How post-event surveys can help improve events

Experiences vary. Collecting feedback through post-event surveys offers the ability to fix previous mistakes and improve the experience for everyone attending.

Organizing an event takes a lot of effort, from planning and promoting it to collecting RSVPs and ensuring everything runs smoothly on the day. But even after the last attendee has left and the equipment has been packed away, there’s still one crucial step left – gathering feedback. 

While hosts may think that the event was a success and met goals and expectations, attendees might not share the same sentiment. Asking for their opinions and suggestions through post-event surveys is an essential part of improving future events and keeping a target audience engaged.

How does a company benefit from collecting feedback?

Post-event surveys often yield the most meaningful (and significant!) feedback. This is the place for event attendees and participants to assess different factors and parts of the event – from topics, speakers, participants, or sponsors to accommodations, food choices and their overall experience and satisfaction with the event. Hosts should survey absolutely everyone that participated in your event (not just the guests). Vendors, sponsors, volunteers and VIP guests all have their own unique perspectives on the event experience and will be able to give valuable insights.

After the feedback has been collected, it’s time for to review the answers. These answers help hosts determine whether your event-planning efforts met the needs and expectations of event attendees and participants. The most valuable information from a post-event survey is whether participants found it worth their investment, time, and resources. It is also important to ask if they found value in the event and if they would participate in the future event(s).

Some key factors that you can analyze through responses to post-event surveys:

• Attendee satisfaction: A post-event survey can help hosts understand how satisfied attendees were with the event, and what they liked and disliked about it. This feedback can help identify areas for improvement and make adjustments to future events.

   

• Areas for improvement: A post-event survey can help identify areas where your event fell short and where improvements could be made. Having this feedback helps event planners make changes to future events that address these issues and create a better experience for attendees.

   

• Event success: Post-event surveys can help determine if the event met its pre-defined goals and objectives. By gathering feedback on what attendees found most valuable, event hosts can determine if the event was successful in meeting its intended outcomes.

   

• Attendee engagement: By soliciting feedback from attendees, event hosts can  demonstrate that they value opinions of attendees and are committed to continuously improving the event experience. This can increase attendee engagement and foster a sense of community around future events.

   

• Inform future event planning: The feedback gathered from post-event surveys can inform the planning process for future events. By learning what worked well and what didn’t, hosts can adjust their approach to event planning to create even better experiences for attendees.

Getting the most out of the post-event survey form

• Use a survey tool to create and send a post-event survey. These tools have mastered the art of crafting the surveys and can be started in minutes. 
• Keep the survey short and concise. Attendees are more likely to complete the survey if it’s short and to the point. Keep in mind that by completing the survey they are doing the host a favor, so it is important to respect attendees’ time and keep the survey short and straightforward.
• Send the survey close to the event end-date. It’s best to send the survey within 24 hours of the event ending while the participants are still engaged.
• Persuade participants to answer your post-event survey. This could include offering incentives such as giveaways, or discounts on the tickets for the next event if they complete the survey. People are more likely to participate in this if they feel like they are getting something in return.
• According to SurveyMonkey, people are more likely to respond to the survey if asked between 9 and 10 am or 2 and 3 pm on a workday.
• Follow up with the participants and communicate with them how their feedback was used to improve the event. This shows that the survey feedback was purposeful and valued, and shows commitment to delivering a better experience in the future.