Explori Blog

Tools of Engagement: 5 Ways to Capture Customer Data

Oct 18, 2022

Regardless of what many corporate event planners think, post-event and meetings surveys alone are not enough to give you the kind of event data you need to understand attendee behavior and engagement. Instead, planners looking for real insight on customers and prospects should be turning to a variety of tools to source event data and make the most of its value. What are these tools and what can they do? Mitch Deeming, head of operations and customer success for Explori, identifies several that are valuable and explains how best to use them. Not all of these tools will be relevant for all events. Understanding your attendees’ objectives and your own will help you decide which are right for yours. 1. CRM A place where many event professionals and marketers will already have data on customers and prospects is the customer management platform (usually shortened to CRM). Records are generated in the CRM when customers engage with the company brand in ways that include signing up for something, purchasing a product or attending an event. Deeming recommends that planners continually populate and update their CRMs with relevant information, thereby gaining better understanding of customers and the segments they fall into. Important information for segmenting customers include how this person came to appear in the CRM; points of engagement you’ve already had with them, such as whether they have appeared at your events and in what capacity; their annual budget and the sector they work in. 2. Registration Platforms The event registration platform, which should be one that integrates with your CRM, is another important tool. Registration is valuable for collecting demographic data that enriches customer records and contributes to meaningful segmentation of customers, attendees and other stakeholders. It can answer such questions as why people came to the event—was it primarily for networking, educational content or purchasing? Which sessions did they sign up for? Deeming advises planners to be conscious of the customer data they already have in the CRM and to avoid making the registration form too long by asking for information they already have. He also advises planners to make sure the registration form is relevant to the event—should it have separate pages for buyers or VIPs? Another consideration is awareness of relevant data privacy laws in the event location. 3. Virtual Event Platforms Virtual event platforms are a valuable new source of engagement data. They can track which sessions people attended and for how they long they stayed. They also capture live chats, which are a useful source of feedback, and questions from the audience, which can be helpful in creating future content. Engagement metrics such as “likes” and sessions attended are available in real-time, enabling planners to report and act on them quickly. Virtual event platforms come with some caveats, however. Deeming cautions that engagement with sponsored content is often low, recommending that it be incorporated into the main content to ensure the audience views it. Other things to be aware of is who actually owns the audience data and whether the format of the data exported will be consistent with other platforms. 4. Mobile Event Apps & Event Websites While registration will tell you who your customers are, a mobile event app and event website (if you use a platform that allows) can help you determine what they’re actually doing at the event and their level of engagement. Mobile apps and websites can give you “passive” engagement data from just the way people are interacting with the platforms and “active” engagement data through activations and activities within the app itself. Apps also support other types of data collection by prompting users to complete surveys and providing instant feedback on various event elements. Specifically, apps enable you to gather data on what sessions and speakers attendees preferred, which exhibitors they visited and which attendees they connected with through the app. Apps with note-taking functions even allow you to see which sessions prompted the most note-taking. Many also support a suite of measurable activations within the app, including session polls and gamification. The major consideration with event apps is that their adoption rate is often low. Because of the valuable information apps provide, Deeming believes it is well worth encouraging adoption through support, promotions and incentives. 5. Surveys Sentiment data, which is key to understanding the hearts and minds of customers, is primarily collected through surveys. While surveys are traditionally done after an event, Deeming recommends also using them during the planning process, a useful way to determine the types of content and networking opportunities to provide. Among the benefits of surveys are their ability to provide direct feedback from customers. They can provide answers to important questions such as how your event compares with other channels for learning, purchasing and networking within the industry sector. Surveys are also useful for filling in gaps in the CRM on the information you may not already have. For effective surveys, it’s important to make sure that questions are consistent between events in order to allow for comparisons. Good response rates are often highly dependent on repeated promotion and intelligent survey design. More Tips On How To Use Event Data To Build Valuable Insights? Like this? Want more know tips and advice on how to maximize your event data to build valuable insights? Download our Event Impact Playbook designed specifically for corporate event professionals.

How Strategic Event Data Empowers Associations

Sep 1, 2022

Why does your association need an event data strategy and what are the risks of not having one? Event data—and being able to use and interpret it effectively—is essential for associations to understand the impact that events have on their members. It’s equally essential for ensuring that this impact grows rather than fades over time, that events stay front of mind for members and key stake holders alike. Explori has worked with thousands of event professionals and meeting planners to help them understand how benchmarking, attendee tracking, setting strategic goals and other practices can work to ensure that events fulfill their purpose, whether it’s driving business for members, bringing members together for networking or moving the dial for the industry. Sophie Holt, managing director of Explori, cautions that simply gathering event data without a strategic plan in place is not enough to achieve these goals. Holt emphasizes that metrics in isolation, including past attendance, only indicate what has already happened, not what will happen. Even events that were well attended one year can fall flat the next if a newer, more enticing show comes along. Perhaps the seemingly popular event was really a “hostage” situation that only attracted people because they had no other choices. An event data strategy, one that drills down into attendee behavior and examines their actual engagement with the event, can help predict future attendance and indicate what improvements may be needed to keep it on an upward trajectory. While some event planners may think data won’t tell them anything they don’t already know, Holt says that all too often anecdotal information, whether it’s an effusive email from a happy speaker or angry words from a sponsor, gets mistaken for data. “You can’t just rely on anecdotal information—it’s a psychological phenomenon that we retain information that confirms beliefs we already hold,” she says. “It’s data that gives voice to the silent majority and reveals hidden trends.” What are the risks of not having an event data strategy and why is it more crucial than ever? With the pandemic, business and marketing experts say that people have become more discerning of how they spend their time and are looking for more curated experiences. “We need a deep understanding of the customer journey and future behavior,” Holt says. “The risks of not doing so are clear—you will be less customer centric, and decisions will be made without addressing what people want or need. You will fall short in marketing goals.” She also notes that while the rise of event technology has brough in a flood of new data, it hasn’t brought in a flood of new insights. Unfortunately, data all too often gets trapped in silos within an organization and loses whatever impact it could have. With a strategy in place, data gets to the people who can use it to create better events, achieve organizational goals and predict behavior. How has Explori helped associations use event data to their best advantage? One example is the Chicago Dental Society (CDS), which has held its Midwinter Meeting every February for over 150 years. Feedback from the event had been gathered on rudimentary survey tools, which didn’t provide a robust way of understanding how the event performed in the eyes of the attendees and exhibitors. The CDS turned to Explori to help it understand how this annual event was performing against the global healthcare sector. Explori gathered data at three key points throughout the event journey. Attendees and exhibitors were asked at registration about their objectives in attending the meeting, data on their engagement was gathered at the event and responses were mapped to provide a post-event analysis. Following the meeting, Explori blended several key indicators together to provide a single overall event score, including overall satisfaction, likelihood to return, and event importance. Aggregated together, these points provided a clear picture of the event’s performance, without emphasis being placed on any single factor. From the data, Explori created an analysis that enabled the CDS senior leadership to understand the attendees and exhibitors’ experiences at the event and their attitudes towards it. They were then able to prioritize the areas of improvement that would have the most meaningful impact. Holt believes that employing an event data strategy for a successful event is not dissimilar to how a farmer ensures a successful harvest. It starts with planting the right crop, monitoring environmental factors throughout the growing cycle and making note of what can be done better next time. Like this? Download your copy of The Power of Data Insights for Associations - Turning Insight into Revenue.

Using Event Data to Get a Strategic Seat at the Table

Jul 25, 2022

An event data strategy is essential not only for designing more impactful events, but ensuring that event professionals are recognized by their organizations as strategic partners. The effective use of event data allows event owners to demonstrate the role they play in achieving wider business goals, improving customer loyalty and navigating an uncertain future. Why does an event professional need an event data strategy? Collecting data and, equally important, knowing how to interpret it effectively enables you to bring more value to your organization – not just by empowering you to make more informed (that is, data-driven) decisions, but to really gain insight into how your event contributes to wider business goals. This in turn allows you to secure a seat at the table as a strategic partner. While some event planners view data as a professional quagmire, the fact remains that data will be the biggest criterion separating the wheat from the chaff as event and marketing teams continue to combine, as tech becomes increasingly important and data-rich, and as tech-savvy generations ascend to senior positions in their organizations. Planners who master the art of using data strategically can play a vital leadership role in their organizations. But a common challenge for many event teams is finding the time and resources required to sit with the data and derive insights, or in some cases to develop the analytical proficiencies in the first place. For those without the capacity, working with a research partner can be a significant benefit. Planners gain access to benchmarking and other interpretative tools to create event experiences and events that are strategically effective and have the impact they intend. How does a data strategy help you bring value to your organization through more strategic decision-making? The rise of event technology has brought a flood of new data, but not a flood of new insights. All too often the data is trapped in silos without a connection to wider organizational strategies. It’s not getting into the hands of people who need it. Opportunities are blocked for creating experiences that really speak to customer preferences. Conversely, when a robust data strategy is in place, the organization can hold events that provide better experiences for participants and achieve company goals. It can also aid in the prediction of customer behavior, helping planners create even more effective events in the future. Sophie Holt, managing director of Explori, notes that some event planners think data won’t tell them anything they don’t already know. “All too often they are mistaking anecdotes for data, perhaps an effusive email from a happy speaker or the anger of a sponsor,” she said. “Anecdotes should not be used in place of data. It’s data that gives voice to the silent majority and reveals hidden trends.” Even looking at past metrics such as attendance may not be very useful for future events, as they reveal what happened, but not what will happen. With the right tools, data can help predict how people will behave in the future. Even events that have always been well-attended can suddenly see an unanticipated drop-off. Perhaps people were only attending the event because there were no alternatives and now they have other choices. With the right data and tools to interpret it, you get a more realistic picture of what people actually think of the event and what has to be done to retain their loyalty. Collecting and interpreting data from an event can answer such questions as whether people changed the way they think or feel, if they identify more strongly with the brand, if they will recommend the company as an employer, if they learned best practices for their work or if they might change their behavior at the next event. Indicators of behavioral change are powerful metrics for planners, allowing for improvements to be made for more impactful future events. How can you develop the competence required to take advantage of the data at your disposal? The first step is to recognize that you need a partner—not just a supplier—to help you achieve your goals. While a supplier can sell you a product, a partner goes beyond this by tailoring their services to fit your needs. In order to do so, the partner needs an understanding of your business objectives. “Start with sharing your goals, show the big picture and tell what you are hoping to achieve,” advises Explori research director Suzanne van Montfoort. “What are the decisions you’re looking to make, who are the key stakeholders? There are so many moving parts, and giving clarity early on helps avoid confusion and delays.” After discussing the goals, it’s important to look at the data you already have and what gaps are there. What formats or languages are required? Do you want raw data that you can manipulate or do you want a more finished product? Also, discuss your budget and what your procurement process is like. For their part, the tech partner needs to explain the process of working with them, whether they can meet your deadline, if the project can be scaled down or up based on budget and what happens if you need to change the scope of the project. “If someone promises too much, that should sound an alarm,” said van Montfoort. “Find someone you can work with. Taking time at the start to develop the scope and plan will save headaches later.” How can this strategic business intelligence give you something to contribute to strategic discussions at your organization? Armed with a rich array of insightful information, event pros can present top management and other stakeholders with a compelling visual data story on the influence events have on achieving organizational goals and creating customer satisfaction. Equally important in this uncertain era, planners can demonstrate how business intelligence can be used to help organizations avoid or at least minimize the harmful impact that unpredictable outside developments could have on future events and customer loyalty. IN CONCLUSION For event planners seeking to play a leadership role in their organizations, working with a research partner like Explori to develop an event data strategy is essential. Event data if interpreted correctly can go a long way toward helping organizations realize business objectives and grow customer loyalty. *** Explori allows senior corporate event leaders to go beyond number of attendees. With our behavioural, sentiment, and cognitive measurement tools, you can discover how effectively your event strategy influences what stakeholders think, feel and do. Find out how Explori helps corporate event organizers gather vital insights to demonstrate the impact of events against the wider company objectives. Know more

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Tools of Engagement: 5 Ways to Capture Customer Data

How Strategic Event Data Empowers Associations

Using Event Data to Get a Strategic Seat at the Table

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