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Are you tired of investing time and resources into planning and executing events, only to be left wondering about the actual return on investment? Event ROI or return on investment is a critical metric for measuring the success of any event. It provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of your event strategy and allows you to make data-driven decisions for future events. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into everything you need to know about event ROI and event measurement, including why it matters, which metrics are the most important, why you should leverage benchmarking, and how technology, such as Explori and Maxbi, can help boost your event measurement. With strategic goal setting and proper measurement, you can ensure that your next event delivers not just expenses, but tangible ROI. Jump to: Understanding the importance of calculating event ROI Crucial metrics to consider The role of technology in measuring event returns on investment The role of benchmarking in proving event success Strategic goal setting for optimal event returns Case Study: Real-life example of successful event measurement Key takeaways and action steps Understanding the Importance of Calculating Event ROI Calculating event ROI is more than just a fancy financial term; it is an essential practice for any event marketer looking to maximize the impact of their events. Understanding the importance of calculating event ROI allows you to gauge the success of your events, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions for future events. Valuable insights on event strategy One of the primary reasons why calculating event ROI is crucial is that it provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of your event strategy. By measuring the return on investment, you can determine whether your efforts and resources were well-spent and if they generated the desired outcomes. This information is vital for event marketers or exhibit organizers who want to optimize their event planning and execution processes. Demonstrate event value to stakeholders Event ROI measurement allows you to demonstrate the value of your events to stakeholders, sponsors, and even attendees. It provides tangible evidence of the benefits and impact your events have on various parties involved. This can be particularly important for securing future funding from senior management, attracting sponsors, and building credibility within your industry. Prove the business value of financial investment Calculating event ROI the right way helps you justify your event budget and spending decisions. By understanding the financial impact of your events, you can ensure that you allocate resources effectively and prioritize areas that deliver the most significant returns. Overall, understanding the importance of calculating event ROI and having the right strategy in place, empower you to make data-driven decisions, demonstrate the value of your events, and optimize your event strategy for future success. With event ROI measurement, you can elevate your events from mere expenses to valuable investments. Crucial Metrics to Consider for Measuring Event ROI Calculating event ROI requires careful consideration of the metrics that truly matter. While there are various metrics you can measure, some are more crucial than others in evaluating the success of your event and determining its overall ROI. One of the primary metrics to consider is attendee satisfaction. The level of satisfaction among your attendees directly correlates to the success of your event. You can gather feedback through surveys, post-event evaluations, or social media sentiment analysis. By assessing attendee satisfaction, you can gauge how well your event met their expectations and identify areas for improvement in future events. Another important metric is lead generation and conversion. If one of your event goals is to generate leads and convert them into customers or clients, tracking these metrics is essential. Monitor the number of leads generated at the event and how many of them ultimately convert into paying customers. This metric not only demonstrates the direct impact of your event on business growth but also allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of your lead generation strategies. In addition, consider the engagement level of your attendees. This metric measures how actively and deeply your audience interacts with your event content, speakers, and/or exhibitors, depending on your business model. Look at metrics such as session attendance, booth visits, social media mentions, and app usage. High engagement indicates that your event was compelling and valuable to attendees. Lastly, financial metrics are vital in assessing event ROI. Measure the overall revenue generated from the event, including ticket sales, sponsorship deals, and exhibitor fees. Compare this to the event expenses, such as venue costs, marketing expenses, and staffing fees. By analyzing the financials, you can determine if your event delivered a positive ROI. Remember, these are just a few crucial metrics to consider when measuring event ROI. It is essential to align your metrics with your specific event goals and objectives. By tracking and analyzing the right metrics, you can gain valuable insights into the success of your event and make informed decisions to optimize future events for higher ROI. The Role of Technology in Enhancing Event ROI Technology plays a crucial role in enhancing event ROI by providing event organizers with the tools and resources needed to streamline processes, gather data, and optimize event outcomes. With the right software solutions, event organizers can leverage technology to boost attendee engagement, improve event efficiency, and increase overall ROI. One way technology enhances event ROI is through the use of event management software. This software allows event planners to automate various aspects of event planning and execution, such as registration, ticketing, and communication. By automating these processes, event planners can save time and resources, allowing them to focus on more strategic aspects of event planning. The most important tool is one that can provide valuable insights and data analytics that can help optimize event outcomes. By tracking attendee behavior, engagement levels, and satisfaction, event organizers can identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions for future events. This data-driven approach enables event planners to allocate resources effectively and prioritize areas that deliver the most significant ROI. At Explori, we enable event organizers to gather vital insights to demonstrate the impact of their events against the wider company objectives. Our major goal is to empower exhibit leaders with advanced technology and real-time data to measure trade show value and build exhibit programs based on past success. Technology also plays a crucial role in enhancing attendee engagement. With the use of event apps, interactive displays, and virtual reality experiences, event organizers can create immersive and interactive environments that keep attendees engaged throughout the event. Increased engagement not only enhances the attendee experience but also increases the likelihood of achieving event goals and generating ROI. The Role of Benchmarking in Proving Event Success Benchmarking is a critical practice that allows marketers and event organizers to assess the success of their events in comparison to historical, organizational and industry standards. By benchmarking your event ROI, you can gain valuable insights into how your event performance measures up in terms of attendee experience, engagement, and overall success. It also allows you to identify areas for improvement, learn from best practices, and continuously optimize your event strategy. "Any metric in isolation only paints a small portion of the bigger picture that an organization needs to assess how well their events are performing. To understand whether you're on the path to growth and future success, you need to view event performance in context." - The Explori Guide to Benchmarking A major challenge in benchmarking events lies in acquiring accurate and representative data. Most events don't readily share data like customer satisfaction (CSAT) and Net Promoter Scores (NPS), making it difficult to create robust benchmarks. However, the solution lies in the hands of dedicated event industry suppliers who have access to extensive historical event data. And this is where Explori comes in, a supplier of choice to over 7,000 events and conferences around the world, amassing a wealth of data that forms the basis of performance analysis for benchmarking solutions! Benchmarking in event ROI provides valuable insights and helps you set realistic goals for future events. By benchmarking, you can ensure that your events are not only successful but also stand out in the industry. Strategic Goal Setting for Optimal Event Returns on Investment By clearly defining your event goals and objectives, you can create a roadmap that aligns your efforts towards maximizing returns. Setting strategic goals allows you to focus on what really matters and make informed decisions throughout the event planning and execution process. To begin with, identify your key event goals. These could include lead generation, brand awareness, attendee satisfaction, or revenue generation. It is important to prioritize and set measurable goals that are specific, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This will provide a clear direction and ensure that your efforts are concentrated on the areas that will yield the greatest returns. Next, develop a plan of action that outlines the steps you will take to achieve your goals. This includes determining the target audience, creating engaging content and experiences, selecting the right technology tools, and allocating resources effectively. It is essential to be proactive and adaptable, as goals may evolve or change as the event progresses. Regularly monitor and measure your progress towards achieving your goals. This will allow you to identify any gaps or areas that require adjustment to optimize ROI. Utilize event planner software solutions or other measurement tools to track metrics such as attendee satisfaction, engagement levels, lead generation, and revenue generation. Lastly, evaluate the success of your event in achieving your goals and objectives. Analyze the data collected, assess the impact on attendees, sponsors, and stakeholders, and determine the overall ROI. This will provide valuable insights for future event planning and enable you to continuously improve and refine your strategies. By strategically setting goals, monitoring progress, and evaluating results, you can ensure that your events deliver maximum ROI and provide valuable experiences for all involved. Remember, event ROI is not just about the financial returns, but also about creating lasting connections, building brand reputation, and achieving long-term success. "Event ROI is not just about the financial returns, but also about creating lasting connections, building brand reputation, and achieving long-term success." Case Study: Real-life Example of Successful Event Measurement When it comes to measuring event success, it can be incredibly valuable to look at real-life examples of successful events. These case studies provide practical insights and demonstrate how ROI can be achieved in different event scenarios. Below is an example of how Clarion Events put customer experience at the heart of their event strategy with the right data. Tap the image below to access the report. Key Takeaways and Action Steps for Achieving High Event ROI As you navigate the world of event organization and strive to maximize the return on investment for your events, it's important to keep a few key takeaways in mind. By following these action steps, you can ensure that your events deliver high ROI and provide valuable experiences for all involved. Set clear and measurable goals: Before planning any event, clearly define your goals and objectives. Make sure they are specific, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. By setting clear goals, you can align your efforts and make informed decisions throughout the planning process. Track and measure the right metrics: Choose the metrics that align with your goals and track them consistently. Whether it's attendee satisfaction, lead generation, engagement, or financial metrics, make sure you have the tools and systems in place to measure these metrics accurately. Leverage technology: Utilize technology solutions to streamline processes, gather data, and enhance attendee engagement. By embracing technology, you can optimize event efficiency and increase overall ROI. Benchmark your performance: Compare your event ROI to industry benchmarks and your competitors' performance. This will help you identify areas for improvement and set realistic goals for future events. Learn from successful case studies: Look to real-life examples of successful events to gain insights and inspiration. Analyze what strategies and tactics they used to achieve high ROI and apply those lessons to your own events. By following these key takeaways and taking action steps to optimize your event strategy, you can elevate your events from mere expenses to valuable investments. With the right approach and measurement practices, you can ensure that your events deliver exceptional ROI and leave a lasting impact.

While many event professionals and marketers are eager to get back to the live events they know and love, research shows that virtual events and event components are here to stay. Covid may have forced the industry online in 2020, but advances in virtual event technology combined with changing attitudes towards remote working and commercial activities have given the industry plenty of reasons to continue investing in it as restrictions are lifted and normal activity begins to resume. Underscoring this shift is a continued call to action to make the industry more sustainable. According to a recent report in the Independent, 85% of the event industry’s carbon footprint comes from travel. Sustainability is the number one challenge corporate event planners cite as needing to be addressed by 2024, according to an ICE corporate benchmarking report from 2021. It’s not hard to see why virtual events are continuing to rise in popularity even as live events return. In fact, Amex GBT’s Global Meetings and Events Forecast predicted that 39% of meetings will be hybrid and 19% will be virtual in 2022, meaning that 58% of all events will have a heavy virtual component. A smaller study conducted by Explori on behalf of PCMA and AC Forum around the same time corroborated this, finding that 70% of survey respondents who intended to move forward with live events were planning a significant digital component, Research from the Explori Global Recovery Insights report has revealed that 80% of senior level decision makers in the US and UK who had not participated in a virtual event prior to the pandemic have now tried them, and 44% of those are now more likely to organise their own digital event. This is corroborated somewhat by a recent LinkedIn study that interviewed more than 1,800 marketers responsible for events across 13 counties, 85% of whom had held a virtual event in the previous year. Gartner predicts that by 2024, 30% of technology providers with at least $100m in revenue will extend their reach to additional audiences and roles by shifting to a ‘virtual first’ event model for both first-party and third-party events, compared with less than 5% before the pandemic. For marketers who take a ‘virtual first’ approach, virtual-only events are likely to dominate their portfolio, although live events will likely continue to feature in their annual event programs. The continued use of virtual events, particularly to deliver content-heavy programs and to expand the potential pool of live event attendees, may result in a re-tooling of event goals and success metrics. Where previously the quantity of attendees might have been a key KPI, success will now have to focus more on a more qualified audience and better engagement -- and for better or worse, virtual events are unparalleled in their ability to substantiate engagement on their platforms. This itself may motivate event marketers to use them more heavily where the virtual format doesn’t compromise delivering on stakeholder objectives.    Explori is the leading visitor and exhibition insight specialist in the events industry, working with some of the biggest event and exhibition companies in the world. To find out more about trends in the events industry, visit our Industry Reports hub.

Engaging members, growing the membership base and generating funds are three major objectives for any association and are frequently addressed by hosting regular events. Richard Kensett, Explori's commercial director explains how drawing on data to measure the impact of events on audiences’ engagement can lead to better and more financially attractive events, and ultimately enhanced membership value. Originally created Boardroom Magazine From conferences and award ceremonies to specialist training and networking sessions, events can take a variety of forms and offer a range of benefits to members. Association event organisers tend to have a sense of how an event is received but lack a robust way of measuring how it has performed in the eyes of the attendees. Many gather post-event feedback by using simple tools, but as associations come under greater scrutiny to demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) from their engagement activities, more sophisticated survey platforms and analysis are needed. According to my colleague Sophie Holt, managing director at Explori, “as associations grapple with proving real value for their members, measuring and benchmarking events is one way to help organisers deliver real value to the association to underpin its goals.” Gathering meaningful data across the customer journey By gathering and absorbing the results of data-driven measures of success across not only their events, but also across many different touchpoints with their membership , associations can gain a clearer understanding of where they add value and where they need to alter their event(s) or their overarching membership value proposition. According to Holt, “having performance measurement tools allows associations to increase their efficiency and effective use of resources. They provide a picture of how individual activities contribute to the wider membership experience associations are trying to create.” Surveys, social media engagement, attendee tracking, matchmaking, polls, registration tools and apps that collate demographic and sentiment data are all ways that attendee data can be gathered and used to build a holistic picture of attendees over the course of the customer journey. That data can then be used to gain actionable insights to enhance future events, create a more attractive financially contributing event, and also deliver member value. Holt advises, “consider what data sources will tell you the who; the what; but most importantly, the why?’; only then consider how you are going to gather the data and turn it into valuable insights. “Using integrated research tools to benchmark an event’s success over time and against competitors, allows a narrative to be drawn out of the data. Being able to see where an event has succeeded and identify areas where it has fallen short gives the planning team valuable insights which they can use to improve future events.” Event measurement for association events There are a number of KPIs that help organisers predict the conditions an event may face in its next cycle. The Net Promoter Score (NPSSM) is one useful measure of advocacy (i.e. the likelihood someone will recommend the event), while another is the ‘loyalty versus ‘satisfaction’ matrix, made up of ‘hostages’, ‘apostles’, ‘mercenaries’ and ‘disaffected’. Hostages are categorised as unsatisfied but likely to return. A high percentage of hostages puts an event at significant risk if the organiser does not deliver for this group. Hostages are at risk of moving into the disaffected group (unlikely to return), so it is better to focus time and effort on this group as the event is still likely to be important to them, rather than risk losing them. Understanding the sentiment of these groups gives organisers the power to proactively address any hidden challenges that they might not be aware of. Holt points out that “being able to demonstrate to attendees that their feedback has been listened to and what steps have been put in place to address any concerns is incredibly powerful and likely to be a key way in which attendees are engaged, ultimately delivering greater value.” By effectively gathering and analysing data, associations can benchmark themselves against their competitors to demonstrate the strategic value their events offer members, ultimately delivering better value to those who matter the most. CASE STUDY The issue Like the majority of associations, the Chicago Dental Society (CDS) runs a programme of events throughout the year. From saving the compromised tooth to tax deductions most dentists miss, holding events is an integral part of its offering, sharing best practices amongst members and promoting continued professional development. For the past 156 years, The CDS has run a Midwinter Meeting every February. Feedback from the event has 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 and to use robust data to underpin its instincts. The approach Explori gathered data at three key points throughout the customer journey: pre-event (demographic), at event (experience), and post event (survey). At the registration phases, attendees and exhibitors were asked about their objectives in attending the Midwinter Meeting. Attendees' and exhibitors’ engagement was gathered at the show, and the responses were mapped to provide a post-event analysis. Following the Meeting, Explori blended four KPIs together to provide a single overall event score: overall satisfaction, likelihood to return (loyalty), NPSSM and event importance. These different questions impact upon each other and aggregated together create an easily digestible single point of truth, without emphasis being placed on any single factor. Understanding whether objectives are being met and which are the most important is done using correlation analysis. The percentage of attendees who report their objectives as having been met is mapped against their overall satisfaction to understand if meeting a certain objective meant they were more or less satisfied with the event. From the data, Explori created ‘your event story’, an analysis that enabled the senior leadership to understand the attendees and exhibitors’ experiences of, and feelings towards, the event. The analysis allowed leadership to prioritise those areas of improvement that would have the most meaningful impact on the attendees’ and exhibitors’ overall experience. The outcome Strategic recommendations to improve future events were made as a result of this data and benchmarking. The CDS will continue to work with Explori to build-up an understanding of the value their Midwinter Meeting event offers their members and attendees over the next few years as the show reverts to live in 2022. Data will support intuition and ensure the best of the show is retained and change occurs when necessary. Want to find out more? The Event Impact Playbook which aims to help event organisers measure the impact of events so that they can underpin their next strategic event is available to download for free here.

What do you want to know about your exhibitors and sponsors? Typically, event organisers want to understand how satisfied they were with the event, if they will exhibit or sponsor in the future, and what would make the event unmissable? For the last decade, Explori has been helping organisers use surveys to gather post-event feedback to develop more customer-centred event portfolios. We benchmark attendee experience for over 3,000 events globally and hold over 3 million data points on attendee and exhibitor sentiment. We are a trusted research partner for the Global Association for the Exhibition Industry (UFI), supplying annual reports to organisers. Our expertise lies in creating surveys that provide strategic insights to event teams. In this post, we will share with you our ultimate list of post-event sponsor and exhibitor survey questions. 12 key questions to ask exhibitors and sponsors in your post-event survey Which of the following were objectives for your company at [eventname]? Please state how well you met each of your objectives for exhibiting/sponsoring. Overall, how well did you meet your objectives for exhibiting/sponsoring at the event? How satisfied were you with the following aspects of the event? What was the total value of the orders/purchases/contracts received by your company at the event? INCLUDING sales you have already made, what is the total value of the sales you expect to generate over the next 12 months as a result of exhibiting at/sponsoring the event this year? Considering the total sum of business you expect to generate as a result of exhibiting at [eventname] this year, how would you rate your overall return on investment? Overall, how satisfied were you with [eventname] this year? How likely are you to exhibit/sponsor [eventname] next year? How likely are you to recommend [eventname] to a friend or colleague in the industry? Please tell us why you gave that score? i.e. recommending the event to a friend or colleague How would you improve [eventname]? Examining Customer Objectives 1. Which of the following were objectives for your company at [eventname]? The most common objectives for exhibitors and sponsors are to generate new sales leads, increase awareness for their product/service and/or increase their brand position. Monitoring what objectives your exhibitors are trying to achieve through your event can be useful information when designing your event. 2. Please state how well you met each of your objectives for exhibiting/sponsoring. Allow exhibitors and sponsors to state how well they were able to meet each of the objectives they selected. This will give you an indication of what objectives you’re helping them achieve versus the objectives that are going unmet. 3. Overall, how well did you meet your objectives for exhibiting/sponsoring at the event? Not all objectives are created equal. This is why getting an overall score is important. Earlier in the survey exhibitors and sponsors may select five different objectives and only score one as being well met. But that one could have represented their main objective for attending the event whilst the others were ‘nice to haves’. This question will give you an overall view of how successful your event is at helping attendees achieve their objectives. Alternatively, with a survey tool like Explori, this can be calculated automatically based on the previous question responses. Identifying highlights and pain points 4. How satisfied were you with the following aspects of the event? With this question, you can gauge your customer’s satisfaction with different aspects of your event. In particular, options we think are useful to include are: Quality of visitors Quantity of visitors Quality of sessions Networking Assessing the value of your event 5. What was the total value of the orders/purchases/contracts received by your company at the event? Where relevant include this question to encourage exhibitors to consider the monetary value of participating in your event. This can also serve as a marketing metric to use in the promotion of your next event. 6. INCLUDING sales you have already made, what is the total value of the sales you expect to generate over the next 12 months as a result of exhibiting/sponsoring the event this year? There are some events where exhibitors and sponsors do not complete transactions on their stand. In this instance, it can be helpful to understand how they expect their participation in the event to convert into sales over the next 12 months. Measuring ROI and Importance 7. Considering the total sum of business you expect to generate as a result of exhibiting at [eventname] this year, how would you rate your overall return on investment? Return on Investment is one of the most important metrics to track for your event. Our global research shows that an unclear return on investment is the biggest driver of exhibitor dissatisfaction. Difficulty demonstrating ROI is the most frequently given reason for low advocacy scores. This question is a great temperature check to identify what proportion of your audience is struggling with the return so that you can intervene with relevant training and educational materials ahead of your next event. Evaluating overall exhibitor and sponsor sentiment 8. Overall, how satisfied were you with [eventname] this year? This question allows you to directly measure customer satisfaction and get a more bird’s eye view of how the event went overall. Use it to discover which exhibitor/sponsor types are most satisfied. This is a great way to gauge the success of your event. 9. How likely are you to exhibit/sponsor [eventname] next year? Ask exhibitors and sponsors this question to predict the environment your team will be selling into. Are your customers saying they are unlikely to return and are therefore disengaged? This will mean the team will have to work harder to get new customers through the door. However, if there is a larger proportion who are planning to return the following year this can be a good signal of engagement. Your team probably won’t have to work as hard to get them through the door. 10. How likely are you to recommend [eventname] to a friend or colleague in the industry? Net Promoter Score is an industry standard when it comes to measuring attendee experience. It allows you to measure your attendees’ likelihood to recommend your event and can be included in your post-event surveys for both virtual and live events. Respondents rate their likelihood to recommend on a scale of 0-10 and are banded into groups based on their scores. Promoters (9-10 rating) Passives (7-8 rating) Detractors (0-6 rating) The Net Promoter Score is then calculated by subtracting your percentage of Detractors from your percentage of Promoters. Organisers often ask what is a good Net Promoter Score. Technically speaking anything above zero means you have more Promoters than Detractors and is therefore a good score. The Explori platform benchmarks NPS for live and virtual events globally. This allows clients to compare the performance of their events against the industry standard and get a real sense of how their events compare to the industry benchmark. 11. Please tell us why you gave that score? i.e. recommending the event to a friend or colleague Open questions are a great way to collect qualitative data that can be used to explain scores. We always suggest adding an NPS reasoning question. It allows you to do some meaningful analysis of your detractors and promoters. For example, in the Explori platform clients can filter by NPS to see all the responses given by detractors or promoters. Filtering in this way can give you a sense for why some attendees are detracting and why some are promoting. 12. How would you improve [eventname]? Including a question about improvements is an easy way to spot what aspects of your event haven’t landed well with attendees. Depending on the tool you use, you can filter based on satisfaction or NPS to see what improvements are suggested by attendees. Survey your exhibitors and sponsors with Explori With an event feedback platform like Explori all of the above questions are templated to save you time creating your survey. The Explori platform collates responses and presents them using responsive dashboards. Your event dashboard shows you your Overall Event Score as well as KPIs including Net Promoter Score, Overall Satisfaction, Loyalty, and more. With the click of a button, you can compare the metrics for your event with industry benchmarks as well as your own company benchmarks. Click here to find out how we can help you measure the success of your events. Further reading Post-event survey email template How to increase email survey response rates Post-event survey questions for attendees