Guest Post: How to Use Surveys to Host The Perfect Event

Planning an event requires a lot of thinking, coordinating and a lot of energy in getting resources together. It goes without saying that any professional event planner has to invest heavily with much prep work. To deliver great results, the first and most crucial step is to start with a survey to better understand the needs of your audience. Understanding their needs and expectations will help in creating a successful event.

Using Surveys For Event Planning

A survey helps to identify what the needs of your audience are, like location, food, topics for discussion, number of conference rooms, number of potential attendees, number of required hotel rooms, any airline bookings, etc. As an event planner, you will need this information to begin the event planning process. There are surveys for pre-event, during the event and post-event. Each type of survey offers different benefits:

• • Pre-Event Surveys help an organizer to get more information about potential attendees. These surveys would have to be created with the target audience in mind. They can be used to collect data on their interests, what they expect from the events, schedule and so on.
  • Surveys During the Event are great for monitoring how satisfied your participants are. Asking everyone at a venue to answer a few questions offers insights on what is missing and adjustments can either by made immediately or for future events. The guesswork is taken out of the equation and instant feedback addresses every opinion on all aspects of an event.
  • Post-Event Surveys indicate wins and disasters. It is a good time to get in touch with attendees one last time to offer a call-to-action, network and meet other stated goals. These surveys are great to use for following up on specific ideas. EventsAir allows for unlimited surveys to be sent to attendees after the completion of an event.

What to Look for in a Good Event Survey Maker

If you are planning to use a survey maker to create an event survey, you must take care to tailor your questions based on “when”. Questions asked before the event will be different from those to be asked during and after an event. Here is a look at some of the typical questions based on the “when”.

Pre-Event Questions:

• • • Which event and/or speaker are you looking forward to?
    • What do you think about the cost of entry?
    • Do you like the location?
    • How and where did you find out about the event?
    • Is there anything you want to modify in the registration process?
    • What information did you find difficult to get, related to the event?

During-The-Event Questions:

• • • Was the check-in process easy?
    • What rating would you give the keynote speaker?
    • Which was the most informative event so far, in your opinion?
    • Was getting around the event location easy?
    • What would you like to change about the event?
    • How was the atmosphere?
    • How helpful did you find the event organizers/assistants?

Post-Event Questions:

• • • How would you rate the event on a scale of 1-10?
    • Which event or speaker impressed you the most?
    • Did you have enough time to network?
    • Suggest a couple of changes for next year’s event/
    • What features could be added?
    • Did you learn anything at this event that would help you in your future work?
    • Based on your experience this year, would you return next year?
    • More examples

Once you have designed your surveys, the next step is to send it across and get feedback. You can send out your surveys via email, SMS or via attendee apps. Another option is to share it on social media and request feedback. One way to get on-site feedback is to load it on a mobile platform like a phone or tablet.

How to Ensure the Best Response Rates?

You may have created a great survey but without answers to your questions, it is not worth much. Here are a few ways to get top-notch feedback.

• • • Short and Sweet: If a survey has too many questions, then takers will not finish one. Most mobile phone users abandon surveys which contain more than 10 questions. When you send one out, indicate how much time it would take, and your audience will be more inclined to answer. Design your customer satisfaction surveys in a user-friendly manner to increase your response rates.
    • Incentives: Make it worth a participant’s while to take your survey. Offering a discount in dollars or in percentages will boost response rates.
    • Good Design: A clean and tidy survey with short questions which are not more than 15 will help you get the responses you need.
    • Surveys for Different Groups: While you want to survey everyone who attends an event, you might consider tailoring it for different groups. You will get a good perspective of the entire event, thanks to comprehensive feedback from different parties.

Another important thing to include while planning events is round the clock customer support. You may have attendees across the globe and all of them might have certain questions about the event. Creating a self-help FAQ section on your portal that comprises all the details about events is the best way to cater to your global attendees. This will help them solve any event-related questions on their own, anytime and from anywhere.

Conclusion

The success of an event depends not only on the work you put in during the event, it also depends on your efforts before and after the event. Getting in touch with your audience and getting their insights is crucial towards determining the success of your event.

Author: Angela White

EventsAir has been at the forefront of Event Technology and Innovation for over 30 years, continually pushing the boundaries of what an event management platform can do. Built by event planners for event planners, EventsAir is a secure, scalable, cloud-based solution that can manage everything from in-person, virtual to hybrid conferences, meetings and events in a single online platform – anywhere, anytime and on any device. In use in over 50 countries by multi-national corporations, professional conference organizers, government departments and tertiary education institutions, EventsAir is also used in global congresses such as G20, APEC, CHOGM and ASEAN, as well as sporting events like The Olympic Games, World Rugby, Commonwealth Games and Pan Am Games. EventsAir is trusted by event professionals around the globe. For further information, visit www.eventsair.com