The Correct Metrics For Measuring Corporate Event Success

It’s really important to have some form of measurement in place to determine your event success. To successfully accomplish this you need to make sure you use the correct metrics.

1. Confirm your event type

Determine the type of event you’re hosting. Is it a B2B conference, a black-tie gala event or a launch etc.? This is a key performance indicator even though it may not seem like it at first glance. Once you have an event type or theme established, you can also identify the demographic that gravitates towards the particular event type.

2. Define Key Performance Indicators (KPI)

You would need to identify your KPI before the event planning phase even starts. There are plenty of KPI’s and we recommend that you stick to more than one or two.

See below list of suggested KPI’s:
• Revenue VS overhead cost
• Ticket Sales
• Social Media activity
• Number of products sold at event
• Company sales after the launch
There’s far more to event success that just filling seats. It’s also about bringing in profit, creating brand loyalty, and electing social media discussions.
These all need a different set of KPI’s for determining degree of success and whether benchmarks were met.

3.Post-event survey

A sold-out event doesn’t automatically entail a success. If the attendees in general didn’t think the event was worth their while, then your event wasn’t as successful as you thought. It’s crucial to know what your attendees felt about various aspects of the event. How did they feel about the venue, parking, catering, main presentation etc.? A survey should be sent within 24 hrs after the event took place. This could be sent via an email or sms. Let the responses be a gauge for determining general attendee satisfaction. This can be simple ‘on a scale of 1-5’ questions to make it quick and easy to complete.

4. Collect mobile numbers & email addresses

It’s vital to collect your attendees contact details to add to your database. The numbers alone are KPI, but you also have to look at other factors, such as how many people unsubscribed upon becoming a subscriber, how many of the newsletters are opened and read, and how many converted to sales. These are all examined well after the event took place. Measuring event success continues weeks after the event has ended.

Post-event offers a whole new set of KPI’s that are every bit as important as raw attendance numbers & revenue.

5. Track Social Media Activity

Social media has its own entire set of metrics. This area is helpful for determining the success on the promotion and marketing side of things.