionals across marketing, engineering, sales, and customer support, you can enter each of those as options under Job Function, and Whova will automatically generate four separate attendee segments. Organization Size already includes preset choices: you can edit the default size ranges, remove options, or add new options to fit your needs before moving forward.
Review all created segments and subsegments in a dedicated dashboard.
Segmenting From Your Customized Registration Questions
Every event has its own unique needs, which is why many organizers use custom questions in their registration forms. With Segment Refinements, those custom fields can now serve as the foundation for attendee segments, as long as the question type is one of the following: radio button, dropdown, checkbox, or consent.
Simply add your custom question to the registration form, then enter the response options, and Whova will automatically create segments based on how attendees respond. Each response option becomes its own subsegment.
Add multiple-choice custom fields to automatically create custom segments.
For example, event organizers may want to know which day attendees will need an airport shuttle. You can create a custom registration question with options for Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. Once attendees respond, Whova will sort them into their corresponding segments automatically. Then, you can send announcements specifically to each group with details about shuttle pickup times and locations, ensuring clear communication and reducing confusion on event day.
How Do Segments Help?
Here are three ways Enhanced Attendee Segments can support your event needs:
Easily Send Targeted Announcements
Rather than sending broad announcements that might not apply to everyone, you can deliver targeted messages to the right groups. Let’s say you’re hosting a special workshop for attendees in Engineering – you can notify only those who selected that as their Job Function.
You can also quickly send announcements to attendees who purchased an add-on – right from the add-on page. For example, if you want to let attendees who bought a T-shirt know where to pick it up, just select the add-on, click ‘Send announcement,’ and you will be taken to the segments page to finalize the process – all in a few simple steps.
Quickly message attendees in dedicated add-on segments – right from the add-on page.
Customize Name Badges with More Flexibility
Seamlessly add segment information to attendee name badges to enhance your event’s networking experience. Using Whova’s name badge editor, simply click the check mark next to up to three relevant segments to include them on the badges. For example, adding Industry segments helps attendees connect by making it easier to find others in the same field, creating more meaningful networking opportunities.
Quickly Export Selected Attendee Segments
Instantly export segmented lists, like attendees who requested accessibility accommodations or those who signed up for volunteer opportunities, so you can efficiently coordinate with venues, accessibility staff, or volunteer coordinators.
Improve Your Workflow with Enhanced Attendee Segments
Whether you’re managing logistics, sending announcements, or customizing badges, Enhanced Attendee Segments will give you greater flexibility, helping you save time and simplify your event planning process.
Ready to explore the new Segments in action? Set up your registration with Whova today and start creating smarter attendee groups that save time and elevate your event.