What Event Data Should You Track?

There are more opportunities than ever to utilize technology in events. You can use it to check guests in and increase your event security; you can use tech to explore a venue when you can’t see it in person; you can use tech to make a first impression or enhance an event with AV equipment. And there are lots of ways that technology can help you tell the story of your event after the fact. However, this invites a pivotal question for any marketer: what data should you be tracking? 

Important event data: who attended?

We know, it seems like a no-brainer. And after all, you’ll know who attended your event because they were at your event. Did you check them in? What about people who didn’t attend? Do you remember who RSVP’d and didn’t show? Who never even opened your invitation? If you don’t know, you won’t be able to craft your post-event drips effectively. We always recommend having a different follow-up strategy for each of these groups, and you’re not going to be able to segment effectively if you don’t know who belongs in each group.

Speaking of follow-ups, that’s another area where collecting event data will be crucial. For clients who attended your event, you’ll want to make sure your correspondence with them highlights something you talked about. If you’re not finding a way to record that data, you risk becoming just another email lost in their inbox. Photos are also a great way to remind people of what a great time they had at your event.

Remember your stated objectives

When you host an event, it can feel like you’re pulled in a thousand different directions. An easy way to keep your bearings when it comes to data collection can be to recall why you are hosting an event in the first place. It won’t do you any good to use turnout as a KPI if most of your attendees were from an account that will never do business with you, if your goal is to nurture accounts or show clients appreciation. Don’t let your event’s objectives to get lost in the shuffle between coordinating, executing and following up, but it’s well worth keeping track of.

Time and money

By this point, you’ve grasped that you need to be collecting information about your clients. However that’s only half of the battle. You should also be collecting data on the time and resources spent on planning, executing and following up on your event. Your ROI is dependent not just on the amount of leads you generate, or relationships you foster—it’s also about how long it takes you to do those things. If it’s taking you a full work day to peruse potential booking options—that’s affecting your bottom line. But if you’re not taking stock of that, you can’t take steps to streamline those processes and avoid costly bottlenecks in the future.

Feeling confident that you’ve got a better idea of what kind of data you should be collecting? Splendid. Check out Kapow for creative ideas for events of all objectives and groups and let us help you get the party started.