As the event management field is highly competitive, the outcomes of events to a great extent depend not only on planning but also on the attitude towards attendees’ feedback.
As any successful event organiser knows, to achieve further success, one has to know what the attendees think, feel, and want. Integrating feedback received from attendees strengthens the current and future event planning initiatives towards the overall goals and objectives for the event.
This article will explore how to gather attendees’ feedback and how these insights can be used to organise other events, employing examples from London talent agencies, as well as reflecting on Naga Munchetty, Shivvy Jervis, and Jane Goodall.
The Importance of Attendee Feedback
A survey gives the event planners a glimpse of how well the event did by capturing the attendee feedback. It establishes a one-on-one channel with the target customers to understand their impressions and what changes made an impact for better or for worse. Collecting attendee feedback is crucial because it:
- Identifies Strengths and Weaknesses: Knowing what parts of the event were successful and which lacking contributes to sustaining positives and correcting negatives.
- Enhances Engagement: Thus, by consistently requesting feedback, attendees feel appreciated and listened to, which is likely to make them loyal.
- Informs Future Planning: Detailed feedback helps the planners on what needs to be done or changed in future events to fit the audience requirements.
- Boosts ROI: It is therefore possible to argue that by applying feedback to adjust event elements, planners can increase attendee satisfaction and consequently, event attendance and profitability.
Effective Methods for Collecting Attendee Feedback
To effectively gather feedback from attendees, it would be advisable to incorporate the use of multiple feedback mechanisms. Here are some effective techniques:
Surveys and Questionnaires
Among the feedback collection methods, surveys are perhaps the most frequently used and multifunctional. Such surveys can be conducted pre-event, during the event or even post-event to gain an overall perception of the attendee’s experience.
Online surveys are uniquely important because they are convenient to implement and efficient to analyse. When creating surveys:
- Keep it concise: This is so because long surveys are likely to discourage the respondents from completing the survey. Overall, it is necessary to concentrate on the questions that make the process produce decisions that can be implemented.
- Use a mix of question types: It is possible to mix the multiple-choice, rating scale and open-ended questions in order to gather both quantitative and qualitative information.
- Incentivize participation: It was also found earlier that giving away a token gift could lead to better response rates.
Mobile Apps
Live events are especially a preferred method for collecting feedback since mobile applications dedicated to particular events are gaining popularity.
These apps can be used for real-time voting, question/answer periods, and for feedback or opinion polls. It also provides an avenue for the participants to share their experiences or give inputs on the spot and not after a couple of weeks.
Social Media Listening
Utilising social media allows for obtaining raw and natural feedback as well as allowing for constant tracking. When people are at such an event, they get to interact with others in social networks and contribute their input. There are always various tools such as the sentiment analysis that can assist in sorting the feedback based on the overall tone.
Focus Groups and Interviews
However, if one wants to develop a clear insight of the attendee’s perspective, focus group discussions and follow up interviews are a great option. The above techniques enable elaborative discussions, and hence, different from surveys may reveal complex issues for analysis These should ensure a wide spectrum of attendee feedback is captured.
Utilising Attendee Feedback for Future Events
Getting feedback is the first thing but how this feedback is managed is even more important. It is more useful to break down and use the lessons learned from such events for better outcomes in future. Here’s how to effectively utilise attendee feedback:
Analyse and Categorize Feedback
After feedback is gathered, it becomes crucial to assess the feedback data and sort them into various groups. It is also advisable to sort the feedback according to the most common topics like logistics, content, speakers, and general impression. For example, comments from the attendees regarding the keynote speakers such as Naga Munchetty, Shivvy Jervis or Jane Goodall to provide more detailed information of the impact of the particular speech or presentation.
Prioritise Actionable Insights
Not all of the feedback received is likely to be considered actionable so it is important to create a hierarchy. Consequently, the best approach is to focus on the areas which would change the most and make the single biggest impact in the attendee experience.
For instance, if several participants provide feedback on problems with registration, this should be a concern for upcoming events.
Communicate Changes
One of the many essential aspects of working with the target audience is trust, and the best way to create trust is to be as transparent as possible. Based on the feedback you’ve received, inform them the measures you are going to put in place.
This can be done through newsletters or emails, social media platforms, before, during or after the event. This makes attendees feel valued and committed to the event since they see that their opinions are listened to and implemented.
Implement Incremental Improvements
There are elements of the event which may be unsatisfactory, but instead of changing everything, try to make alterations gradually. This creates an opportunity of making gradual changes and to evaluate the gains of new tactics. Sustained advancement is best accomplished through frequent and incremental changes.
Case Studies and Notable Examples
Some of the talent agencies in London are specialised in organising and coordinating various talents and high-profile events. Through feedback, these agencies always ensure that their strategies are optimally developed to assure the best experiences. For example, if the agency seeks to book Naga Munchetty as a speaker, the agencies may collect information regarding presentation style, perceived relevance of content, and audience interest. They are then used to shape future interactions hence achieving a higher level of effectiveness.
Likewise, tech futurist Shivvy Jervis often partakes in events where her take on technology and trends, innovative solutions or otherwise, requires opinions. The responses from the attendees should be used to evaluate what part of her talks is precious to people, and therefore, improve content applicability for future events.
The famous primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall is often invited to events related to sustainability. These sessions enable the planners to get finer aspects of what the audience wants to be discussed regarding environmental issues and other related topics.
Final Thoughts!
In the field of event management, feedback from attendees is a very useful resource that can help improve the quality and effectiveness of future events. These best practices teach event planners to gather feedback in numerous ways and, more importantly, to use it to produce better events.
These insights, along with examples from British television host Naga Munchetty, blogger Shivvy Jervis, and primatologist Jane Goodall, as well as practices of talent agencies in London, underscore the need for constant refinement.
Lastly, focusing on attendee feedback is not only beneficial to attendees but also vital for the overall effectiveness of events to remain meaningful.
