I’ve been doing a lot of work with event marketing field staff data lately. This has given me some new perspective on what metrics help maximize the amount of insight we can derive. We talk a lot about standard field staff metrics like consumer interactions and samples distributed, but if you think about it, you can record anything as a field staff metric if you can quantify it or categorize it. The only thing stopping you is time and/or capacity. That being said, capturing field staff metrics for the sake of capturing them is a waste of time. Let’s talk about some field staff metrics that are outside the box.
The first metric is a categorical one called Attendance Source. Let me provide some background first.
Often times, we find attendance figures that are included in field staff reports are estimates. The easiest way to tell if you are looking at an estimate is if the number ends in zero or five. It’s not a big deal if the primary metrics you’re measuring are action-oriented, like interactions or samples. On the other hand, if the problem you’re trying to draw conclusions about is capturing event impressions then an estimate is counterproductive. (Read more on Event Impressions here.)
It’s hard to take any analysis on event impressions seriously when all of the event attendance recordings are ballpark estimates. This is where including an attendance source is valuable. Asking the Field staff to provide where they received the attendance figure (other than their best guess) at each activation helps guarantee a more accurate number of event impressions. This allows you to come up with a cost per impression figure for ROI.
Another field staff metric we don’t see often is the senior field staff member on site. By this, I mean specifying whether the lead member at the activation was a tour manager, brand ambassador, promotional specialist, etc. Okay, so why does this matter when analyzing event marketing data?
It matters if you’re looking for another reason to explain why some events are more productive than others in terms of generating interactions or sales. Knowing the hierarchy of field staff positions and who the lead member was present at each event adds a layer of accountability to the data. Perhaps events where a tour manager was present are more productive than those without one because field staff are working harder to impress the boss. Maybe the converse is true because the tour manager is a routine micromanager.
It sounds like a stretch, but this kind of insight could help inform agency clients on ideal staffing scenarios for future activations.