02 Jun
RSVPify’s guide to asking post-event survey questions
Asking the right questions in a post-event survey is the crucial part when it comes to collecting feedback. Make sure to ask questions relevant to the event.
Post-event surveys are an essential part of any successful event planning strategy. These surveys provide valuable feedback from attendees, which can be used to improve future events and enhance the overall attendee experience. Crafting the right post-event survey questions is crucial to obtaining accurate and actionable feedback. In this blog post, we will explore the top post-event survey questions that event planners should consider including in their surveys. From measuring attendee satisfaction to gathering suggestions for improvement, these questions will help event planners gather the insights they need to make their next event even better.
Types of questions to include in your surveys
- NPS Questions – these questions are typically multiple-choice type questions, and they ask participants to rate specific item(s) on a numeric scale. Analyzing the responses to these types of questions help you determine your overall net promoter score (NPS).
- Open-ended questions: these questions require participants to provide answers “in their own words”, without being limited to a set of options. The responses are based on their knowledge, feeling, and understanding. While the answers to these questions are typically harder to analyze as event hosts have to read through all responses, they can provide valuable insights into the overall event experience
- Close-ended questions: Often called yes-no questions, this type of questions only offer to possible responses: yes and no. In a post-event survey, this question is typically followed by an open-ended question with a conditional/custom logic involved.
What post-event survey questions to ask your event attendees?
Level of satisfaction with the event
This is an NPS-type question and is a good question to ask to kick-off your post-event survey. It is also a good practice to start off with more general questions and ask more specific questions towards the end of the survey.
Rate the following aspects of the event:
- date and time
- venue and location / event platform (if the event was virtual)
- speakers
- sessions
- vendors
- food and drinks
- relevance of the content
This can also be an NPS-type question followed by an open-ended question where participants can provide more details about the things they liked/disliked about the items from the list.
How satisfied are you with the event topics?
This NPS-type question can also be followed by an open ended question where attendees and participants can provide more details about the topics they’d like to see in the future. Their suggestions can be a starting point for event hosts as they work and plan future events.
What was your favorite part of the event?
This is an open-ended question type and is very important part of the post-event survey. Answers to this question provide insights into parts of the event that resonated the most with the event participants. It also helps event hosts identify what motivates guests to attend events in the first place, and allows them to tailor future events to their interests and preferences.
What was your least favorite part of the event?
Do you have any suggestions for next year’s event? What would you like to see improved at our next event?
Your attendees and participants may have ideas for new activities, topics or speakers that they’d like to see at the next event. They may also have suggestions for improving existing aspects of the event, such as the venue, food or vendors. Feedback they provide in this open-ended question helps event hosts create a more engaging, valuable and memorable event that attendees are excited to attend again. On another note, by showing the attendees that their opinion is valued, event hosts foster a sense of community and engagement around their events. This helps them build loyal group of attendees and participants who are invested in the success of the event and are more likely to attend it and recommend it to others.
Will we see you again next year?
This can either be an NPS-type or close-ended question where attendees and other participants provide how enthusiastic they are to return to the next event. Answers to this question can be compared with the actual number of attendees who come back to the next event, and while ideally majority of them should return, if that is not the case, event hosts should consider what improvements need to be made.
How did you hear about the event taking place? What type of marketing materials did you see?
Did you have any trouble registering for this event?
Would you recommend this event to a friend or a colleague?
This can be a simple yes-no question, however, the answers to this question are very important. If they respond with yes, it is a good sign that they had a positive experience and would be willing to share that experience with others. It is also a good sign that they’d return to the event themselves. This can also indicate that the event met their expectations.
While it’s not the end of the world if they respond with no, event hosts often add a follow-up question here to ask for more details to understand where the event fell short to meet their expectations. Understanding why some guests had a negative experience helps event hosts identify areas for improvement.
