Why is evaluating an event important

An event is not successful just because it happens. Some events are memorable and will draw people, while others might not—and this is ok. Events can serve a variety of purposes, but still need to be updated to maximize the return on investment of time and effort involved.

Some questions you might ask include:. Answering these questions requires information on numbers attendance, revenues and perceptions visitor experience. While it can be intimidating to ask visitors for input, their perspectives are incredibly valuable, and even if negative, feedback to the planning team is preferred to unfiltered thoughts shared over social media.

It is important to have some way of gauging event success to make the next event even better, and to ensure the lessons of the event are kept in mind when planning begins for the following year.

Best practices for event evaluation start with launching evaluation efforts early. Event apps such as Eventbrite give you the ability to engage with your customers while also collecting demographic and other information about your audience. People can send their concerns and questions through these apps as well, making it easier for both the customer and for you as the organizer. In addition to these digital tools, you can set up information areas at the event to encourage people to share their ideas and experiences with staff immediately while still at the event.

At a minimum, key steps to follow include monitoring counts attendance and sales , conducting a post-event surveys for visitors, conducting interviews with all stakeholders and gathering feedback. You should have a ticketing system that allows you to count attendance. That way, you can follow up with the no-shows individually. You will already have worked out a budget prior to the event. Add up all your expenses related to the venue, equipment, catering, and so on.

Then calculate how much money you made from the ticket sales. You should also make a note of any special deals you struck with the vendors. Your guests and event sponsors are not the only opinions you should care about. Remember to listen to your event team as well.

Ask everyone what they felt went well and what could run smoother next time. You should also get some statements from any speakers or entertainers you had at the event. They might make for good social media quotes. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Based on this framework, you can create a custom recipe for effective events and learn which points have to be improved in the future.

The use of event success metrics helps event planners see the whole picture and track the general performance of their events. Therefore, a comprehensive event evaluation process has numerous advantages:. In a world where everyone is pressed for time, attending an event should have a good reason behind it. If you manage to understand the value of attendance through the use of effective event evaluation methods, you maximize the chances for enriching your client base in the future.

Check out the essential aspects of event organization which you should measure to understand the performance of your strategy:. The most meaningful feedback that you can get comes from the people attending your event. You can leverage post-event surveys and email communications to find out how the attendees respond to your event. Try to embed only short and comprehensive questions which capture honest responses and demonstrate how your event guests really feel about the event.

If possible, offer numeric options for responses to minimize the time spent on filling out the surveys. The efficiency of planning your event is also dependent on how the budget that you spent on event organization relates to the generated revenue. To measure your monetary outcomes, calculate anticipated cost vs. This way you get the necessary data for the analysis of your budgeting strategy.

By analyzing and displaying your event report data in the same format each year, it affords you the opportunity to do year-over-year benchmarking.

You will begin to see trends within your events. Your post-event report should include several sections based on the type of event you are planning. Post-event surveys should be sent to all attendees, sponsors and exhibitors within 2 days of the event, or better yet, make it available in the event app. Collecting feedback immediately after the event generates a greater number of responses and the feedback received is more valuable.

Evaluating event success is a process that should begin as you begin planning your event and involves your entire team. Putting the measures in place from the start will allow you to see how your event is faring, essentially in real time.

When it comes to engagement, continuous evaluation can give insight into the success of all elements of your event. Ensure your attendees feel they have a voice throughout the event as it leads to greater satisfaction, survey scores and future attendance.

Remember when it comes to tracking and evaluation, choose what you want to evaluate, set up the plan and stick to it. The post-event report that follows will become a strong basis for your future events.

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