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Consider this: Audience, as well as meeting and event attendee, data can make an event’s role within an association or organization critical. Imagine a single in-person or hybrid experience that captures thousands of attendee data points using surveys and polls, as well as tracking time spent in sessions and materials downloaded. The deeper the engagement via data gathering, the better planners have to not only personalize the next experience, but this data also gives meeting planners the information they need to enhance future events.

Amanda Lane, marketing analyst with Opus Agency, says that, with data, the path to value is simple: Better data turns into better measurement, better measurement into stronger analysis, stronger analysis into actionable intelligence. “And that’s the key: intelligence answers big questions. At its most effective, the purpose of data is always to answer big questions for stakeholders,” Lane says. “Meeting planners typically need to answer questions from three core types of stakeholders — the person who owns the event, the person who markets the event, and the person who runs the business. As Lane explains, for the event stakeholder, data informs the core objectives for each of their events. Some key questions they ask when building these event-centric objectives include: Did we hit our financial goals? Did our event meet our attendees’ expectations? Did our event meet our goals for driving value for each attendee?

For the business stakeholder, data informs the event’s impact on the success of their overall business. Some key questions this stakeholder asks include: Are we expanding the audience of our business by generating new contacts? Are we driving sales effectiveness by generating leads (e.g., Marketing Qualified Leads or MQLs), accelerating the sales funnel and supporting growth from existing customers (e.g., cross-, up-, and repeat sales)? Are we improving asset efficiencies by using events to generate new repurposeable content and scaling the reach of our existing assets?

For the marketing stakeholder, data informs how the event is driving success for their brand. Some of their questions include: Are we providing value for our audience by connecting with their goals and needs? Are we strengthening our brand by changing behaviors, deepening affinities, solidifying preferences and reassuring loyalties? Are we amplifying our reach by enabling positive advocacy and active ambassadorship? “Altogether, capturing and tracking event and attendee data allows us to measure effectiveness against the event, business and marketing objectives,” Lane says. “Measurement and analysis allows us to show value to key stakeholders, and make targeted recommendations when strategy needs to be adjusted.”

According to Michele Dobnikar, executive vice president of virtual events business at PGi, a global virtual/hybrid meetings and events company, data is the foundation for engaging post-event, yet the specific steps depend on the goals. “Data can be used to inform what action an organization will take to deliver the most significant results. For example, internal association events might focus more on the need to drive employee engagement, while sales and marketing events are highly likely to focus on the number of leads,” Dobnikar says. “The data must connect with other [Customer Relationship Management] (CRM) platforms, so organizers have a complete picture of their audience and a more holistic interpretation of the data to action for the benefit of an association.” Data also helps event planners know what resonates with the audience. As Dobnikar explains, it’s easier to know what works at an in-person event because you can hear and see people’s reactions. You can’t necessarily do that in a virtual event. However, virtual and hybrid events enable organizers to capture how people engage with content and see whether attendees drop off at a given time or during a specific topic.

Heather Odendaal, co-founder, CEO and event planner, WNORTH & Bluebird Strategy, says event planners want to create meaningful, memorable and useful events for attendees. In order to achieve this, meeting planners need to learn more about the target audience’s needs and preferences. “Data is a powerful secret weapon to get more insight on what they like, what they find helpful and what content your attendee is searching for at your event,” Odendaal says.

Unfortunately, according to Eric Holmen, 55% of enterprise marketers admit they don’t know how to calculate the Return On Investment (ROI) of an event, in many cases because they don’t have the tools in place to capture and analyze event data. “For event marketers and meeting planners, investing in their ability to track and integrate event data is an important priority,” says Holmen, CEO at Splash, a next-generation event marketing platform designed to help teams build and host virtual, in-person and hybrid events. “If an organization invests in events, it’s crucial to prove that these programs are actually affecting the business’ bottom line. And you can’t demonstrate event ROI without capturing data.”

Unfortunately, according to Eric Holmen, right, CEO at Splash, 55% of enterprise marketers admit they don’t know how to calculate the Return On Investment (ROI) of an event. Courtesy of Eric Holmen

Identifying a Purpose

Meeting planners use data to guide the event and attendee experience. As Lane explains, metrics inform how to plan out the agenda structure, content delivery and experiential moments that matter to maximize engagement. “Once the event is up and running, attendee data allows us to make real-time decisions on the venue [physical or digital] and content,” e.g., which sessions to repeat, how many overflow rooms to open, which sessions to livestream; how to manage hallway flow for keynote load in, Lane says.

According to Marla Everett, CMP, CMM, CITP, director, consulting solutions at Event Travel Management, it’s important to keep data points focused and tied to the overall event and business objectives. “Planners sometimes get bogged down on asking attendees questions about things that don’t really matter for ROI, such as food and beverage quality or their opinion on the hotel,” Everett says. For example, a travel incentive is intended to motivate people to help an organization achieve a business goal. ROI can be measured by the sales achieved by repeat earners, or even better, by the sales achieved by the earners who were on the cusp of earning the trip last year but didn’t. “And the ROI of a safety training meeting can be tied to the reduction of accidents or errors,” Everett says. “A trade show can be measured by comparing the number of appointments held to the number of RFPs or contracts received from the people you met with.” She adds that it’s also important to keep in mind that the post-event ROI is ongoing and doesn’t end with the completion of the event. “ROI is only achieved if the data shows that ongoing achievements are aligned with the event’s purpose,” Everett says.

And remember, the biggest mistake is not establishing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and planning the full “impact framework” early in the planning process. “Without that discipline, measurement gets lip service without realization,” Lane says. “Too often, our industry gets by on just showing a ‘Here are our goals for this event’ at kick-off, and a ‘Here are our post-event survey results’ at the wrap. The best way to get more out of data is to be more disciplined and purposeful about your measurement strategies overall.”

In general, Holmen says measurable event KPIs fall into five categories: attendance quality, demand generation, funnel influence, customer performance and spend efficiency. Attendance quality metrics include the number of attendees and their seniority levels, the ratio of net-new to existing contacts, and the time attendees from target accounts spend at the event. Demand generation metrics look primarily at how many new qualified leads resulted from the event, while funnel influence KPIs look at closed deals and win rates associated with the event. And customer performance metrics capture the similar results driven by attendees from existing accounts, and spend efficiency reflects the cost of the event per contact, lead or opportunity. “None of this data can be accurately captured by attendee surveys. However, event technology that integrates with an existing CRM or marketing automation system can generate this data automatically,” Holmen says. “By connecting attendee activity recorded digitally [e.g., check-in, event site engagement, event email responses] to that attendee’s position in the sales pipeline — through CRM integration — event organizers can effectively measure and attribute the actual business outcomes of the event.”

It’s important to note that online events allow for much more detailed interaction and activity tracking than in-person or hybrid events. Virtual meetings automatically capture check-in data, leading to more meaningful ROI calculations and insights that can optimize event programs moving forward. But the expectation of accurate event analytics and ROI measurement doesn’t disappear when it comes to in-person events. Event professionals need the right technology to track and measure in-person event activity in the same way they do with virtual events. “It’s also critical that organizers look at the data their meeting platform provides,” Dobnikar says. For example, how did attendees engage, and when, during an event? Were there comments and conversations in the chat? When did conversations peak? Did people leave the meeting early? If so, when and why?

Capturing data enables planners to know precisely what works and what doesn’t work. It also gives planners the freedom to try new approaches because they can capture intelligence about what resonates. “But, more than anything, they need to conduct a self-benchmarking exercise. Instead of comparing their event’s metrics against the general industry, they need to measure success against their own goals and compare their events against previous efforts,” Dobnikar says. “Meeting planners should look at scoring their surveys and weighting data in a manner that is more indicative of future behavior rather than immediate feedback.”

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Steps to Take

There is no shortage of ways to capture data, and it depends on how an association engages with attendees during an event. Kristin Spencer, marketing events manager at Deluxe Corporation, stresses that touchpoints for collecting attendee data should be integrated into all aspects of the attendee journey — and planners shouldn’t wait for the sessions or the event to end to engage with attendees. “Pre-event surveys can offer key insight into the mind of attendees just before the event, and can help refine the messages of keynotes, session speakers and even the logistics of the event,” Spencer says. “I’ve found that when attendees feel like the experience is being tailored to them, they are more engaged and oftentimes give higher post-event feedback scores.”

Throughout the event, on-site tools, such as an attendee mobile app or virtual event platforms, can help gauge both real-time feedback as well as ongoing engagement from attendees. Simple, quick-hit questions such as “Who has been your favorite keynote speaker?”, “How was lunch?” or “Are you excited for tonight’s event?” can help offer insight in the mood of the “room.”

When capturing event and meeting data, Lane begins by designing an “impact framework.” This framework purposefully aligns:

• Indicators, the core types of metrics which measure progress toward the goal (e.g., revenue targets).
• Initiators, all the places where meeting planners may be able to capture data (e.g., list of individual touchpoints that will create capturable data, such as wearables delivering dwell time in booths).
• Inputs, the specific ways to generate and capture data within each initiator (e.g., tracking digital experience analytics, social listening, surveys, interviews).

By purposefully building a framework in this manner, it keeps the purpose — the KPIs — front-and-center. “Everything maps from the thing we want to measure through the best ways to get that data — the inputs,” Lane says. For many events, the simplest inputs are from surveys (pre, during, post), interviews and passive digital data (e.g., event app engagement, website usage). “When the KPIs are more robust, then businesses need to push the playbook to capture more data — like using beacons and wearables to track attendee journeys or expanding use of audience response systems during keynotes and breakouts,” Lane says.

So what are the best ways that meeting planners should administer surveys and other data capture processes? The short answer is, whatever will get a response. “The longer answer is that we are always looking to add new tools to the mix,” Lane says. “Passive measurements like heat mapping and session dwell time are quite valuable in telling parts of the story. Active measurements like surveys are designed around client goals and known attendee behaviors. Incentivizing is always an option.”

Dobnikar says surveys need to be easy and quick for meeting participants to complete, and deep enough for planners to identify trends and gather actionable and valuable intelligence. Surveys should also be viewed as a stepping-off point for future interactions. “And don’t overlook the importance of pre-event surveys at the time of registration to help tailor the nuances of the content,” Dobnikar says.

Odendaal’s experience has shown that the most effective way to gather event attendee data is through the initial registration system or immediately after particular sessions. Some virtual event software, such as Bizzabo and Zoom, allow planners to include a survey immediately following the session. “Overall, post-event surveys can also be helpful to collect information on attendee satisfaction, feedback on your speakers, speaker suggestions, future event timing, prices and more,” Odendaal says.

Ask event attendees immediately after the event for feedback while it’s still fresh in their mind. Online surveys are the least expensive and can reach the maximum number of people living in different geographical areas. And remember, too often planners only ask for feedback on topics they want to hear about, but it may not provide the complete picture of the event. Dobnikar says planners need to understand both the good and the bad surrounding an event to know how to approach future events. “They need to ask questions that go beyond the surface reactions, otherwise, the data they capture won’t be actionable to enhance future events,” Dobnikar says.

Brandy Keller, nonprofit event and fundraising expert, and the vice president of product, education and nonprofit solutions at GiveSmart by Community Brands, says there are creative ways planners can capture attendee data that are outside the norm. Of course, post-event surveys are great, and they are a valuable tool for follow-up. But, the response rate may not get you enough data for accurate insights. “Consider offering low barrier to entry opportunities to kick off your event, such as virtual sneak peaks, special pricing or added perks for registering before a certain date,” Keller says. “As you capture useful information with those offerings, consider using it to adjust your communication strategy in real time.”

Also, having the right reports that provide the itemized detail you need is the first thing any event planner should make sure their technology supports. As Keller explains, post-event surveys at an in-person event can be automated in some ways using texting. Of course, email follow-up is important to help increase response rates.

And Spencer stresses the importance of asking the questions that help the meeting planner better align to the needs of attendees and leave the rest behind. Skip questions about the food, the hotel meeting rooms and other variable items that are often out of a planner’s control. “Focus on the things that drive long-term engagement and loyalty to your event, [such as] perception of value, content alignment to the issues they are facing, fulfillment of the attendee’s goals in attending the event [and not just the goals as a planner or company], and validate key logistical decisions including ease of access to destination, timing of the events as it relates to key timelines for the industries you are in, and cost,” Spencer says.

The Future Role of Data

Data is essential today, and it will continue to be the driving force for future events, but it needs to be assessable, digestible and actionable. “Associations cannot go into planning and executing future events without knowing more about past events,” Dobnikar says. “It’s not enough to merely capture the data; planners must understand what information they have and how to analyze it in a way that helps them tell a story about what worked and what didn’t so they can tailor an event to what the audience wants and expects.”

As an event planner, Odendaal has found that collecting data is incredibly useful to create memorable and useful events and bring a group of like-minded people together. “Attendees of virtual events are more comfortable with providing data to meet their needs. With the rise of hybrid events, the majority of organizers are looking for a hybrid software solution that will manage both in-person and virtual events,” Odendaal says. “This will be a game changer in the amount and quality of data that we can collect from our event attendees.”

Holmen stresses that data is the key to driving and proving event success. That’s not going to change. In fact, attendee data will become even more critical as time goes on. “Every event organizer or meeting planner wants to understand how their events impact their bottom line and how to optimize those results. The technology and tools needed to capture the attendee data that matters, and link event performance to revenue impact, are readily available and, in most cases, aren’t difficult to implement,” Holmen says. “All it takes is a willingness to commit to efficiently collecting event data, putting the tools in place to accurately measure event ROI and the desire to know precisely how successful events really are.”   | AC&F |