Data Analysis for Event Planners: Overcoming the Fear of Numbers
Everyone who deals with event marketing may have some doubts about statistics. That’s ok because we know you don’t need to be a data expert to be a live marketing specialist. So, we’re here to give you some tips to increase your marketing statistics for your event planning – even if you’re not a math geek.
Learn more: 7 essential competencies of the full-stack Event Manager
How to use data in event planning
For corporate event planners who attended an Event MB research, budget is their biggest concern (82%), followed by new ideas (62%) and Return on Investment, or ROI, at 54%.
So let’s focus on these three points. You may ask: how to improve these concerns? Follow our steps:
Budget – How to reduce the costs?
You may organize a clear budget with your expectations, costs, and metrics. For instance, everything starts by defining the cost per participant. This metric can help to keep the budget under control by avoiding overspending, which can prove fatal in a time of crisis.
Also, integrated event platforms are sources of cost savings; did you know that? They ensure greater control over the various aspects of the event, generating reports, encouraging networking, and opening additional channels for sponsors.
Also, you can Invest in reusable material – Whenever possible, reuse materials used in past events. Try consulting with as many vendors as possible and asking for more quotes to save your event costs, too.
Creativity (New Ideas)
At the same time that a hyper-connected and running world can move us away from creativity and thought flows, the solution to being more creative can be precisely in the technologies. Just imagine, for example, an automotive event where the customer of a car company looks for a way to do the event participant to try out a new car model even though it is not yet available on the market.
The event planner can rely on virtual reality glasses to bring the whole experience of this new product to the potential customer. A solution like this still gives the event a hi-tech tone that attracts a lot of people. We’re talking about experiential marketing, a way to show the creativity of your brand to the world through events.
Experiential marketing activations promote brand-audience loyalty, attracting more sponsors and increasing the ROI. Not only do they add a logo to a pamphlet, but they do encourage experiences with brands that will make people remember even after the event, potentially sharing on social media.
Of course, creativity need not always be coupled with cutting-edge technology. Your business can be creative by presenting storytelling that thrills the audience or when delivering a motivational talk. Remember that creativity in events can be combined with simple things.
ROI
ROI means Return on Investment. For every buck spent, you need to prove it’ll come back multiplied. The more available budget you receive, the more ROI you need to bring. So how can you ensure it? By the KPIs.
KPIs are there to help you make money. But it’s also about how money is spent. Outline a precise budget expenditure target for whatever occasion. Make sure your briefing has been well understood by you and your client. In other words: get to know exactly what services your contracts include or not.
Why are these data so important?
Marketing is a science that has specific demands by its nature. And event marketing is no different. We need ongoing efforts to understand several diverse audiences. And, of course, ensure that our projects meet the expected outcome. Good post-event data analysis can help you gain new sponsors for future editions and, of course, help you gain insight into what works and what doesn’t at the event you want to organize.
For this, keep an eye on your retention. Many entrepreneurs think turnover is taboo, but it’s often needed at some level. Still, it’s a key performance indicator. The average for creative and advertising agencies, according to ANA, is 30%. Anything above that will damage your capacity to disseminate a culture that fits your mission and vision.
To understand this, see these other data:
- 54% of Event Marketers believe that better event data analysis would increase audience quality. (Freeman)
- 62% of Event Marketers use event data to measure overall event success and enhance future experiences. (Marketing Charts)
- 74% of Event Marketers use event data to inform event strategy and planning. (Marketing Charts)
You can see more good data analyses for event management in our new ebook. In this material, we’ve compiled extensive competitive intelligence for you to know how you’re doing compared to the industry. Learn more:
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