Your event is over. It’s time to put up your feet and bask in some well-deserved peace and quiet. Except your boss is asking for results from the event because his or her boss is asking.

Event planning is a year-round job. There really is no time to relax, certainly not in the days immediately following an event. While we can’t help you with your relaxation needs (although, do give yourself some “me time” throughout your day), we can suggest some metrics that will help showcase the results of your efforts.

Net Promoter Score

A Net Promoter Score is a popular metric used to measure and predict a variety of customer experiences, business growth opportunities, and consumer loyalty expectations. A considerable benefit to tracking a Net Promoter Score is that the data is relatively simple to gather, and the results are easy to compute.

Keeping track of Net Promoter Score can help your event grow. A study by the Harvard Business Review found that, regardless of their industry, companies generate a higher income when they strive to improve their Net Promoter Score.

To determine a Net Promoter Score, first ask your attendees a question that can be answered using a scale that ranges from 0 to 10 (such as, “How likely are you to recommend this event to a friend?”). · An answer of 9-10 indicates someone who is a “promoter” who will support your event and refer it to others.

· A score of 7-8 indicates someone who is “passive,” content but unenthusiastic and may or may not encourage others to attend.

· A score of 0-6 indicates a “detractor,” someone who could damage the event through negative word of mouth.

The Net Promoter Score is then determined by subtracting the percentage of 9 and 10 responses from the percentage of 0 through 6 responses. The neutral 7 and 8 responses are discarded.

(% of 9 and 10) – (% of 0 through 6) = NPS

For example, if you received 100 responses, and 70 were promoters, 10 were passive, and 20 were detractors, that would mean you subtract 70 percent from 20 percent, which would give you a Net Promoter Score of 50. That score shows that you have 50 percent more promoters than detractors. If those results were flipped, you would subtract 20 percent from 70 percent, resulting in a Net Promoter Score of -50, meaning that you have 50 percent more detractors than promoters.

In general, any Net Promoter Score that is higher than zero is positive because it shows that you have more promoters than detractors. If your score is fifty or more, your program is performing extremely well, and a score of 70 or more is exceptional.

Event Check-in

Event Check-in tracks the number of people who attend your event compared to the amount that register. There will always be some disparity between these numbers – life happens, and some people simply will not be able to attend. However, when a significant amount of people sign up but do not arrive in person, that is indicative of a problem. Something is occurring – or not occurring – between the time of registration and opening day that is causing potential attendees to lose interest.

One solution is to have potential attendees purchase tickets when they register. A financial incentive tends to encourage attendance, and – not to be callous – but if they don’t, you still have their money. Regardless, if there is a gap between check-in and attendance, it needs to be addressed. After all, you are not putting on the event for people not to come. It’s likely a sign that marketing needs to ramp up in the days leading to the event, specifically social media chatter, which can really help drive up interest.

If you are providing the option of virtual attendance for people who could not arrive in person, you will need to include these in your numbers. While offering virtual sessions has been proven to have no negative impact on physical attendance (actually, it usually increases attendance at future events), no-shows from the expected online crowd could be affecting your attendance numbers.

Your CMO will hope to see a low rate of no-shows. If that is not the case, you may need to dig deep to discover the reason why. You may also want to review past events to see how your current numbers compare. For significant fluctuations, be sure to search records to see if outside issues, such as bad weather or a travel advisory, may have impacted your event.

Attendee Behavior

Where the crowds gather during an event is an especially telling metric. It lets you know the areas that were a hit and the ones that fell flat, the presentations that drew the most interest, and the sponsors that garnered the most attention. Knowing these facts can help you create relevant topics and pitch the right sponsors for upcoming events.

Tracking this metric can also illuminate unexpected flaws in an event’s layout. For example, if a sponsor held a presentation that was poorly attended, yet you know it was on a subject the majority of your audience would find appealing. It is possible that the presentation was not at fault. Perhaps the marketing for the demonstration did not reach the right people. It is also possible that its location, along with the event’s layout, made the presentation challenging to find or there was inadequate seating.

Sending post-event surveys to attendees will also help you gain essential insights into the topics, speakers, and activities that were hits (as well as ask the important Net Promoter Score question/s). To help ensure that you receive responses, surveys should be straightforward and short (10 questions max – and that may be too long). This means that the questions you include need to cover only your most pressing issues. Since the responses you receive will help shape your future events, you need to really craft surveys with an editorial eye.

Social Media

When your event receives a lot of social media attention, it is an indication that people are aware of your brand and that its reach has extended far and wide. During and post event, social media will also indicate topics that had the most significant impact and whether your event maintained engagement (i.e., if social activity declines throughout the event, that can be a sign of attendees losing interest).

However, not all social media mentions are the same. Let’s say you receive two great comments about your event: one by someone with 500 followers and another by someone with 500,000 followers. At first blush, the 500,000 followers seem idea. Yet, if the 500 followers are all people in your industry, that’s likely the post with the most value.

Several tools can help you track social media. Most social apps can help you follow mentions. With Google Analytics, you can do a deeper dive by creating URLs that will track referrals from social media.

When reporting social media metrics to your CMO, be sure to select the ones that will have the most impact. If brand awareness is a topic that will resonate, then you can track the use of your event’s hashtag or mentions across all channels. It can also be helpful to provide some context to the numbers (i.e., “Last year, our mentions were X, we did Y, now they’re Z.”)

In the end, a great event will result in great numbers. Let Event Architecture help you construct the perfect event for your crowd – and track its performance. Give us a call at 214-529-0282.