So, What Did You Think?

Collecting pre- and post-event feedback is a key part of planning better gatherings

by Mary  Crogan,  Constant Contact Senior Business and Marketing Manager, Online Survey

Planning an event requires a lot of time, resources, and money, so you want to make sure it's a successful endeavor. The simplest way to ensure a good outcome is to reach out to attendees and invited guests to ask for their input prior to your event and for feedback after the event.

In a previous life, I helped in the planning of an evening event in Boston for an industry association. We weren't getting the attendance numbers we had hoped for and found out through other channels that having our event downtown was a deterrent for most of our target attendees. Because they worked outside the city, it was difficult for them to get into town for a 6 p.m. gathering. If only I had an online survey tool then, I could have built pre- and post-event surveys to find out what my attendees were thinking, and could have planned accordingly.

Here are some other ways that pre- and post-event surveys can benefit your event planning process.

Pre-event: Nailing down details

Conducting a survey prior to your event -- before sending out your invitations, even -- can help with your logistical planning, particularly if you have multiple options available. In the case of my Boston event, we could have surveyed our target attendees to find out if having a cocktail hour starting at 6 p.m. and the main program starting at 7 p.m. would make them more likely to attend. A simple yes/no question would provide that answer. You can use a survey for similar questions about when and where to hold an event, as well as what type of food and beverages should be served.

Beyond the logistics, a pre-event survey can be used for educational events that solicits information about the type of content people want to see presented. I recommend giving survey participants a finite list of topics to choose from using multiple choice questions, while leaving an "other" option for people to fill in an answer where necessary.

You can still use a survey for less formal, open house-style event that does not require registration. A pre-event survey can be used as a soft RSVP to help gauge the number of people that might show up. This can be very helpful if you're planning to serve food or need to reserve a large-enough room and don't want to overspend your budget unnecessarily.

Post-event: How did we do?

Going into an event, both you as the host and the attendees have pre-conceived notions of how the event will go and what you will get out of it. After the event, it's important to follow-up with attendees to find out if it met or exceeded their expectations, and to find out anything that could be done differently in the future. Even if you think this is a one-time event that you'll never do again, it's still important to follow-up. It shows you care about the experience, value the feedback -- and you never know, you might just end up doing a similar event again sometime down the road (never say never!).

Use a survey to rate everything from the logistics of your event to the quality of each speaker (or the content in general) to whether attendees would want to attend the event in the future or if they'd recommend it to a friend or colleague. Use multiple choice options for the ratings and provide an open-ended area for people to offer suggestions and comments on things that could be done better in the future.

Watch the time

As with any survey, it's a good idea to keep in mind the length of time it takes to complete your pre- or post-event survey. The rule of thumb is to keep it under the 5- to 10-minute mark. If you find your survey going over that, go back through your questions to make sure each is of the utmost importance.

If you're going to send out a longer survey, it's a good idea to offer respondents compensation for their valuable time, such as a percentage-off coupon good toward your product or service. For those that have an educational event, you could offer survey takers additional information in the form of a free whitepaper or another resource they wouldn't have access to otherwise.

Of course, one of the best incentives to offer may be free or discounted admission to your next get-together. Then, in addition to collecting great feedback, you'll also have customers and members who are already looking forward to the next time you schedule an event, and you'll be ready to start the planning process once again.

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