How do you use feedback surveys to improve your event quality and satisfaction?

Feedback surveys are an essential tool for any corporate event planner who wants to measure and improve the quality and satisfaction of their events. They can help you collect valuable data, insights, and feedback from your attendees, speakers, sponsors, and partners. But how do you design, distribute, and analyze feedback surveys effectively? Here are some tips and best practices to help you use feedback surveys to enhance your event performance and outcomes.

1 Define your goals and objectives

Before you create your feedback survey, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will use the results. What are the main goals and objectives of your event? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that you want to measure and improve? How will you use the feedback to inform your future decisions and actions? Having a clear purpose and direction for your feedback survey will help you craft relevant and meaningful questions, as well as avoid asking unnecessary or redundant ones.

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2 Choose the right format and platform

There are different formats and platforms for feedback surveys, such as online, paper, email, SMS, or mobile app. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on your event type, audience, budget, and timing. For example, online surveys are convenient and cost-effective, but they may have low response rates or technical issues. Paper surveys are easy to distribute and collect, but they may be wasteful or hard to analyze. Email surveys are simple and personalized, but they may end up in spam folders or be ignored. SMS surveys are quick and accessible, but they may be intrusive or limited in scope. Mobile app surveys are interactive and engaging, but they may require attendees to download and use the app. You need to weigh the pros and cons of each option and choose the one that best suits your event needs and expectations.

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Morag Alabaster

Business Development & Sales Expertise | Strategic Consultancy | Revenue Growth | Mentoring & Training | Hospitality | Leisure | Serviced Offices |
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The timing of when you submit surveys in crucial in getting delegates to respond. In my experience asking one question after each plenary/topic/activity is better than trying to get delegates to complete 8-10 questions at the end. Getting an app downloaded at the beginning of the event for delegates to use for real time engagement during sessions in addition to feedback works better.

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3 Design your questions carefully

When designing your feedback survey questions, it is important to use simple and clear language that avoids jargon, ambiguity, or bias. You should also consider including a mix of open-ended and closed-ended questions that provide both quantitative and qualitative feedback. Additionally, use a consistent and appropriate scale or rating system that is easy to understand and apply. Furthermore, ensure logical and coherent sequencing and grouping that follows a natural flow, as well as skip logic or branching that allows for different paths or scenarios based on previous answers. Lastly, consider using incentives or rewards to motivate and thank respondents for their participation.

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4 Distribute your survey strategically

When creating a feedback survey, it is important to consider the timing, frequency, channel, target audience, and segment of your survey distribution. To maximize response rate and quality, you should aim to send or display your survey at the optimal time - right after the event, during a break, or within a few days of the event. Additionally, you should choose the optimal frequency to send or display your survey depending on your event duration and objectives. Moreover, the optimal channel for sending or displaying your survey should be selected based on your format and platform - such as email, SMS, mobile app, website, or social media. Lastly, you should choose the optimal audience and segment to send or display your survey - all attendees, speakers, sponsors, partners, or specific groups based on demographics, interests, or behavior.

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Nausheen Abdul Aziz

Co-Founder & President at Gravity Speakers, Speaker's Bureau & Agency
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Depending on the kind of event you're receiving feedback about, to encourage participation, think about a value-add the attendee can receive by providing feedback. Examples include: if there was an author as a keynote speaker, you can send their book or discount code to those who complete the survey, exclusive resources/presentation slides from the event, etc.

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Joey Goone

President @ Utopia Experience | Live Event Experiences, Event Production, Event Planning, Video Production, Community Building
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We've found that post-event surveys really don't work well; you'll be lucky to get a 10% response rate. We encourage our partners to create simple, in-event surveys. Taking 5 minutes during your event to have people scan a QR code and quickly fill out a survey will get you way more data than sending the same survey out after the event.

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5 Analyze your results and take action

The final step of using feedback surveys is to analyze your results and take action based on the findings. Appropriate tools and methods should be used to process, visualize, and interpret your data, as well as to compare and benchmark your results against your goals and objectives. Additionally, use the feedback to identify strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and areas for improvement and innovation. Afterward, share the results and feedback with your team, stakeholders, and participants, acknowledging their contributions and suggestions. Celebrate successes and achievements, as well as recognize and reward best performers and supporters. Learn from failures and challenges, addressing any issues or complaints. Implement changes and improvements, then monitor their impact and effectiveness. Finally, plan your next event while applying learnings and insights, setting new goals and objectives.

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Morag Alabaster

Business Development & Sales Expertise | Strategic Consultancy | Revenue Growth | Mentoring & Training | Hospitality | Leisure | Serviced Offices |
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It is really useful to engage with the client prior to the event so that questions can be asked regarding the content and delivery so that the feedback is useful for both the client and suppliers.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How do you use feedback surveys to improve your event quality and satisfaction?

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1 Define your goals and objectives

2 Choose the right format and platform

3 Design your questions carefully

4 Distribute your survey strategically

5 Analyze your results and take action

6 Here’s what else to consider

Corporate Events

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