The success of events isn’t just about sales. There are also a lot of things that can be measured to identify whether an event is a success or not. Aside from the money you can gain from the tickets and other resources, you can also boost brand visibility, gain relationships, communicate with employees, and build a community.
Although you won’t be able to buy something from the mentioned non-sales, you can still gain a lot of things that can contribute to the success of your company. However, you should also know how to measure these factors.
In this article, we’ll discuss some of the tips for measuring the success of non-sales events.
1. Identify Clear Objectives
But before you get started, you should first know what success means when analysing your event. When it comes to events, each has a different purpose, like improving brand visibility and launching new products. So, it’s best to identify the objectives of your event that should align with your goals.
As for your goals for the event, they can be generating leads, more attendance, and earning media appearances. When you have clear objectives that align with your goals, it can be easier to list all the non-sales factors that can measure the event’s success.
2. Track Engagement Metrics
Whether you hire corporate event planners for your events or you’re planning to do things on your own, you should still track the engagement, instead of just going with the attendance numbers. The interaction can be measured before, during, and after the event.
In doing so, you can start by knowing the ratio of the RSVP and attendance, social media activities, the time they spent on the sessions, if they interact to network, and respond to the survey.
3. Measure Audience Feedback
One of the best factors that you can use to measure whether an event is a success is through the feedback of the participants. You can either start by knowing the overall impact of the event, or try asking about the best part of the event that they enjoyed the most. In addition, you can also ask about the things that need to be improved, and the things you can do to meet their expectations.
Fortunately, nowadays, you can find a lot of tools that can help you curate the right survey form.
4. Evaluate Brand Visibility
Another thing that you can gain from corporate events is improved brand visibility. And it’s also ideal if you are able to track how visible your brand is through the help of corporate events. In doing so, you can monitor the online activities, such as the effectiveness of the hashtags, the number of times the event or brand is mentioned, and the number of new likes, followers, and subscribers.
When you see a significant increase in the number of people talking about your brand online, it can be a sign that it’s successful.
5. Analyse Relationship Impact
If the main goal of your event is to reach out to stakeholders, build community, or network, one of the ways to measure the success of the event is through evaluating whether the relationship built has strengthened.
In doing so, you can check the number of new collaborations, sending follow-up requests, referrals, and client retention.
6. Assess Internal Outcomes
If the event is about improving the bond internally, one way to measure its success is by tracking the participation rates, engagement event after the event, and the feedback. Ensure that they provide feedback since it’s important for the company, especially for future internal events.
While having a team-building may not directly have an impact on sales, cultivating a great working environment can significantly affect the performance of the employees, which is needed for productivity.
7. Compare Cost vs. Value
Cost and value are two different things that need to be identified when it comes to measuring the success of an event. Comparing the intangible and tangible assets can have an overall impact on the company. Some measurable outcomes include engagement levels, social reach, and media exposure. On the other hand, the things you can’t easily measure include relationships, branding, and more opportunities for the company in the future.
8. Conduct a Post-Event Review
Lastly, you can conduct a post-event review. It can be about discussing the challenges, successes, and other views that your team thinks will affect future events of the company. Although it can be boring and repeatedly done, such as analysing, making a report, and understanding the feedback of the stakeholders, these things can significantly help you measure the non-sales part of corporate events.
Final Thoughts
Investing in the non-sales parts of events should always be considered in the business world. Aside from the finances, other factors can help your company to grow. By focusing on and measuring the non-sales part of an event as discussed, you can also focus on its long-term value.
