Planning and executing an event can be nerve-wracking. And when we’re focused on our own little event tunnel, from strategy and venue to content, promotion and registration, it’s easy to lose sight of the people at the other end of it all – our audience. That’s why event feedback is crucial.

So in this article, we will walk through the definition of event feedback, who can benefit from it, how to create an event feedback survey (plus report), best practices for creating one, and why you should make it a habit to collect event feedback. Here we go!

What is event feedback?

Event feedback is a broad term for the information, opinions, suggestions and reviews that you collect from attendees – this can be before, during and after the event. This can also come in various forms, from online surveys and polls to social media comments, guest book suggestions and even face-to-face conversations.

In addition, event feedback can be about one or more of these aspects – event content, event organization, logistics such as accommodation and seating, the quality of the speakers, the venue, and overall attendee satisfaction.

Who can use event feedback?

From seasoned pros to newbies organizing their first webinar, everyone can benefit from event feedback. However, in-depth event feedback is particularly useful for:

Event Planners: They can use feedback to refine their planning processes, improve logistics, and enhance the overall attendee experience.
Sponsors and Partners: They use event reviews to measure their return on investment, if the event is worth investing in, as well as the event-sponsor fit.
Speakers and Presenters: This one goes with saying. Speakers often use quick polls or evaluation surveys like this one to assess their performance, gauge their audience reactions, and improve their upcoming sessions.
Vendors: Feedback can be beneficial for event vendors. It helps them evaluate their services’ effectiveness and make necessary adjustments.
Marketing Teams: What’s marketing without feedback? Event surveys provide insights into the effectiveness of marketing strategies and promotional activities.
Conference Organizers: Understand how well you’re doing in terms of logistics, such as registration processes, scheduling, and networking opportunities.
Venue Managers: Use event surveys to assess the suitability of your facilities – including factors like location, accessibility, amenities, and staff performance.

Event Satisfaction Survey Template

Preview Template

How to create an event feedback survey

Identify your goals. What aspects of the event do you want feedback on?
Select a survey tool that allows you to create, distribute, and analyze surveys easily. Look for features such as customizable templates, diverse question types, and real-time reporting capabilities.
Mix question types such as multiple-choice, rating scales, and open-ended questions for better insights. Ensure that the questions are clear, concise, and unbiased.
Keep it concise. People are more likely to complete shorter surveys. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all number, the International Journal of Market Research suggests that its good to cap the survey length at 15 minutes.
Provide anonymity (optional). This is a good way to encourage honest feedback.
Test your survey. Before sending out the survey to all participants, conduct a pilot test with a small group to identify any issues or areas for improvement.
Choose the appropriate channels for survey distribution, such as email, social media, WhatsApp or in-app notifications. Also, ensure your survey is device-friendly and easy to access.
Use your survey platform’s analytics section to study the responses. Most survey tools will give you an overview into patterns, trends and areas that need attention.
Act on the feedback. Once you’re done, let the audience know about these changes to show them that their feedback didn’t go to waste.
Benchmark success. SurveySparrow’s Executive Dashboard tool can help you compare feedback across events and track your progress at a glance.

SurveySparrow Executive Dashboard: Benchmark your event data and understand at a glance

How do you write an event feedback report?

Once you’ve collected your data, it’s time to analyze it and create a report. Here’s what to include:

An overview of the survey results. Summarize the key findings with charts and graphs. SurveySparrow automatically generates live reports like these which can be a time-saver.
Actionable insights. Identify areas where your event could have done better. Look for insights on the content, the attendee experience, and logistical insights on the venue, registration and scheduling for the event.
Positive feedback. Highlight areas where your event excelled to maintain those strengths in future events. What’s more, you can use these reviews as social proof on your event landing page and social media. It’s a great way to create buzz for the next edition!
Recommendations for future events. Use your findings to shape the planning of future events. Create realistic plans to address issues keeping your budget and resources in mind

Best practices for creating an event feedback survey

Organizing and Categorizing Responses

Group feedback into themes such as venue, speakers, content, logistics, or overall satisfaction.

Why: Without organization, event feedback is just a pile of data. Grouping it makes it easier to spot recurring themes and topics. Also, grouping similar feedback lets you see which aspects of the event resonated the most (or least) with your attendees.

topic volume analysis in cognivue — SurveySparrow CogniVue: Analysis of recurring topics by volume

Identifying Patterns

Identify recurring or important topics through wordclouds, manual analysis or tools like SurveySparrow CogniVue.

Why: Single pieces of feedback might be one-offs. But frequent mentions of a topic reveal what truly matters to the audience, and that’s the kind of feedback you want to tackle first.

Extracting Actionable Insights

Pull out specific suggestions or recommendations from the feedback and use them to guide your next event plan.

Why: Feedback is great, but actionable feedback is gold. When you’re offered concrete steps to improve future events, it makes the work of event planning a lot easier.

Focus on the Positive Impact

Move insights that will have the most positive impact to the top of your priority list.

Why: Not all feedback is created equal. Prioritizing insights that have the biggest positive impact allows you to make major improvements with the resources you have.

Personalization

Personalize the feedback process by understanding attendee demographics, interests, and preferences, and using attendee data to segment surveys.

Why: This increases the relevance of the feedback. When you understand attendee demographics and interests, you can customize the survey to gather the best information.

One of our favourite examples of this is Paragon Casino. By personalizing their feedback surveys, they were able to reduce the time their team spent on data analysis by 70%.

Interactive Elements

Use interactive elements like gamification, video backgrounds, quizzes, or polls. You can also spice things up with emojis and GIFs (if they suit your brand’s personality).

Why: 81% of marketers know that interactive content is better at grabbing eyeballs. Similarly, interactive elements make survey Q&As more interesting, leading to more participation and richer feedback.

Enable video backgrounds for a more interactive survey

Survey Promotion

Communicate the purpose of the event feedback survey. Set deadlines, offer survey incentives, and follow up with survey reminders to create a sense of urgency.

Why: People forget! While they might be seen as annoying, survey reminders help improve the response rate.

If you’re concerned about seeming pushy, here are some ways to approach it:

Attention-grabbing: “Susan, your feedback is more important than you think!”
Appreciative: “We hope you had the chance to take our survey, but if not…”
Explain the value: ‘Your input will help us [achieve a goal]”
Emphasis on time: “The survey closes on [date]. We’d love to hear from you by then!”

Analyzing and Acting

Use data visualization tools to present and communicate data in a clear and compelling way.

Why: Like a telescope, data visualization tools help you understand abstract feedback better. This allows you to identify patterns more easily, and make better decisions faster.

Follow-up and Lead Generation

Use the feedback from your event to follow up, and nurture attendee relationships.

Why: Event feedback can be a potential goldmine of new leads for future events. By acting on their feedback, you can build stronger relationships and continued participation.

Continuous Improvement

Experiment with the timing of feedback requests. Diversify or narrow down your feedback channels based on their performance data. You can also use the survey to highlight key moments or to express gratitude.

Why: Feedback is an ongoing process. By constantly refining the survey based on attendee input, you can make sure that it continues to be relevant.

Why should you collect event feedback?

Event feedback isn’t just a box to tick. Here’s why it’s crucial:

Improve future events. Feedback helps you identify areas for improvement and ensure your next event is even better.
Boost attendee satisfaction. By addressing feedback, you show attendees their voices are heard, leading to a more positive experience.
Increase ROI. By understanding what attendees value, you can optimize your budget and resources for future events.
Gain a competitive edge. Strong feedback demonstrates your commitment to continuous improvement. This sets you apart from the dozen other events competing for your audience’s attention.
Build stronger relationships. Showing that you value attendees’ opinions helps build trust and loyalty
Secure sponsorships and partnerships. Positive feedback can be used to demonstrate the value of your event to potential sponsors and partners.

Wrapping Up

In this blog, we’ve covered everything you need to refine your event experience from start to finish. From survey templates and process to best practices and benefits, use this guide to crush your next event. Adios!

How to Excel at Event Feedback + Free Template