What is an event survey?
An event survey is a tool employed to gather feedback from attendees before, during, or after an event. It's designed to gauge satisfaction levels, understand attendee preferences, and capture insights to improve future events.
The crux of a successful event survey lies in asking relevant questions. For instance, you might want to know if the event met the attendees' expectations or if they would recommend this event to a friend or colleague. You may also inquire about their experiences at similar events, or how this event compares to other events they've attended.
The format of the questions is also important. Multiple choice questions are often used for their ease and speed, but allowing attendees to express their thoughts in their own words can provide more nuanced feedback. You might also ask them to rate different aspects of the event, from the quality of the content to the functionality of the virtual platform. Remember that both positive and negative are valuable.
Positive feedback shows what you're doing right and should continue doing, while negative can reveal areas for improvement. Even if it might seem challenging to hear, negative opinions can provide the most impactful insights for improving your events. In addition to the event itself, you could also ask questions about your event marketing strategy. For instance, how did they hear about the event? Was it through a friend or colleague, or did they see an advertisement? This information can help you allocate your marketing budget more effectively for future events. Finally, the response rate is a crucial aspect to keep in mind. The higher the response rate, the more data you have, leading to more reliable results and stronger insights for your future events.
Why are event surveys important?
Event surveys, encompassing pre-event, mid-event, and post-event survey questions, provide feedback from attendees. They enable event organizers to understand what worked well and what didn't, thereby playing a crucial role in refining and improving future events.
Pre-event survey questions help gauge attendee expectations and preferences even before the event commences. They can help you understand why attendees chose to attend this event and their thoughts on the registration process. This enables you to make any necessary adjustments, ensuring a smooth experience for your attendees.
Post-event survey, even if kept short, are instrumental in measuring satisfaction and understanding the event's success. Post-event survey questions often focus on different aspects of the attendee experience, such as the event venue, the content presented, and the overall organisation. The open-ended question in these surveys allow attendees to express their thoughts in detail, providing a more in-depth perspective on their experience. Such feedback, both positive and negative, is crucial to enhance attendee satisfaction for future events.
Furthermore, surveys are an effective way to gauge the success of your marketing efforts. By asking attendees how they heard about the event, you can get a sense of which marketing channels are most effective, helping you optimise your strategy for future events. In essence, event surveys are a powerful tool to collect feedback and gain insights, all of which contribute to the continuous improvement and success of your events.
When should I conduct an event survey?
Surveys can be conducted at different stages of an event: pre-event, mid-event, and post-event survey. Each type of survey serves a distinct purpose and provides valuable insights for the event organiser. Pre-event surveys are a good starting point to understand attendee expectations. By asking the right pre-event question, such as their objectives for attending or their interest in certain topics, you can tailor your event to better meet their needs.
This could be particularly relevant for hybrid events, where the needs of in-person and virtual attendees may differ. Mid-event allow for real-time adjustments based on attendee feedback. These might include questions about the event's pace, the effectiveness of networking opportunities, or any technical issues attendees might be facing with a hybrid or virtual platform. Immediate responses can help you address any issues promptly and improve the overall attendee experience.
Post-event surveys are key to measure attendee satisfaction and success. Multiple choice questions can provide a quick overview of satisfaction levels, while an open-ended question can offer more detailed insights. Both positive and negative feedback are important. While positive feedback reaffirms what aspects of the event meet or exceed expectations, negative highlights areas for improvement, providing the most valuable feedback for future enhancements.
Remember, the main goal of this post-event survey is to continually improve your events based on the feedback you receive. By effectively measuring attendee satisfaction, you can ensure that each event is better than the last.
What types of questions are possible for your event survey?
Your survey is uniquely yours! You can personalize your survey questions to ask, tailoring them to fit your specific needs. This could range from free response queries to compulsory or optional answers, even including check boxes and the open-ended question. There are a variety of survey types you can utilise. For instance, a before event survey can help you gauge your event attendees' expectations and preferences.
After the conclusion of your event, a post-event survey can provide you with valuable feedback on the event's success, allowing you to understand what worked and what could be improved. How did your attendees hear about this event? What did they think of the virtual event? These are just a few examples of the kind of questions you might include in your survey. The data gathered from these surveys can be vital in planning your next event and upcoming events. Not only does it enable you to make improvements, but it also allows you to better understand your audience and ensure their needs are being met.
How do you receive your results back from your event surveys?
Your dedicated project manager will send you a full statistical report on your satisfaction survey following the event. This could include feedback from various surveys such as pre-event, mid-event, and post-event surveys. Mid-event surveys, in particular, can provide real-time feedback that helps you make any necessary adjustments. Mid-event survey questions can be designed to focus on specific aspects of your event while it's still ongoing. After the conclusion of the event, a post-event survey, even if kept short, can provide constructive feedback for you to improve upcoming events.
This feedback can be invaluable for refining your event marketing strategy for events in the future. You can also receive each response directly by email, making the process of gathering feedback more streamlined. In addition, with advanced event survey tools, which could be integrated into your event app, you can easily collect, manage, and analyse participant feedback. Remember, the key to successful events lies in continually improving and adapting based on your attendees' responses.
How do I encourage attendees to complete the survey?
To increase response rates among event attendees, it's essential to make your survey, including both pre-event questions and post-event survey short, simple, and to the point. Carefully crafted event survey questions are key to collecting valuable event feedback, and they can cover a wide range of topics from the event platform used, to the performance of event staff.
You might also consider using open-ended questions to allow survey participants to express their thoughts freely, providing a richer understanding of their event experience. However, do remember to balance these with concise multiple-choice questions to avoid making the survey too time-consuming. To encourage participation, you could indeed offer incentives like a prize draw or a discount for the next event. But beyond that, it's also helpful to communicate the purpose of the survey to your attendees. Let them know that their feedback is vital in the event evaluation process and for measuring the event's success.
This will make them feel valued and more likely to contribute their thoughts. For event marketers and event organizers, the survey can also provide insights into aspects like the effectiveness of their promotional strategies or the impact of event sponsors. A popular metric used in event surveys is the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures the willingness of attendees to recommend your event to others. This can be a powerful indicator of overall satisfaction and a predictor of event success. Remember, the goal is to gather insights that will help improve events in the future, enhance attendee satisfaction, and ultimately lead to a more successful and impactful event experience.
How can I use the feedback from my post-event survey questions for future events?
The feedback obtained through a post-event survey, which includes both multiple choice and open-ended questions, can be used to evaluate the success of the event, make improvements for future events, and better understand your audience. Post-event survey questions can also be used to gauge the effectiveness of your marketing strategy, including understanding how participants came to hear about this event. These insights are crucial for refining your approach to future events.
What is the best time to send a post-event survey?
It's typically best to send a post-event survey within 24-48 hours after the event concludes. This is when attendees' experiences and opinions are still fresh in their minds.
How can I improve response rates for my event survey?
To improve response rates, make sure your survey is easy to complete, and the questions are clear and straightforward with at least one open-ended question. You can also offer incentives for completing the survey or communicate the importance of the survey to attendees.
How can I use the results of an event survey?
The results of a survey can be used to evaluate the success of the event, identify areas for improvement, understand your audience better, and inform the planning and execution of future events.
Should I conduct a pre-event survey ?
Yes, a pre-event survey can provide valuable insights into attendees' expectations, which can help you tailor the event to better meet their needs.
How should I handle negative feedback?
Negative, while sometimes tough to hear, can be incredibly valuable. It offers an opportunity to learn and make improvements. It's important to thank attendees for their honesty and take their criticisms into consideration for future events.
What is the best time to send a post-event survey?
It's typically best to send a post-event survey within 24-48 hours after the event concludes. This is when attendees' experiences and opinions are still fresh in their minds.
How long should an event survey be?
The length of an event survey can vary depending on the scope of the event and the information you're trying to gather. However, to respect the respondents' time and maintain their interest, it's generally best to keep surveys concise and focused.
