It is important for any business to measure success in terms of ROI. That way, they can tell how effective their marketing efforts are.
Measuring ROI can be pretty cut and dried for most businesses. Technology allows us to trace the customer path from what drew them into the company, to what led them to make certain purchases via cookies and other types of tracking tools.
When you are planning an event, things are not as simple. Yet, there are several ways you can measure the success of your event.
Read on for a step by step guide that will help you determine the ROI for your event.
Determining ROI on a Financial Basis
If the overall goal of your event is to make money, you need to figure out how much money you made. To do this, determine how much you spent on the event. Be sure to consider the musicians you hired, how much you paid for food, the venue, and whatever other expenses were included.
Then subtract this amount from the total you brought in through ticket sales, registration, and any other means. This will be your financial ROI.
Consider Other Measures of Success
Not every event is about making money. It could also be about raising awareness for a certain goal. You might be doing an employment drive to get more employees to your company. You might be trying to get the word out about a new project. Or it could be a combination of any of these things.
When determining the success of your event, try to focus on one goal and figure out your ROI from there.
Set Measurable Objectives Related to Your Goal
It is not as easy to measure your ROI in terms of non monetary goals. Therefore, it’s a good idea to set measurable objectives related to your goal.
For instance, if you are looking to raise brand awareness, you may measure your success by the number of people that attended your event, the amount of social media followers you gained as a result, and the number of press mentions you secured.
If you are looking to add employees to your staff, you might measure ROI based on how many prospective employees showed up, how many applied for the job and how many were hired.
Another way to measure success is to poll attendees before and after the event to find out how it changed their attitude towards the cause, company, product, or whatever it was you were trying to promote.
Use Tools to Measure Your Success
Technology can provide you with tools that will measure your success. The technology you use for your events, such as your ticketing and registration partner will keep track of the number of tickets you sold, the revenue for your sales, the amount of no shows, and more.
You can also use online survey tools to measure attendee satisfaction. Salesforce can help you track lead generated from your event as well.
Analyze and Understand Results
Once you know what tools are best for measuring ROI and develop your analytical skills, you can dig even deeper to find other significant breakdowns.
For instance, if you are trying to promote a business or a product, you can take the number of sales leads you got and divide this by the cost of putting on the event. This will help you further calculate your ROI.
Making Your Event ROI Even Higher
If you have held several events, but you are disappointed with the ROI you are seeing, there are several things you can do to boost your numbers. Here are some suggestions.
Focus on Your Objectives: Really honing in on your objectives can help you increase ROI. Focus on marketing that you think will boost attendance in regard to your goals to encourage more sales and engagement.
Analyze the Data of Past Events: Look back on your past events and think of when most attendees have registered and what actions boosted registration. Repeat successful measures to make your event more successful.
Geography is another important consideration. Think of your target audience and where they are located. Pick a venue that allows them to commute to the event easily.
Track URLs to Better Determine ROI: Make sure every channel you are using to market your event has its own URL. Then you will be able to see exactly where your sales are coming from and what efforts are the most successful.
Sponsorships: Sponsorships are mutually beneficial in that they help spread the word about your event while promoting your sponsor as well. Sponsorships can be paid or unpaid, but either way, they can be valuable in the marketing of your event.
Use Influencers: Influencers are one of the most effective ways to market any product or event. Contact influencers who are a good fit and see if they will talk about and promote your event. Influencers have credibility among online communities and their promotional efforts can make a big difference in your event’s success rate.
Hold Contests: Holding a contest can also help you promote your event. You can have people repost your marketing materials on social media to enter a lottery where the winner can get free tickets to your event. This is a great way to get people excited about the event while getting the word out.
Get Great Entertainment: In today’s world, more people are looking for experiences. The promise of great experience will get them out of the house more so than any cause.
Advertise an experience that includes interactive displays, exciting speakers, and top-notch musical entertainment to boost attendance. For more information, visit brassanimals.com .
Personalize Follow-ups: Following up with your guests is a great way to determine ROI, but it’s also a way to boost future event attendance. Use a personal touch to let your guests know you really care what they think to promote loyalty and interest in future events.
If you are an event planner, knowing how to measure your ROI is very important. Knowing how to boost it can be even more important. Hopefully, this article has provided you with insight that can help you be successful at both. Good luck making your events the talk of the town.
