Organizing an event is a challenging affair. Whether you are planning an exhibition, conference, webinar, trade show or concert, or anything else, you need to find a way to ensure that everything goes according to plan. From selection of venues to sending invitations, registration, ads, banners and signage, to catering and seating arrangements, everything needs to be in order to make the event a success. And certainly at the end of it, you would want to know whether all the money and resources you put in was worth it. This is where return on investment (ROI) comes into the picture.
In simple terms, ROI is the assessment of how much benefit you derived from the event vis-à-vis the amount of resources put into it. Calculating ROI is a fairly simple process: the only thing you need to have is a clearly defined goal or objective at the outset. In other words, you need to be sure of why you are organizing the event. Is it about making money through ticket sales? Is it to promote a new or existing product? Do you wish to generate awareness about your product? Generate sales or qualified leads? Attract new investors or partners or motivate the existing ones? First and foremost, you need to identify a primary objective, in addition to which there should also be two secondary objectives. For example, if the event is being organized for fundraising purpose for your charity, you may also like to let more people know about the charity you are raising money for and the cause it supports.
If you are organizing an event, a premium quality asset management system is an excellent option since it allows you to drastically reduce the complexity involved with its planning and execution. A top-of-the-line asset management software will help you plan out your use of equipment and other sundry assets by listing the location of the equipment, their storage facilities, what use they are being put to, from where they are coming, and where they are bound for.
Attach metrics to each objective
How do you calculate whether something you have organized has turned out to be profitable or not? The answer is simple: attach a quantifiable metric to it. If you link it with some measurable criteria, your job becomes quite simple. For example, if your objective is to turn a profit, you can calculate it by subtracting the total cost of the event from the total amount of money the event has generated. On the other hand, if the main objective was to generate brand awareness, you could take help of metrics such as the number of attendees, the press and media coverage it garnered, or perhaps the change in your net promoter score (NPS) after the completion of the event. It is also quite helpful to attach a quantifiable metric with each goal or objective. Talking about the previous example, you could, for the number of attendees, measure your success in terms of 500 visitors. Similarly, for media coverage, it could be securing mention in more than 10 reputable publications.
And this is not all, for the seemingly intangible could be measured too if you manage to quantify it. For example, if the purpose of the event was to generate brand awareness, you could conduct a poll about customer feelings with respect to your brand before and after the event.
Make use of innovative methods of data capture
Having learnt about what you need to measure, it is time to decide how you will actually do it. You need to select the tools you will use to capture and analyze the data. A good quality event management system could prove to be invaluable here as it can help keep an accurate track of things like the total number of registrations, referral fees, total revenue generated from ticket sales, money collected from merchandise sales, number of no-shows etc. There are a number of such software available for your convenience and you can make use of them for different purposes. For example, there is software available for pre- and post-attendee surveys, keeping track of sales leads, revenue generated etc. There are quite a few good quality software systems which could help you select and track relevant metrics to gauge the success of your event on social media platforms. And when it comes to tracking ROI in terms of media coverage, an event management system has options for that as well.
Importance of event management software in determining ROI
Irrespective of whether you have organized the event to increase your sales, raise awareness, promote your product or entice new investors, a quality event management system can prove to be invaluable in helping you attain your objectives. An event management software, in fact, can do two very important things: first, it can facilitate you in augmenting your brand value by helping organize an exceptional event, and second, it can help you analyze event metrics to enable you to ascertain the success of your event.
Event management and conference management systems from Eventi Express
Event Express Management
Event Express Management is an all-in-one event management software which makes it extremely convenient for you to automate and manage your events irrespective of its size, complexity and type. The cloud-based solution can be an invaluable ally for organizers right from the conception of the event to its conclusion. Pre-event management activities which you can seamlessly conduct with the help of this software include the setting up of landing, registration and invite pages, budget management, and team collaboration. Post-event management activities may include end-of-event surveys, gathering the feedback of attendees, cross business unit reporting etc. Its advanced invite and registration features allow you to boost your attendees gathering efforts through fully-branded multi-channel marketing campaigns.
It helps you increase event attendance through customized event branding, multiple registration forms, onsite registration check-ins etc. The Event Express reports dashboard provides real-time information and visibility for key stakeholders and program and event managers in one consolidated portal.
The Conference Management System from Eventi Express allows you to effortlessly promote your sponsorships, conference benefits, features and event details in one portal. It helps you in sponsorship management and retention so that your budget does not come in the way of organizing a grand event.
With unwavering commitment to quality and professionalism and an impeccable reputation for delivering highly customized software solutions, Eventi Express offers Asset Management Systems, Conference Management Systems, Registration and Onsite Solutions and Event Express Management under a single roof. Eventi Express is a one-stop shop for all your software system needs to make your trade shows a roaring success. Give us a call at 1.866.413.2027 or write to us with your queries and we will be happy to respond to you.