10 Jan Example Event Survey Questions

 

These post event survey questions take a holistic approach to event assessment; from tracking marketing effectiveness to event success. The core question sets provide a beginners guide or start point to building a custom event survey and session evaluation questionnaire.

Each individual event producer will likely have exact needs not covered in these sample event survey questions.

Sample Event Surveys

 

 

Conducting a post event survey won’t help to improve your event success until you effectively interpret the data and create usable action plans.

The real power is in the ability to turn data into usable ideas for an improved event marketing plan, customer acquisition, memorable at-show experiences, and ultimately loyal attendees who return year-after-year.

Data interpretation is based on a deep examination of cross tabulations, segmentation analysis, thorough decipher of written comments and year-over-year tracking.

Survey data alone is a compass that broadly points out elements of event success. Data interpretation is the roadmap that directs you turn by turn until you reach your goals.

Post Event Survey Design

 

The basic process to create an event survey is (1) identify the survey objectives, (2) write survey questions that capture data without bias, (3) data reporting, and (4) data analysis.

The event survey questions and analysis fall into this framework:

1 – Acquisition

2 – Behavior

3 – Outcome

This event survey framework may also be viewed as a tool to optimize the event marketing plan (acquisition), at-show experiences (behavior), and event success ratings and expectations for retention (outcome). Each section of the event survey questionnaire and analysis is studied in more detail below.

Exhibitor and attendee acquisition is based on an event marketing plan that uses the right message delivered with the right medium. Event survey questions may include:

• How did you hear about the Event? (Purpose: Gauge most effective event marketing medium.)
• In one sentence, what does the Event most mean to you? (Purpose: find the marketing message to reach event-goers.)
• What were the two or three primary reasons that you attended the Event? (Purpose: Discover the motivations or influencers in the decision to attend.)

 
These three survey questions lend direction to the event marketing plan. By asking event attendees and event exhibitors what the event means to them the survey will capture the keywords used most often to describe the important elements of the event. Event marketers use these keywords to write compelling copy that resonates with prospective event attendees and exhibitors. Similarly, capturing the primary reasons to attend defines the motives that call prospects to take action – exhibitor and attendee acquisition. Asking how attendees and exhibitors found out about the event lets the event marketer know which media channels are reaching prospects.

Explore the behavior of event attendees and ideas that will improve upcoming events. Event participants may visit the exhibit hall, education sessions or use the shuttle service. Survey questions may cover these topics directly to measure use of a specific event feature. Asking survey respondents to rate these event attributes on a Likert-type scale (often 5- or 7- point scale in an event survey) can be used to gauge the success of an attribute and frequency of use (items may need “did not use” or “not applicable” as an answer option). In some instances using the Likert-type scale for event survey questions creates a bridge into studying outcome.

Survey questions for event exhibitors are similar in theme, but examine different behaviors that may lead to event success. For example: What, if anything, did your organization do to promote its event participation?

Studying event outcome may also create the foundation of an event scorecard that can be compared year-over-year (or event-to-event). Event success or event outcome questions may include:

• What is your rating of the Event in terms of the value you received compared to the time and money you spent?
  (Purpose: value rating.)
• How likely are you to participate in the next Event? (Purpose: retention signal.)
• Please select the answer that best describes if the Event met your expectations. (Purpose: gauging event success, alignment with marketing.)

 
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a popular tool to assess event advocacy by attendees and exhibitors. In short NPS measures loyalty as an event outcome and may be tracked from event to event. The core event survey question is How likely would you be to recommend the Event to a friend or colleague? Typically this is measured on a scale with end points: 0 – Not at all likely to 10 – Extremely likely. Based on how a respondent answers the question they are segmented into groups of event promoters, passive, and event detractors. Survey analysis will help to discover tactics to move respondents up the chain to becoming event promoters.