Along with creating a binder for each event, I also create a survey or form for each conference that rates my success with planning. This is not something that is measured easily. It is measured by how I or my coworkers thought the conference went and also what we thought needed to be changed.
Now, this is not measuring the success of the conference in how many clients we took away. It is purely a tool for me to use in the future when planning other events. If something went bad, I want to know as to not repeat the same thing in the future.
The goal of this form is to be a quick reference tool for me to use when planning the same event the following year, if we do another conference in the same area/city, planning a conference of the same size, a conference with the same contractor, etc.
Here are some of things I look at:
- Agenda: Was the scheduling of everything appropriate?
- Transportation: Service Used – Good? Bad? Would we use it again?
- Contractor: Orders – Anything changed?
- Booth: Size and Design
- Employees: Did we have enough staff at the event?
- Promotional Items: Amount of give-aways ordered and used? Enough? Too much?
With so many conferences every year, things can get really mixed up in my mind. This form I created helps remind me of things later on and will make future planning much easier.
As the conferences go on, I am sure that the form will change with the layout and I may add things that I find important to note such as restaurants we went to.
How does your company measure its conference/event planning success? Don’t go to a conference and then just forget about it. Finding a way to measure or reference what went well and what didn’t will make you planning more efficient and easier down the road!
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