Running head: EVENT ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION Event Assessment and Evaluation Roger Hubbard, Kristin Gallegos, Malcolm Watkins, Sam Coatney, Steven Inman MGT/373 April 25, 2016 Rochelle Concepcion 1 EVENT ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION 2 Event Assessment and Evaluation Introduction Using the reading materials covered in Week 4, our team will prepare an event assessment and evaluation paper that describes the three strategies we've chosen and use them to evaluate a tradeshow events success. The three strategies the team has chosen are: conduct surveys after the event , use a net promotor score (NPS), and evaluate costs/gather feedback. In addition, our team will provide information supporting these selected strategies and describe any potential follow-up strategies that can effectively be utilized, as well. Strategies To Evaluate Event Success Surveys immediately after an event can help organizers understand the success of an event. A survey helps guests give feedback on whether the event is what was expected, how a guest feels about the event, and if the guest gave positive feedback or suggestions. Designing a survey is important as shorter surveys may get a better response than longer surveys. The survey should be self explanatory and easy to fill out (Snapcastr, 2016, p.1). Using an NPS or Net Promotor Score, is simple and asks guests 'How likely are you to recommend this event to someone else, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 stands for least likely, and 10 for extremely likely\" (Snapcastr, 2016, p.1). A 9-10 indicates customers are loyal and will say good things about an event. A 7-8 indicates 'they feel ambivalent towards your event\" (Snapcastr, 2016, p.1). A score of 0-6 indicates customers may criticize the event (Snapcastr, 2016, p.1). It is important to evaluate the finances spent on an event to better understand the actual costs, actual revenues, and any unexpected costs. These figures can then help organizers with expectations of future event scenarios. Feedback from stakeholders is very important as objectivity is involved in the feedback and to understand any concerns for future events. Holding EVENT ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION 3 meetings with sponsors and local authorities can help the organizer understand if all needs and expectations were met and to thank everyone for their services (Snapcastr, 2016, p.1). Support the Strategies Conducting a survey after an event is a successful assessment strategy due to the results that come with the questions and how they can provide input for future event success. Cvent.com gives examples of questions that could provide good input for the event planner. These questions include how do you rate the event location, how did you hear about this event, how do you rate the presented content, how was the speakers performance quality, would you be interested in volunteering in our next event, and could you include other comments or suggestions about the event (cvent, 2016)? Each of these questions, if taken seriously, can provide very clear and helpful feedback which could be applied to the next event. Regarding event location, feedback may show things that were missed during planning, like a lack of local transportation, hotel, dining, or recreational services, or an abundance of it, letting the planner know that this location is a prime area to plan events in. How the person heard about the event could be important if it was a publicly planned event, which had to promote with social and public marketing strategies, if something like social media brought a lot more attendees than a newspaper ad the planner will know which promotion strategy was more successful. This question may not apply to other private venues though, as all of the attendees are privately invited. The rating of the presented content is important because if the presentation part of the event lacked certain things the planner will know what to add or change for the next presentation related type of event. The speakers performance quality is directly related to the presented contend and can be taken into account when the planner has to choose another speaker for the next event. Asking about the possible chances of volunteer work in the future form prior attendees may be able to help plan future EVENT ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION 4 events which have a public benefit from volunteer work due to the type of event, maybe a nonprofit organization raising awareness for a certain cause. This can greatly help save money for an event in the future that is not a profitable venue and will give people the chance to volunteer for something that have a personal desire for. Finishing the survey, added comments and suggestions are a great addition to the survey because it will give information to the planner that was not thought of during planning, and may give the planner great new ideas that would result in success for the next event. These suggestions could involve anything from food services to the event content, which will give the planner a view of the event from the attendee. Using a net promoter score (NPS) is a great way to help measure customer loyalty and evaluate/build more loyalty, resulting in more work. A simple rating of the event will give the planner a good idea of how satisfied the customer really was. This can be applied to planning the next event and making changes based on the results of the NPS. After changes have been mane the planner can reissue the NPS after another event for the same client and judge the result changes, determining if the changes were successful or not (Beard, 2013). Evaluating cost and gathering feedback is also important as they relate to financial and customer satisfaction levels. The cost evaluation will use financial statements to show the profit or loss of the event and let the planner know how to financially plan for the next event. Everything from vendor services to space and property rental/reservations is taken into account with the cost, making is a necessary thing to change if the results are not as desired. Getting feedback from the stakeholders will help determine the satisfaction from the people funding the operation and if they will continue with the same type of venue for future events. Without the proper financial feedback the profitability in the future may go way down and could have a EVENT ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION 5 negative outcome for the planner, making a cost evaluation a very important event assessment strategy. Describe Follow-Up Strategies The follow up is as important as the strategies listed above all together. This is because if you fail to follow up, you can potentially miss opportunities with possible clients, customers, partners, and more. One of the best follow up strategies is to be consistant with the prospects expectations. \" If you promised to send literature, send it. If you promised to call for an appointment, call. You will leave a lasting impression if you do meet your prospects expectations.\" ("Measuring And Evaluating Results", 2002) Along with that it is very essential to track your results. Following up does not always mean following up with surveys or promises, but also tracking expenses and finding out what could have been done to save money or spent more on. This strategy can make future events financially better and take care of any problems that may have affected the last event . Along with these strategies it is highly important to debrief the event team. This is where you evaluate the success of the event . Talk about what worked, what didn't work, and what could possibly be done next time. Setting goals during this process is also a very key strategy. \" Once you have clearly defined (quantified) your goals, you can measure success by comparing your results with your specific goals.\" ("Measuring And Evaluating Results", 2002) Setting goals makes the debriefing process that much more affective in every way. Debriefing can lead to future success or continue success. It is very important to ensure that everyone is on the same page and is willing to do what it takes to go through each follow up strategy. Following up with prospects, tracking final expenses, debriefing, and setting goals are all strategies that ensure success in post planning and future events. EVENT ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION 6 Conclusion Our group evaluated a tradeshows events success within our three strategies, conduct surveys after the event , use a net promotor score (NPS), and evaluate costs/gather feedback. As we can all see from the above information the three strategies the team covered fully explains in detail why each of the steps is important to the suscees of running tradeshows. EVENT ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION References Cvent. (2016). Leveraging Surveys For A Successful Event. Retrieved from www.cvent.com. Robert Beard. (2013). Net Promoter Score: What Is It (6 Benefits). Retrieved from www.clientheartbeat.com. Measuring and Evaluating Results. (2002). Retrieved from http://www.creativetraining.com/train/docs/MeasuringResults.pdf Snapcastr (2016). 5 Surprisingly Effective Strategies for Evaluating Event Success. P.1. Retrieved April 24, 2016 from http://www.snapcastr.com/blog/5-ways-for-evaluatingevent-success/ 7