How can you use surveys to measure the impact of your event?

1 Define your goals

Before you create your survey, you need to define your goals and objectives for your event and your survey. What do you want to achieve with your event? What do you want to learn from your survey? How will you use the survey results to improve your event performance and strategy? Having clear and specific goals will help you focus your survey questions and avoid irrelevant or redundant data.

2 Choose your survey type

Depending on your goals and audience, you can choose different types of surveys to measure the impact of your event. For example, you can use pre-event surveys to gauge the expectations and preferences of your attendees, sponsors, and partners. You can use post-event surveys to assess the satisfaction, engagement, and learning outcomes of your event. You can also use follow-up surveys to track the long-term effects and benefits of your event, such as behavior change, loyalty, or referrals.

3 Design your survey questions

The quality of your survey questions will determine the quality of your survey data and insights. You want to design your survey questions to be clear, concise, relevant, and unbiased. You also want to balance the types of questions you use, such as open-ended, closed-ended, or rating scales. Open-ended questions allow your respondents to express their opinions and feedback in their own words, but they can be time-consuming and difficult to analyze. Closed-ended questions provide predefined options for your respondents to choose from, but they can limit their responses and miss important nuances. Rating scales allow your respondents to indicate their level of agreement, satisfaction, or importance, but they can be subjective and inconsistent.

4 Distribute your survey

Once you have designed your survey, you need to distribute it to your target audience in a timely and convenient manner. You can use different channels and methods to reach your respondents, such as email, SMS, social media, or QR codes. You can also use different timing and frequency to optimize your response rate, such as before, during, or after your event, or as a one-time or periodic survey. You want to make sure that your survey is accessible, attractive, and easy to complete for your respondents.

5 Analyze your survey data

The final step is to analyze your survey data and extract meaningful insights that can help you measure the impact of your event. You can use different tools and techniques to process, visualize, and interpret your data, such as spreadsheets, dashboards, or analytics software. You want to look for patterns, trends, correlations, and gaps in your data that can reveal the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your event. You also want to compare your data with your goals and benchmarks to evaluate your event performance and return on investment.

Surveys are a valuable way to measure the impact of your event and learn from your audience, sponsors, and partners. By following these tips, you can create and implement effective surveys that can help you improve your event quality and strategy.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?