Event Feedback Benchmarking

Want to know a secret? When I was at SAP I spent a lot of time benchmarking our events against the competition.  Heck I even attended them in person - frequently. Why?  Because it meant I was able to design better events for my company.  We all know that knowledge is power, and competitive benchmarking can be your secret weapon. Areas to look at include: ✔️ Event Theme & Audience Value Proposition - Dive into the event’s soul. Explore websites, read justification letters, and understand the narrative they're weaving. This isn't just about the 'what,' but the 'why' behind the event. ✔️ Overall Agenda - Quality or quantity? Assess the balance between content, networking, and downtime. Do they have a rhythm that keeps attendees engaged without burnout, or are they holding them hostage? ✔️ Event Communications - Stay in the loop. Opt-in to communications and dissect the messaging strategy. How are they keeping the audience hooked pre, during, and post-event? ✔️ Content - The core of any event. Break down the sessions by number, tracks, and format. What learning styles are they catering to?  What type of formats are they offering? ✔️ Sponsors - Follow the money to understand the event's support system. Who are the sponsors, and what levels of engagement are they committing to? ✔️ Sponsorship Prospectus - If you can get your hands on this consider it a masterclass in their event strategy. Analyze their pricing model and audience mix. What's the ROI for sponsors?  What are the unique offerings? ✔️ Registration Fees - Price points are storytelling. What does the fee structure say about the event's accessibility and audience targeting? ✔️ Speakers - A lineup can make or break an event. Look beyond the star power to the mix of voices and expertise. ✔️ Logistics - Details matter. Venue choice, room rates, and ancillary events create the canvas for attendee experience. ✔️ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) - Scrutinize not just who is represented, but how. Look at speaker lineups, attendee demographics, session content, accessibility for diverse groups, and inclusive practices. ✔️ Sustainability - Does the event have a clear sustainability policy? Look for commitments to carbon neutrality, waste reduction, and energy efficiency. Post event look for the event's sustainability report. ✔️ Hybrid Approach - What's the balance between live and digital? This model speaks volumes about an event's adaptability and audience inclusivity. These elements are more than just boxes to check. They allow us to understand how events and attendee expectations are evolving. Use the knowledge not just to keep up, but to lead the way in creating events that resonate, inspire, and drive impact. And don't forget to share the analysis proactively with your stakeholders. What elements do you prioritize in your competitive benchmarking? Share your thoughts below! Found this useful? ♻️ Please re-post so others can leverage the insights.

Here's a hack for understanding if your event content resonated...ask the audience if they want the slides. Simple but effective. What % of the audience thought the content was so good that they would like to refer to it again, so they requested a copy of the content? Last week, our CEO presented on the mainstage at the NielsenIQ Consumer 360 event, resulting in a 20% conversion rate among the audience. This was a keynote from our CEO on the State of Durbales and how tariffs are impacting the industry. It was a data-focused presentation packed with insights from our data. The audience consisted primarily of CPG brands and retailers (not our primary audience), with a smaller percentage focusing on durables (core audience). As we were putting together the content and finalizing the presentation, I kept thinking about how we would know if the audience found value in the presentation. I decided to include a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of the presentation to request a copy of the slides. I almost pulled it since most of the other keynotes didn't include a CTA, and if they did, it was just to contact them to learn more with an email address. I went with my gut and kept it in the presentation. It was a QR code that captured an email. Once they filled out their email, I triggered an email from me with the slides and our free data resources. Pretty basic to be honest. I was surprised by the 20% conversion rate, as the audience was not our core Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Now we have something to benchmark against. In addition, we received a lot of qualitative feedback at the event. People were approaching our CEO to discuss his presentation and ask follow-up questions. People would walk by and say, "Hey, great presentation," in between sessions. I even received a compliment and a thank you from an audience member for sharing the slides and sending them immediately. He said, "Hey, I just got an email from you. That was a great idea, and I don't know why others didn't do that". The lesson here is to ask people if they want your presentation to gauge its impact. This PLUS qualitative audience feedback will give you a pulse of how effective your presentation or content was.

People want events to make them FEEL something 🫂 However how can we as event designers or the brands we work with REALLY know what people felt and how hard they felt it? Well... there are now actually innovative tools and techniques for measuring the emotional impact of live events called 'Sentiment Analysis' What is it? Imagine a tool that sifts through social media posts, email feedback and more, extracting the emotional undertones. Using natural language processing and machine learning, sentiment analysis scores the sentiment of these expressions, helping determine the tone and mood of your guests... moving beyond metrics and into human connection Why is it important? It goes beyond surface-level data: Likes and shares are nice, but they don't tell the whole story. Sentiment analysis digs deeper, uncovering the emotional connection your event created with guests It can help identify emotional highs and lows through pinpoint the moments that resonated most, and those that fell flat. This data isn't just for bragging rights — it's insight mining for refining future events 🔮 How do you incorporate it? Try social listening platforms: Track event-related conversations across your social platforms... Sprout Social offers sentiment analysis features Post-event surveys & feedback: Use open-ended Qs and analyse responses using QuestionPro or similar! #experiencedesign #sentimentanalysis