When we organise an event, we tend to focus on managing it before and during to ensure success on the big day. However, the post-event phase is equally important. Measuring its success is an essential phase in the event cycle. This stage allows you to justify the resources invested in the event and to plan improvements for future events. This article will shed some light on how to analyze post-event with SaaS, and how S-360 and Business Intelligence (BI) powered by SECUTIX can help to this purpose.
What is post-event analysis?
Creating an event is relatively complex and costly. The process of organising an event or the decision to include it in your strategy is generally not taken lightly. It must meet clearly defined objectives. In order to ensure a return on investment, it is essential to be able to objectively measure the results obtained.
Post-event analysis is an evaluation carried out after an event to measure the success of the event in relation to the objectives defined beforehand. This analysis covers several aspects, such as participant satisfaction, return on investment, impact on the company and the relevance of the event's content.
Why is post-event analysis important to the success of your events?
Post-event analysis is important to the success of your events because it allows you to assess performance, learn from experience, improve the participant experience, optimise budgets, measure return on investment, evaluate partnerships, prepare for the next event and report back to stakeholders. In short, it helps you learn from previous events and constantly improve the quality and effectiveness of your future events.
Post-event analysis is the key to continuous improvement in the planning and management of your events. It allows you to turn feedback into concrete action, to better understand the needs and expectations of your audience, and to strengthen your company's reputation as a quality event organiser. It also provides a valuable opportunity to innovate, remain competitive in the marketplace and ensure that every event you organise exceeds expectations, building audience loyalty and contributing to the overall success of your business.
What are the benefits of post-event analysis?
Post-event analysis offers several advantages to event organisers as it provides an overview of how successful the event was, whether the objectives were achieved and constructive feedback for improving future events. The main benefits are as follows:-
- Performance Evaluation: Assess the event's success and whether it met its objectives.
- Learning from Mistakes: Identify and learn from errors or shortcomings to avoid them in the future.
- Improved Planning: Refine event planning and execution processes for more efficient events.
- Enhanced Participant Experience: Use feedback to enhance attendee experiences and meet expectations.
- Resource Optimisation: Optimise resource allocation and budgeting for greater efficiency.
- Strategic Decision-Making: Inform strategic decisions, measure ROI, and adapt for long-term success.
Criteria to consider for a post-event analysis
There are several criteria to take into account for a successful post-event evaluation. Depending on the type of event and the organisation, these criteria will also change, but as main criteria, we can cite:
- Goals and Objectives: Evaluate whether the event met its initial goals and objectives. Were attendance targets reached? Were sales targets met? Did the event achieve its intended purpose, such as brand awareness, fundraising, or education?
- Attendee Feedback: Collect feedback from attendees through surveys, social media, or direct communication. Analyze their responses regarding event satisfaction, content quality, logistics, and overall experience. Identify areas for improvement based on their input.
- Financial Performance: Review the event's financial data, including revenue, expenses, and profitability. Assess whether the event met its budgetary goals and whether there were any unexpected costs or revenue sources. Calculate the return on investment (ROI) for the event, factoring in both financial and non-financial metrics. Determine whether the event was a success from a holistic perspective.
- Attendance Data: Analyze attendance patterns, demographics, and geographic information of attendees. This data can help tailor future marketing efforts and improve event targeting.
- Marketing and Promotion: Evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing and promotional strategies. Measure the reach and engagement of marketing campaigns, including social media engagement, website traffic, and email open rates. Identify which channels and tactics were most successful in driving attendance.
Although these are some of the basic criteria, we must not forget other no less important ones such as Logistics and Operations, Content and Programming, Technology and Tools, Sponsor and Exhibitor Feedback, Timeline and Project Management, Legal and Compliance, Environmental Impact, Competitor Analysis and more. Finally, it is important to gather constructive feedback to improve future events.
Effective solutions for conducting post-event analysis
To carry out an effective post-event analysis, it is important to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data. Post-event data analysis can be done using satisfaction questionnaires, interviews, testimonials or by studying the impact on sales or brand awareness. Analyzing feedback on social networks is also an effective way of assessing how participants feel and the impact of the event.
On the other hand, one of the best options for collecting all the information necessary for post-event analysis is to have this functionality integrated into the ticketing platform itself, as offered by S-360.
S-360 and BI: Your solutions to post-event data analysis
With SECUTIX's S-360 SaaS ticketing platform and its BI functionalities, we play an integral role in post-event analysis, offering complementary features to ensure a thorough assessment of event performance. Here's how they can help:
How can SECUTIX S-360 help you in post-event evaluation?
- Data Collection and Consolidation: S-360 can efficiently collect and centralize event data, including ticket sales, registrations, attendance, and access control information. This ensures that you have a comprehensive dataset to work with during post-event analysis.
- Monitoring: S-360 provides near-real-time insights into ticket sales, attendance numbers, and other key event metrics. This data can be monitored throughout the event and after to determine its success.
- Attendee Engagement Analysis: S-360 can track attendee interactions, such as which sessions they attend, what tickets they purchase, and any additional services they utilize. This data is vital for understanding attendee behaviour and preferences.
- Feedback and Surveys: S-360 can manage post-event feedback and surveys, allowing you to gather attendees opinions and suggestions for improvements.
- Customized Reports: The platform often offers standard and customizable reporting options, enabling you to create tailored reports focused on specific event KPIs.
How can SECUTIX S-360 analyze your post-event data?
- Data Integration: S-360 can easily be integrated with external BI tools and partners, consolidating event data with additional business data for more comprehensive analysis.
- Advanced Analytics: S-360 provides advanced analytics capabilities, allowing you to perform in-depth analysis of event data.
- Customized Dashboards: The S-360 BI tool allows the creation of interactive dashboards and visualizations, making it easier to explore data, identify patterns, and share insights with stakeholders.
- Cross-referencing Data: S-360 can help cross-reference event data with other relevant data sources, such as marketing and CRM data. This provides a more holistic view of the event's impact on business objectives.
By combining the strengths of S-360 and its BI functionalities, you can perform a comprehensive post-event analysis that not only evaluates the event's success but also informs future event strategies and optimisations for maximum return on investment.