So your event is over and you’re back in the office. The big question now is, was the event a success? To answer this, you will need to go back to your key objectives and measure your event against those. It’s also a really good idea to undertake a review, looking at what worked and the challenging areas, or areas for improvement.
If your primary objective was sales based, is the phone ringing? If it was an awareness/launch KPI, do you have a system in place to measure outcomes? Did your audience retain your marketing messages or key messages? Do you even know?
Was your content/take out material relevant and engaging enough? Do you have a compelling call to action, is it easy for your audience to engage with you post event?
As you consider these questions, it is important to note that technology is increasingly playing a significant role in events and events communication, everything from event specific Twitter handles that are used pre and post event (not just during), to QR codes and augmented reality to deliver additional content. Simple post event online surveys give great insights but these need to be sent within 24 hours of the event in order to obtain a decent response rate. Add an incentive to this and you will bump it up a little higher. Don’t forget terms and conditions/legals if you are giving away prizes. While the event itself is the focus, just as important is the post event communication. I see so many events that are expertly executed; however, the last bit of the puzzle is missing. This piece needs to be planned and executed just as well as the event itself if you are to get the most out of the event and the audience. Do you have a plan to follow up on leads? Have you created relevant post event content that you can deliver to your new database? What about the attendees who RSVP’d, but didn’t show up? Is there a plan in place for communicating to these people as well?
I am firing off lots of questions here, but at the end of the day, your event is only as good and as memorable as you make it. We are working on a project at the moment and the client brief to us is to “make it so memorable that the attendees will be telling their grandchildren”…no pressure and a really hard gig to create, especially as it’s in another country!
As event organisers, we need to set measurable objectives at the outset and keep going back them. It is vital that we design and implement strategies from start to finish and post event with these objectives in mind. It’s easy to get swayed by something ‘shiny’ that can pull us off course, but ultimately, delivering is all-important in order to make the most of the return on investment, and to ensure continued work from the clients. Events give you a perfect opportunity to be fresh and compelling with your content, while allowing you to directly engage with your target audience. In order to maximise the impact of your next event, be sure to think about all touch points and make the most of every opportunity.
