More often than not event managers are under considerable pressure to obtain performance metrics regarding their events, making sure the event provides a return on investment. One of the main…

More often than not event managers are under considerable pressure to obtain performance metrics regarding their events, making sure the event provides a return on investment. One of the main struggles for event organisers is being able to source these stats and convert them into valuable information. It can be tough knowing what to measure, how to measure it and then how to analyse and truly understand the data you have collected.

When you are analysing the performance of an event you need to identify why the event is being held in the first place. What are you hoping to achieve by hosting this event? What are your event goals and targets? Understand why you are planning this event, for example;

• Launch a new product or service
• Build awareness of product or company
• Help retain current customers
• Educate or motivate partners or employers
• To influence or build relationships with the press
• Generate sales
• Generate qualified sales leads
• To enter a new market
• Conduct market/product research
• To support the local community

Set one or two primary objectives as setting too many goals will dilute the main reason of the event and can lead to mixed and confusing messages to your delegates. It is therefore vital to understand exactly what it is, as without a clear objective you cannot identify and measure your event performance.

Your objectives and metrics need to be as specific as possible. So for example if the primary objective is to create sales and the secondary is to generate leads, the metrics you would be focused on would be:

• Revenue
• Number of transactions made
• Number of purchase orders received
• Expense to revenue ration (E:R)
• Return on investment (ROI)
• Number of new accounts/customers
• Volume of leads generated
• Quality of leads generated

We have identified the objectives, the next stage is to obtain this information. Come back for Part 2 of why it is important to measure your event performance and how you can obtain information on your event objectives.

If you would like to receive more information on events sofware then please contact evocos.