I enjoyed presenting to a group of Meeting and Event industry leaders today. The guest list included senior management from Fortune 100 IT, Pharma, and Direct Sales companies. All of them believed that events are a key part of the future marketing mix for their company. However, only some believed they actually measure those events effectively.
When asked, “Who here would give themselves at least a ‘C’ when grading the effectiveness of their events?” about half of the folks raised their hands.
When asked how many would give themselves a ‘B’, all but a few hands went down.
An “A?” No hands.
Measuring event effectiveness is difficult, if you don’t have a simple, but extremely important method for deciding what to measure.
1. Start by identifying the business decisions to be made.
Nothing is more important than this. When you know what decisions need to be made, you can identify the information that will help you make better decisions.
2. Then focus on collecting data that will provide that information.
It seems backward, but it is really forward-thinking. You start with the end in mind, so you know exactly where you’re trying to go.
What’s more, once the information has been collected and analyzed, you will know the best way to get there.
It’s really that simple. Event measurement will be effective when it collects data that generates information that helps people make better decisions. Anything short of this will fall on deaf ears and, to be blunt, will be a waste of time and money.
Photo Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cambodia4kidsorg/