Achieving success is the ultimate goal for both event business planners and participants. However, in the ever-evolving landscape of event management, determining whether an event is truly successful, cannot solely rely on traditional measures like return on investment (ROI). While ROI is undoubtedly an important metric, it only captures the financial aspects of an event’s performance. 

Beyond the generated revenue, sales, and leads lie a realm of influential yet intangible aspects. What are these elusive factors, how do we measure them, and how do they impact ROI? Prepare for an exhilarating journey as we delve into the subjective world of ROI measurement. Buckle up and get ready!

Setting the “Subjective” Goals

Defining success in an event involves ticking all the boxes of desired outcomes. Therefore, event planners and participants should start by setting specific goals. It’s not necessary to limit oneself to a single goal; in fact, having a long list of it can be more beneficial. By establishing primary targets and viewing secondary goals as valuable bonuses, event planners can create a comprehensive framework for achieving success.

Let’s begin by categorizing all potential outcomes into two distinct categories: objective and subjective. Objective goals encompass tangible outcomes, such as numerical figures, business impact, and revenue generation. On the other hand, subjective goals relate to factors like brand awareness, engagement, and customer satisfaction. It’s important to acknowledge that measuring these subjective goals can be more challenging, yet they significantly contribute to the overall ROI of your event.

Consider this example: How can your sales increase if your target audience lacks awareness of your brand and its value? This highlights the significance of subjectivity in tandem with tangible ROI. However, unlike a sales report, measuring elements like brand awareness and engagement lacks an exact methodology.

This leads us to an important question: How can we effectively measure subjectivity within the context of tangible ROI evaluation?

Attaching the Tangible Metrics

Brand awareness, event engagement, and customer relationship are among the most common subjective goals in events. In order to measure them, we can start by attaching some relevant, tangible metrics which will help generate valuable insights.

Brand awareness

In business events, brand awareness takes center stage as a crucial element. It encompasses metrics like registration numbers, media coverage, and social media presence. The registration count directly reflects brand awareness, while media coverage and social media presence can be assessed by measuring reach and website visits leading up to the event.

During events, exhibitors strive to enhance brand awareness among attendees. This can be measured through a familiarity check by asking attendees a simple question such as, "Which brand/booth attracted you the most?" As exhibitors become part of the event landscape, assessing attendees' familiarity with their brand becomes a key indicator of success.

Event engagement

Engagement plays a pivotal role throughout an event's lifecycle, spanning from pre-event to post-event stages. Organizers have various metrics at their disposal to gauge engagement from different perspectives and elements.

During the pre-event period, valuable metrics for assessing engagement include platform logins, native app downloads, and meeting requests. This period also provides an opportunity to check and enhance feature adoption, directly influencing engagement levels.

Moving to the event days, engagement is reflected in feature usage, meetings check-in, session attendance, and booth visits for exhibitors. Organizers can monitor real-time data to swiftly identify and improve areas where engagement may be lacking.

Engagement doesn’t cease when the event concludes; it extends to the post-event phase for both attendees and organizers. During this phase, organizers can measure sentiments related to engagement aspects, such as positive or negative feedback and satisfaction levels. Effectively demonstrating this information brings a tangible assessment to a subjective metric, providing valuable insights for future improvements.

Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction remains a top priority for event organizers throughout the planning process. Although satisfaction is subjective in nature, it can be measured through a series of questions that encompass all aspects of the event, including both quantitative and qualitative feedback.

One commonly utilized metric to measure satisfaction is the Net Promoter Score (NPS). Organizers can collect the necessary data to calculate this score through a satisfaction questionnaire, which can include subjective questions like “How do you rate the digital features used in the event?” or “What is your opinion on the quality of the sessions?”

By carefully analyzing the responses to these questions, organizers can obtain valuable insights into customer satisfaction levels and identify areas for improvement in future events. Collecting both quantitative and qualitative feedback allows for a comprehensive understanding of attendees’ satisfaction, enabling organizers to continuously enhance the overall event experience.

The Role of Event Technology in Data Collection for ROI Measurement

Measuring subjective goals in an event may be challenging, but it is possible to gather valuable data and assign appropriate metrics for effective assessment. Event technology plays a vital role in data collection and offers a wide array of digital solutions to streamline processes, enhancing the overall experience for participants.

Event technology empowers organizers to collect and analyze data, personalize experiences, foster engagement, streamline operations, and provide enhanced sponsorship opportunities. These capabilities assist in achieving both objective and subjective goals, leading to tangible ROI measurement.

By leveraging event technology, organizers can harness the power of data-driven insights to optimize event outcomes, enhance attendee satisfaction, and maximize the overall success of their events. The combination of technology and strategic goal setting enables organizers to bridge the gap between subjective and objective goals, delivering exceptional results and a remarkable return on investment.

Reach New Heights of ROI with Us!

While tangible ROI remains a crucial metric in measuring an event's success, when taking into account the non-tangible aspects and elements, there are then more to consider. Jublia Engagement Hub provides an integrated digital solutions and platform to improve the ROI of your events. Speak to our Solution Specialists by dropping a message to info@jublia.com and follow us on LinkedIn to stay tuned with more exciting updates on ROI!