ROI is not just something to consider after the event; you have plan for ROI from the outset and continue measuring ROI after the event. Because events can result in numerous outcomes, you will likely need to measure – and improve upon – many areas. This very fact can make it tricky to measure the ROI of events since they serve multiple purposes such as lead generation, pipeline acceleration, deepening customer relationships, etc. Determine which goals you are trying to achieve and what should you optimize for.
Build a model up-front to understand the sensitivities of your event ROI on various metrics. For instance, if you hold an event that is well-attended but by the wrong people, you will increase your costs without impacting revenue. Your model may show that the percentage of qualified attendees tends to be a high indicator of success. (This sensitivity may only be relevant for physical events, as virtual events are less costly.) You also want to use the model to understand all potential scenarios, i.e., best case, worst case, and risk. By preparing for all of these, you can proactively identify and manage risks up front.
The best event programs incorporate intentional measurement strategies in advance. That means you should define what, when, and how you will measure during your initial planning phase so you have a benchmark to work with. In order for your program measurement to be accurate, you may need to include variances in your testing strategies. Through testing, you can determine what methods work best for your business. An example of measureable variances is inviting a segment of your database to the event, and then comparing revenue from that cohort versus the people you didn’t invite to see how well your event performed.
Good: Basic Progression Measurement By measuring the progression statuses of your attendees, you can determine metrics such as invited, registered, attended, and no show. Make sure you are measuring these basic metrics, if nothing else. Take a look at the chart below showing metrics for one of our events. You can see that we invited 1,815 people, 50 attended, and 62 were no shows
| Progression Checklist for Events |
| Tradeshow |
| Attended |
| Visited booth |
| Watched demo |
| Attended multiple tradeshows |
| Attended speaking session |
| Live Streamed Events and Webinars |
| Registered |
| Viewed |
| Commented during |
| Asking questions during |
| Reviewed follow-up recording |
| Rated event |
| Clicked link inside |
| Viewed multiple times |
| Roadshow Events (hosted) |
| Registered |
| Attended |
| Attended multiple events |