Frequently there is little thought to why a company should (or should not) attend an industry event or tradeshow. Justifications of “we have always gone”, “it would be noticed if we were absent”, and  “all of our competition will be there” aren’t really valid business reasons, and more importantly impossible to gauge as a success (or failure).

Evaluating event participation, and the metrics that determine success, aren’t as fuzzy as most people think. There are solid ways of measuring event success that are usable for every sized business in every sized event.

The best article I’ve found that explains key measurement metrics is The Five Key Metrics of Event Marketing. I’ve summarized the main points below.

KEY METRIC 1: TOTAL COST OF THE EVENT

Expense vs. investment. Expense is any out of pocket costs related to the event. Investment includes out of pockets plus your day-to-day overhead, including salaries of all those involved.

“Either calculation is valid. Simply be clear when you are reporting your numbers which approach you have taken, and be consistent over time.”

KEY METRIC 2: REACH AND FREQUENCY

The number of unique prospects that attend each event and if, and how often, they attend in the future. Are you communicating to your target audience and building a lasting relationship with them? Do they find your events valuable? Or do you get a bunch of tire kickers looking for a free pen or tee shirt? Maybe a tee shirt isn’t the best way to reach out to your audience…

“Tracking reach and frequency over time can help you gauge the effectiveness of your promotional efforts, as well as to assess the perceived value attendees find in your events.”

KEY METRIC 3: BUSINESS VALUES OF ATTENDEES

Knowing how much potential each prospect has can be helpful when determining the true value of an event. Getting thousands of attendees may feel like a success, but if they’re not the right audience that will bring in the money, you could be wasting your time.

“It’s one thing to know that 75 people attended your event. It’s another to know that those 75 people represent $750,000 in potential business. This number is called customer or prospect lifetime value, and can be a powerful guide in helping you determine which events — and which attendees — merit your time and budget.”

KEY METRIC 4: SHARE OF VISITS

Used to measure the number of people that attend your event compared to competing events in the industry. What makes other events successful in attracting valuable attendees from your key market? If you are attending a tradeshow as an exhibitor, defining this metric is important in knowing which events have the most value and bring in the right attendees.

“Tracking this number over time can tell you if you are gaining or losing ground to your competition for attendees’ limited time and dollars.”

KEY METRIC 5: RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Are you spending your event budget wisely? What are you truly gaining from each dollar you spend? You cannot answer either question until you define goals and establish what success means to your company for each event. Is it to maintain your space in the industry? Announce a new product or service? Gain the attention of the media? Obtain as many leads as possible whether they’re on or off strategy? Are you only interested in qualified leads? If so, what makes a lead qualified? Maybe it’s all of the above…

Regardless of what determines the success of your event, it is very important to define it at the beginning, and communicate it to all who will be involved in the event (from planning to execution).

Of course, if you need a hand, feel free to give us a call.