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Measuring the success of an event goes much further than counting the number of attendees, there are several key factors you need to consider.

Here are 5 simple ways you can measure the success of your event.

1. Post-event surveys

The most effective way of finding out information from people is by simply asking them.

As part of your post-event communications, be sure to collect feedback from your attendees through the form of anonymous surveys.

Having the surveys be anonymous allows your attendees to provide feedback honestly, and you can then use their data to measure how your event was received.

Be sure to ask for their views on the event’s content, venue, speakers, design, and overall satisfaction to measure your attendee’s perception of your event and use any criticisms to help shape the next one.

2. Lead generation and conversion metrics

If you are using your event as a tool to generate more business, then measuring your lead generation and lead conversions is a fantastic way to evaluate the success of your event.

Tracking the number of leads acquired at the event, as well as how many progress further in the sales funnel will give you insights as to whether the generated revenue or revenue potential outweighs the costs of your event, and will provide you with clear return on investment (ROI) and cost per acquisition (CPA) data that you can use to evaluate whether you consider your event a financial success.

3. Social media metrics

If your event’s key objective was to raise awareness around your organisation, then evaluating your social media metrics is an easy way to assess whether the event has impacted your organisation’s reach and engagement.

Be sure to have the necessary tools set up to monitor your social media before, during and after the event and check your number of likes, shares, click through rate (CTR) percentages, comments, and more to see if they have increased as a result of your event.

Doing this will give you a good indication of whether your event improved your brand exposure and audience engagement.

4. Sponsor and exhibitor feedback

If your event involved sponsors and exhibitors, then their feedback can be incredibly valuable for determining whether your event was successful.

Typically, sponsors and exhibitors are the main source of revenue for these types of events, and whether they felt it was a successful endeavour or not can determine both your event’s current and future success.

As an organisation, you want to be establishing long-term positive relationships with your sponsors and exhibitors, with the ambition of them agreeing to take part in future events. Failing to do so could be seen as an indication that your event was not successful from a sponsor/exhibitor perspective which may impact any future event funding and income should they decide not to take part in any future events.

The expectations of sponsors and exhibitors will be different from your attendees, so be sure to cater for their needs too and consider their feedback to ensure your success.

5. Benchmarking

To gain a better perspective of your event’s success, compare your event’s performance against other events from the same industry.

Using either your own previous events or your competitors’ events as a benchmark is a good method to interpret whether your event performed as well as it could have.

For instance, if you organised a corporate conference in a large conference space setting in the past, and now you've now hosted a similar event in a unique outdoor space , benchmarking allows you to evaluate the impact of the change in event space. Did the outdoor venue enhance attendee engagement compared to the conference space? Did it create a more memorable experience for your audience? Matching the event to the right event space is incredibly important in determining a successful experience, so be sure to also consider the venue when monitoring success.

Whether you are measuring in terms of attendance, profit, or through qualitative feedback - drawing comparisons to similar events will help give a clear indication as to whether your event fell short, met, or exceeded the expected standards of your industry, and will guide you in identifying the areas that you need to improve in for the future.

Looking to host an event? Call us on +44 (0)24 7652 3222 or email us athello-conferences@warwick.ac.uk for an informal discussion on our range of unique event spaces and how they can be tailored to meet your events needs and ensure success.