Imagine hosting a spectacular event, but having no idea what your attendees really think about it.
How can you improve and ensure the success of future events?
The answer lies in post-event surveys.
In this blog post, we will dive into the importance of post-event surveys, explore best practices for crafting effective event survey questions, and learn how to increase response rates and utilize the valuable feedback gathered.
Post-event surveys are essential in determining event success and providing feedback. Here are 20 questions you can ask.
Key elements to consider when designing post-event evaluation survey questions include timing, delivery methods, incentives, personalization, and survey length.
Event surveys are a critical tool for measuring success and gathering feedback to enhance your next event. They help you understand attendee satisfaction, pinpoint areas for improvement, and assess the effectiveness of marketing efforts.
Whether you're organizing an in-person, virtual, or hybrid event, event surveys allow you to gather valuable feedback from attendees and utilize it to improve future meetings and corporate events.
The benefits of these surveys go beyond just measuring attendee satisfaction.
They provide event organizers with a wealth of information that can be used to measure success and improve various aspects of the event experience. They can be an indicator of the success of specific areas of the event (e.g. the food), or can be used to score the event in a way that can be communicated clearly to senior leadership.
Event surveys also provide insights and constructive feedback into marketing effectiveness. By asking attendees how they heard about the program, event marketers can evaluate the success of their marketing channels and allocate resources more efficiently in the future.
Both positive feedback as well as negative feedback are vital to understanding areas that require improvement for future events.
When designing event surveys, it is important to consider several key elements, such as timing, delivery methods, incentives, personalization, and survey length.
The optimal time to send a post-event survey is within one to two business days of the event, as this ensures the information is still fresh in attendees' minds, including their impressions of areas like speakers, food, registration process, and event sponsors.
Surveys can be sent via email, text, social media, an event app, a website, or through an event platform. Sometimes text messages can be leveraged onsite to get real-time feedback from survey takers as well.
Offering incentives such as discounts or free access to future events can encourage attendees to complete the survey, while personalization can increase engagement and response rates. It is also important to keep post-event surveys concise and to the point, as longer surveys may deter attendees from completing them (we recommend at least 5 questions, but maybe no more than 15. You'll have to figure out the right amount of event evaluation questions for your event and attendees).
To get the most out of your post-event surveys, it's important to ask the right questions.
In the following sections, we will explore 21 event survey questions you must ask, including quantitative questions such as rating scales and qualitative questions such as open-ended responses, which will help you gather valuable insights from your attendees.
Quantitative questions are an essential component of event surveys, as they allow you to measure the opinions of event attendees in a structured and quantitative manner. These questions can take various forms, such as closed-ended or open-ended questions, likert scale, rating scale, slider, matrix, benchmark, or multiple-choice questions.
Here are our top quantitative questions to ask your attendees:
On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate this event?
On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied were you with the networking opportunities provided?
On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the content of this event?
On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the speakers of this event?
On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the food and beverage at this event?
In order, which were the most valuable sessions you attended? (rank the sessions)
Did this event meet your expectations? (yes, no)
How likely are you to recommend this event to a friend? (scale/stars)
How likely are you to attend this event in the future? (scale/stars)
(If the attendee paid for the event) Do you feel as though your money was well-spent for this event? (yes/no)
By incorporating a mix of these question types, you can gather crucial data that will help you evaluate the success of your event and identify areas for improvement.
In addition to quantitative questions, qualitative questions play a vital role in post-event surveys. These questions, such as open-ended questions, provide attendees with an opportunity to express their concerns, thoughts, and suggestions for upcoming events. They may also provide you with deeper insight you wouldn't have gotten with purely qualitative questions.
Examples of qualitative questions include:
What was your most memorable experience or moment of the event?
What did you learn from this event?
What was your favorite part of the event?
How were your interactions with the event staff?
What did you think of the keynote speaker?
What did you think of the networking event?
What did you think of the event venue/hotel?
What suggestions do you have for improving the event?
What do you wish you could have seen or learned about at this event?
What prompted you to attend this event?
By including both quantitative and qualitative questions in your event survey, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of your attendees' experiences and use that feedback to improve future events.
When creating an event survey for your speakers, it's important to gather feedback that helps improve future conferences and strengthen your relationships with presenters.
A well-crafted survey not only provides insight into their experience but also shows them that their contribution was valued.
Asking the right questions can reveal what went smoothly, where improvements are needed, and how your team can better support speakers moving forward.
What was your favorite moment or interaction during the conference?
How did the audience's engagement compare to your expectations?
What key takeaway do you hope the audience left with from your session?
Is there anything you would do differently in future presentations based on this experience?
Creating effective event surveys involves crafting questions that look at the event as a whole and questions that dig into the details.
In the following sections, we will explore how to create general event survey questions and discuss the importance of customizing questions for particular event types.
General event survey questions can be used across various event types and help you gather valuable insights about the overall attendee experience.
Examples of general survey questions to ask include "How satisfied were you with the event?", "What was your overall impression of the event?", or "How likely are you to recommend this event to a friend?"
By incorporating these general questions into your event survey, you can gain a good starting point for understanding attendee satisfaction and identifying areas that require improvement.
Additionally, these questions can be used as a baseline for comparison with more specific questions tailored to the particular event type and event goals.
Customizing event survey questions for specific event types is crucial for gathering relevant and valuable feedback. This can be achieved by asking questions that are relevant to the event's purpose and audience.
You may dig into things like the session content, the speakers, the food & beverage, the expo sponsors, and more. You may want specific feedback on each session, or you may want to better understand how to get your attendees to connect by asking them about their experience networking.
By tailoring more specific questions, you can hone in on specific areas and improve each piece for next year.
A critical aspect of event surveys is ensuring a high response rate. In the following sections, we will discuss strategies for increasing event survey response rates.
These strategies include sending surveys at the right time, using the right delivery methods, offering incentives, and personalizing emails.
The timing of sending your event survey plays a significant role in maximizing response rates.
As mentioned earlier, the optimal time to send an event survey is within one to two business days of the event. This ensures that the information is fresh in attendees' minds and increases the likelihood of receiving valuable feedback.
You can even consider sending your survey during the last session or networking event, capturing people's thoughts onsite. This has shown to be effective since people's attention is still focused on your event and not on their next task.
In addition to timing, choosing the right delivery methods is crucial.
Surveys can be sent several ways, but are typically sent out via email or even text. This will depend on your attendees, so consider what method makes the most sense for them. Consider how event technology or smart event management apps could help you.
Offering incentives such as discounts, free access to future events, or prize drawings, can encourage attendees to complete the post-event survey. Incentives not only increase response rates but also show appreciation for attendees' time and feedback.
Personalization is another key factor in increasing event survey response rates. By personalizing survey emails and incorporating personalized notes and detailed survey questions, you can make attendees feel more connected to the event and increase the likelihood of them providing valuable feedback.
Consider sending out emails directly from your employees to highly important attendees instead of mass emailing them to add a personal touch.
Once you've collected feedback from your post-event survey, it's essential to analyze the data and implement the insights gained.
In the following sections, we will discuss how to identify trends and patterns in the data and take action on the feedback provided by your attendees.
Effectively analyzing event survey data can involve using statistical software, considering both quantitative and qualitative responses, and implementing cross-tabulation analysis. Data visualization tools and comparative analysis of results from previous events can be employed to identify trends and patterns in event survey data.
By identifying trends and patterns in the data, you can gain a deeper understanding of your attendees' experiences and preferences. This information can then be used to improve future events and ensure they meet the expectations and needs of your target audience.
Once you've identified trends and patterns in your post-event survey data, you can take action on the feedback provided.
By taking action on the feedback gathered, you show your attendees that their opinions are valued and that you are committed to improving their event experience. This can result in increased attendee satisfaction, repeat attendees, and ultimately, greater success for your upcoming events.
Event surveys are a crucial tool for measuring event success and gathering valuable feedback to improve future events.
By crafting effective survey questions, increasing response rates, and analyzing and implementing the insights gained, you can ensure that your next event continues to grow and thrive.
Don't underestimate the power of pre-event surveys either, as they can set the stage for success by helping you better understand and cater to your attendees' preferences and expectations.
To gain valuable feedback from attendees, it is important to ask relevant questions in an after meeting survey.
Good event survey questions include gathering overall satisfaction with the event, gaining post event feedback, asking about specific areas of the conference like the session topics or speaker, and exploring which elements were most successful and why.
Event questionnaires are an important event survey tool for collecting meeting feedback and assessing the success of an event.
They allow event organizers to gain invaluable insight into what went well and any areas that could be improved, helping them deliver more engaging experiences in future conferences or future events.
GoGather has years of experience in creating impactful events and crafting memorable experiences for high-profile brands. Let’s brainstorm your next event together.