How To Plan An Event Step-by-Step - Part 5
Post Event Survey And Thank You
Create Your Perfect Event
Over our last 4 articles together, you have discovered 4 of the 6 stages to planning your perfect event, namely:
1. The Plan: Turning ideas into an action plan
2. Organisation: Executing the plan
3. Promoting: Letting everyone know
4. Hosting: A smooth event
Stage 5: Thank you, thank you, thank you…
Afterwards: It’s all in the follow up!
Hopefully by now, you and the team are celebrating…
Your event was amazing!
All those weeks of hard work, paid off and everyone was happy!
In a moment, we will discuss your post event survey, but first…
Post Event Survey And Thank You
1) Thank everyone..
Everyone has gone home…
The show may have ended for them, but you there is still work to do…
Because there are a lot of people to thank…
The quicker you do this the better…
This was a team effort, without all of them this event would not have happened
– Your team…
– All the artists and performers…
– The incredible crew…
– All the suppliers…
– The venue…
– The guests…
Your team were amazing and you need to let them know.
You could not have done this without them and getting them all together for a thank you dinner will go a long way to making each member happy.
Take the time to thank them individually.
You will surely need their skills and talents again and they should feel like they really matter.
The artists and performers were invaluable. Without their dedication to their art, your show would not have been the same.
So many clients never say thank you (it’s sadly true) so they will not only really appreciate you, but they will remember you and want to work with you again…
And probably recommend you to other performers…
Make sure they get some gift or token of appreciation…
Take a photo of them at the performance, write a small message on the photo and have it framed…
They will surely put it on the wall…
And every time they look at it, they will think of you!
The crew are normally the most under-thanked and under appreciated group of the whole show.
I know I used to be crew!
They get there first (normally midnight) and will work right through till the end of the show…
You should certainly get the crew together before and after the show to thank them for al their hard work…
A letter to their company, expressing your gratitude will go a long way with the team.
Letting them know that you love them is such a great feeling for the crew.
Feed them well, let them rest, give them water, tea and coffee and snacks and they will surely want to work with you again and give you the best results.
There is nothing worse than working with a grumpy and upset crew.
The Suppliers also work very hard, some of them for weeks or months putting everything together with you.
They are your business partners and you surely want to take the time to thank them individually.
Take then a nice bottle of wine or some other token!
Go visit them after the show for lunch or coffee and don’t forget to pay for it.
They will be so happy you took the time and it may also lead to discounts on future projects too…
The venue also deserves your gratitude.
They will have no doubt bent over backwards to make you happy and help you create success.
The venue also has a huge team of people and letting them all know how happy you are will make them all happy.
Saying thanks will go a long way to you getting bookings ahead of other people should the need ever arise.
The guests love to receive thanks.
You may not be able to thank each person individually (the audience could be thousands) however posting on social media would be an excellent thing to do.
If you can do mail blast or text blasts, they will love to hear from you.
Consider doing something really wild like asking the local radio station or newspaper to run an interview with you so that you can personally thank people.
You can also have this recorded and post it on your website, Facebook pages etc.
This will give you loads of mileage…
2. Event debrief
Every event has it’s amazing moments. Also moments that could have been better.
Now is the time, while it is fresh in everyone’s mind to review what happened, right from the start.
Get your team together, even invite your suppliers, artists and performers, speakers if possible to get as much feedback as possible.
If you can also invite some of the guests to see how the event felt from their point of view.
You are looking for specific points in the meetings:
– What worked?
– What could be improved?
– Were the client goals met?
– Were their any bottle-necks that can be improved?
– What ideas does the team have for future events?
This kind of debrief can be very powerful, not only in identifying problems or great moments, but it also empowers your team and gives them a chance to be heard.
3. Send out a Post Event Survey or feedback form
The debrief meetings are powerful, but even with the most relaxed meeting in the world, sometimes people are scared to say things directly to your face…
Sending out post event thank you email or feedback forms to key people that were involved is a good way to gather even more information.
People may be more willing to give feedback on paper.
It also gives the time to think about other moments they may have forgotten about during the meeting.
A great way of doing this is to send a link to them using Google Docs or Survey Monkey or another similar service.
Getting all the team to answer the same specific questions will help you to see patterns. Also allow them to write their own comments and ideas.
When you create your post event survey, it is best to use open ended questions, such as:
? How did you hear about the event?
?What was the best part of the event?
? What was your reason for attending the event?
Unless you specifically want a yes or no answer, use questions such as how, why and what.
Don’t make you post event survey too long or you won’t get answers.
People are busy these days and attention spans are short.
Keep them under 5 minutes if possible and make it clear it will only take 5 minutes so that the survey is opened.
When you prepare a post event survey the questions for each group will be different.
If you are sending the survey to sponsors, the questions will be different to suppliers.
Equally true for guests and performers to the audience.
Some more post event evaluation questions:
? Why did you attend the event?
? What was the best part of the event for you?
? Which part did you not like?
? Did you have any bad experiences? If yes please tell us what happened.
? Were your objectives met?
? In what areas can we improve?
? Would you live to come to another one of our events?
? Would you recommend the event?
? Can you give feedback about our staff?
? Which speaker did you like the best and why?
Consider turning the post event survey into a quiz…
You will learn so much from your survey…
You may want to send small gifts to people that complete the feedback to encourage them to be involved.
Speaking of which…
4. Exploit your social media channels
No doubt you have set up a Facebook page or group for your event…
You want to post event photos and videos (Don’t forget to embed your logo 1st) and keep the talk going.
Ask people if they can post their videos and photos and ask if you can use them in your marketing (don’t forget to give them credit)
You can also perform searches on social media using your event name and hashtags (if you set them up) to see what people really thought.
Asking for feedback is one thing, but in the real world, you will really see what people thought. No one is shy in expressing their disappointments anymore.
5. The making of…
Most audiences really have no idea of the work that goes into making an event.
Most never get a chance to see backstage…
So it’s a really great idea to create a “The making of” video that brings together some of the best moments in the whole show process.
You will need to record as you go along…
This can be a very powerful and emotional experience for the crew and the audience alike and of course who doesn’t like to themselves on screen?
Post this to social media too and watch it go viral.
I would suggest you have a team dedicated to just making this video…
Don’t make it too long, but do include the highlights!
Conclusion
When you consider how to plan an event successfully (which is what this series is about), what happens after the event can be critical.
Sending our post event surveys will highlight the good and the bad.
They will also give the attendees, sponsors, guests and suppliers a chance to be heard.
You also have a way of re-connecting to people after the event.
Business is done when people like and trust each other…
So if you want more successful events, create better relationships!
Want more?
These other posts will help you:
? It’s time to tell the world you have an event, so announce it
? How to Plan an Event Step by Step, check it out here
? 3 Reasons To your Clients Should be hosting live events, check that here
? How To plan your event, click here to produce it
If you are planning an event, you may need help…
?Argon Animation Inc can help you create dynamic live events. With almost 30 years of experience we can help you create your perfect event.
Get started today with the experts. Contact Argon Animation Here
