Events have evolved. In the past three years, the event industry has adapted to the changing environment, embraced virtual events, and harnessed the power of data in order to create event strategies and prove ROI.
But even the goalposts have moved. The success of an event is different than it was a few years ago. It now focuses more on quality rather than quantity.
This shift in perspective has prompted a change in the way event professionals report and measure event outcomes. They have moved away from vanity metrics to focus on pipeline and measurable impact.
Registration: Metric losing its standing
The number of registrations is used as a key indicator of the success of an event.
Many event planners would watch as registrations poured into their events and sigh with relief once they reached their target. Registrations, like other metrics that focused more on the numbers than the bigger picture, gave a shortsighted view of how an event fits into an organization’s marketing strategies.
Recent Bizzabo data shows that most marketers agree: Only 11 % of event organizers count registrations as their main success metrics.
A number of factors influenced the shift from registration to other metrics.
Take a look at the registration numbers of a virtual event. Virtual events are usually free. Twenty-five percent of hybrid events and in-person meetings require attendees to pay. Virtual events also don’t involve any financial or time commitments such as hotel and travel expenses. Registration can become a simple yes when these common barriers are removed. No-show Rates for Virtual Events are Around 35%. Registration can’t give a reliable picture of the impact your event will have on business.
Registration is no longer a reliable indicator of in-person attendance. 85% of event organizers plan to host three or more in-person meetings in 2023. Hotels have reported that room bookings are increasing as the timeline for events moves forward. They reach their peak around three weeks prior to the event.
In-person registration cannot provide enough insight to predict an event’s value, as attendees are waiting longer to decide if an event in person is worth their money and time.
Attendance is a Metric that’s Gaining Popularity
Rather than relying on inflated registration numbers, event organizers have shifted their focus to registrant-to-attendee conversion.
The Bizzabo report revealed that the top indicator of success for event organizers is attendance.
- 54% of employers track attendance.
- 33% are tracking engagement.
- 27% of pipelines are tracked.
- 19% of respondents track overall satisfaction.
Event professionals are developing choose-your-own-adventure registration forms, customized pre-event communications, targeted content, and coordinated social media posts to spark early engagement and motivate registrants to attend.
Organizers can use rich data that they already possess with event management technology. This data integration will ensure that more registrants are attendees while also setting the foundation for a better attendee experience.
Engagement: A Metric Adopted by Advanced Marketers
Attendance is a better indicator of revenue than metrics that focus on engagement and attention.
As a short-term target, the news that 1,000 people attended an event is impressive. This number does not reflect the impact of attendees on pipeline acceleration before, during, and after an event. Attendance does not answer the question of customer loyalty or deeper engagement with a brand.
Event marketers use engagement to measure event success. This is a way of gaining insights that go beyond the attendance numbers and better illustrate the value of an event within an organization’s marketing strategy.
Engagement has always been the core of event marketing. The most successful events are those that connect people and create community. With the shift from physical events to virtual ones in 2020, there is an unprecedented amount of data related to engagement. The ability of event professionals to report on engagement has opened up new ways to understand and advance event engagement’s role in feeding the pipeline, contributing to sales conversion, and, ultimately, improving the bottom line.
Event organizers can segment attendees based on their engagement level by capturing insights from attendee activities (the exhibitor they spent the most time with, the surveys they took part in, and the sessions that they attended). The organizers can personalize the follow-up after an event.
Sales teams can also use engagement data to prioritize outreach and focus their efforts on the segments that are most engaged, maximizing conversion rates. The sales team can then determine if there is a correlation between the level of engagement and an attendee’s likelihood of becoming a lead.
Engagement data can create a positive cycle that improves the event experience, sales efforts, and revenue outcomes.
Future Event Metrics and Event Performance
A data-driven event strategy is becoming more important for marketers due to the convergence of in-person events returning, economic uncertainty, and robust event technology.
Marketers who are focused on aligning revenue with events must place more emphasis on these areas.
- Pipeline generation
- Pipeline acceleration
- Pipeline engagement
- Customer revenue engaged
- Influence on customer revenue
Event professionals need to use more data from their events as they take a prominent place in marketing strategies.
By embracing robust metrics, event organizers are able to demonstrate the impact of their events on the business and create better experiences for attendees.