This is a guest post by Sarah Hewitson from neatly.io

Planning an event is hard, there’s no doubt about it. With so much to consider it’s easy to get overwhelmed. It’s even harder to plan your next event off the back of a previous one. The pressure will be on to make everything bigger and better.

There is however, one thing in your corner that will make planning that little bit easier than the first time round – data. Your first event was a chance to collect a ton of information about what worked and what didn’t, as well as get hints as to what people want next.

There are two types of data that you can use in your planning, qualitative and quantitative.

Quantitative data is the easiest type of data to analyse. It’s based on cold, hard numbers that you can start analysing straight away.

Qualitative data is a little harder to analyse. It’s data based on opinions and thoughts, so it’s more difficult to group together to make sense out of. However, you’ll often get much stronger insights from this information as to why something is happening.

In order to get the most out of the data you’ve collected, you’ll need to use both types. The two data sets complement each other, with qualitative data showing you what people thought of your event and what they want next, and quantitative data highlighting areas you need to prioritise.

With that in mind, here are 6 sources of data you need to use to make your next event an even bigger success.

Qualitative Source 1: Feedback Surveys

Most events these days include some kind of feedback survey at the end, whether it’s as attendees are leaving or sending an email a few days later. This is very valuable data to gather and people are highly likely to respond as they expect the surveys and you’re getting their thoughts while the event is still fresh in their mind. With these surveys, it’s a great time to ask what your customers felt worked well and as equally important – what didn’t.

Of course you want to know what to do next, so why not ask? You’ll likely get a wide range of answers, including those you’d never considered previously. That’s one of the benefits of qualitative data.

Qualitative Source 2: Social Media

The last time you ran an event, did you have your very own hashtag? If so, there’s a wealth of data waiting for you on social media. 

Make note of what people are saying about your event; was it positive or negative?

More specifically, what aspects of the event were they talking about? If it was a concert, what did they think of the acts on your line-up?

One of the great things about social media is that you’ll get feedback from people who were unable to attend too, simply through the interactions they have with attendees live tweeting. Can you figure out from their responses why they didn’t attend and is it something you can change in the future? An obvious barrier might have been the pricing or the timing.

Qualitative Source 3: Conversations

Throughout all of the qualitative data sources that we’ve discussed so far, there’s been a common theme – simply asking people what they thought. You’ll get some of the most valuable feedback if you straight up ask for the information, and what better way to do it than by just talking to people?

Going out and having conversations with people will get you all the information you need to know, and the best part is, this is a data source that will always be available. Whether it’s before, during or after your event, people are always available to talk.

One essential tip however, is to be wary of compliments. Just because someone’s telling you your event is ‘great’ doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what they really think. Rob Fitzgerald calls this learning to differentiate between ‘compliments’ and ‘commitments’.

What this means is that the real indicator of your event concept being a success is when someone can commit time or money to it. Don’t just ask what people think of it, get their thoughts and then ask if they’d be interested in purchasing a ticket. If they do, that’s a surefire sign that you’re on the right track.

Quantitative Source 1: Signup / Attendee Numbers

Our first quantitative source is looking at your Signup and Attendance numbers. It’s two of the key metrics all event managers will be tracking.

It’s by using these metrics together that you can really get some insights into how things went.

Compare the number of signups you got to the number of attendees and you’ll see just how successful you were. While some people might have simply had a last minute change of plan if there’s a big difference it may be that your event was marketed well, but wasn’t that exciting to get people to actually go.

If you’re running a conference you may have had several workshops running during the day. Check out the attendance numbers of each and you’ll be able to see which topic was the most popular. Perhaps you could delve into more detail on that topic in future conferences and workshops?

Quantitative Source 2: Event Traffic

This might apply mostly to larger events such as exhibitions or conferences, but it’s worth mentioning in this list. Similarly to checking the attendee figures for different workshops, keeping track of which areas were heavily trafficked will tell you what your customers are interested in.

At your exhibition, was there a particular exhibit that drew the most attention. Could you expand on the themes that exhibit explored? Or work with that team to create a brand new event?
It’s also not just about topics either. How did that particular exhibit showcase themselves? Was it because they were getting attendees involved in an activity as opposed to just lecturing them? Take inspiration and use that next time.

Quantitative Source 3: Your Content

The last source of data is often overlooked despite being such an obvious choice. Most businesses these days have some form of online presence, whether it’s a website or on social media. As with all the data sources we’ve discussed, the content that you share will give you some kind of indication as to what your audience is interested in.

Don’t simply look at the content that got the most views, but the content that also got the most engagement. Are there themes to be pulled out in terms of topics, format and so on.

For your website, log into Google Analytics and check out the following metrics:

• Bounce Rate
• Average Time on Site
• Conversion Rate (if you have something to convert to)

If you’re looking at social posts, visit the respective analytics tool, i.e. analytics.twitter.com and check out the engagement rates. How many people commented, liked or shared your posts?

In Conclusion

I’ve listed just 6 data sources here, but depending on the event you’re running, you might have a wealth of other sources just waiting to be used.

Everyone wants their next event to be bigger and better than before, and by digging into the data that you might not realise you have, you can make sure attendees will keep coming back time after time.