As an event organizer we know you have thousands of things on your mind at any given moment. There is always so much to get done and so many decisions to take!
At the end of the event planning process, many organizers are left wondering if all of the hard work was worth it. The question of whether or not an event was successful is critically important to event organizers and to other stakeholders, yet measuring success has historically be challenging for planners.
You might shyly turn to your colleague to ask “How was the event?” If she was as busy as you were, chances are, she will only be able to guess. So, who can you ask to understand if your event was successful?
The answer, lies in those for whom the event was planned: your attendees!
Your attendees were the ones going from one session to the next, trying out the food, and mingling for hours. They were the ones taking in and experiencing everything you spent months planning. In order to get valuable feedback from them and collect data to turn into actionable insights, you could send them a lengthy survey asking for detailed observations of every aspect of your event. Though you aim to get as much feedback from them while the event is still top of mind, you know know that your attendees are probably not excited to fill out a lengthy survey.
Instead, a viable solution is to send a simple two question survey asking: On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend your event to a friend or colleague? And Why?
This feedback survey is known as the Net Promoter Score and aims to get a snapshot of a company’s performance through its customers’ eyes. You’ll likely be surprised by how many more people are willing to answer it than a series of multiple choice questions.
Because the process is so simple, it is also fast. When Enterprise Rent-a-car, decided to conduct an NPS survey, the company was able to publish ranked results for its 5,000 U.S. branches within days, giving the offices real-time feedback on how they were doing and the opportunity to learn from successful peers. The survey allowed the company to focus on its most enthusiastic customers and hone in on the key drivers of profitable growth: customers who not only returned to rent, but also recommend Enterprise to their friends. Ultimately, any NPS survey has the power to measure how likely it is that a customer or attendee will remain loyal to you.
Promoters (those who give you a 9-10) are your loyalists and will spread the word about your event for you. Passives (those who give a 7-8) may be happy but not quite enough to recommend you, and detractors (those scoring between 0-6) are at the risk of not returning to other events you plan.
Read next: learn how to help speakers keep attendees on the edge of their seats.
The key to sending out an NPS survey is to track your attendee happiness over time. If you are holding multiple events in a year, the idea is that the insights from the first event will allow you to improve and give your attendees a better experience for the second event and so on.
That brings me to the most important part of the NPS feedback loop - interacting with your respondents. Making sure to reach out to those who made an effort to connect with you and give you pointers is essential in cultivating relationships and pushing your average NPS score higher.
How to get started with your NPS survey following your next event:
Create your NPS survey using google forms, Survey Gizmo, or any other survey app
Decide about the best timing to send to survey your event attendees
Make sure to personalize your survey to achieve best open rate results.
A. Create catchy subject lines
B. Personalize your ‘thank you’ messages based on the response you receive
Set up a realistic benchmark NPS score that you can aim for. The first NPS score you calculate will serve as a benchmark for all your future events
Strategize on ways to improve your NPS score for the next round of surveys you send out
Make sure to personalize your survey to achieve best open rate results.
