How To Craft Effective Post Event Survey Questions

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Planning an event is no easy task. It requires a tremendous amount of time, money, and a team of experts. Your job doesn’t end once an event has concluded. Now is the moment to gather important feedback and learn about the experiences of guests. Was the event a success? Will they come to your event again in the future? Will the sponsors back you up for the next event?

If you were to answer these questions, you’d probably be biased. To obtain bias-free responses, you can put together a post-event survey. Everyone who came to the event might have had a different experience. As a result, it’s critical to assess the attendees’ experiences to obtain useful feedback. Let’s look at how you may achieve that by crafting eye-catching post-event survey questions that will help you collect useful information.

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What is a post-event survey?

Post Event Survey Questions Post Event

Event organizers conduct a post-event survey to determine whether or not attendees enjoyed their event. A post-event survey takes guests’ opinions on all aspects of the event, whether it’s the location, planning, or content. From sponsors to attendees to your staff, the survey should be addressed to everyone who took part in the event. The goal is to gather accurate input so that you may run better events in the future and improve the guests’ experience.

Post-event surveys have been used by event planners to analyze their events, identify areas of improvement, and, most importantly, hear about what attendees have to say. Regardless of whether you receive positive or negative feedback, the insights can help you plan future events.

Read how C2 Montreal uses the Voxco survey platform to gather insight from post-event online surveys and in-the-moment, face-to-face surveys.

See Voxco survey software in action with a Free demo.

What are the key components of a post-event survey?

When you are designing a post-event survey questionnaire, it is important to keep in mind three key components. These three components will enable you to create a relevant survey and gather reliable insights. 

Here are the three key components you should focus on to ensure the success of the post-event survey. 

  1. Event’s objective: 

You only know that your event was a success when it met the expectations of the participants and attendees. Your event survey should have questions that evaluate the extent to which the event’s objective was achieved. 

  • Did our event meet your expectations?
  • Were the goals of this event clearly communicated?
  • How well did the event deliver effective information on the promised topics?
  1. Attendee’s experience:

Gather feedback on how attendees feel about the event. Evaluate their experience, expectations, concerns, and satisfaction with the event. 

  • Rate your satisfaction with the event overall. 
  • How informative were the presenters?
  • Did the event offer valuable insights?
  • What was your favorite part of the entire event?
  1. Overall event satisfaction:

There are a lot of other aspects of the event other than the presentation. Use the survey to understand the satisfaction of the attendees, participants, volunteers, and every one else with other aspects like: 

  • Venue
  • Catering
  • Quality of presentation
  • Timing of the event
  • Accessibility to the event
  • Networking opportunities.

What is the importance of post-event surveys?

Whether we hosted a webinar, virtual event, or conference, gathering feedback from participants and event stakeholders helps us plan (and better) next year’s event while also revealing valuable insights we wouldn’t have otherwise.

Although we may collect statistics without interviewing participants, such as the event’s ROI or sign-up rate, quantitative data is restricted and will not help us understand how to enhance future online events or why our event performed as it did.

Giving our participants a voice through post-event surveys will help us understand who came to our event and identify areas for improvement.

Post-event questionnaires assist us:

  1. Build trust

By asking our audience for feedback, we show them that we care about their experience and that they can rely on us to offer more excellent events in the future.

  1. Eliminate guesses:

Get immediate feedback from event participants to avoid making educated guesses about why our online event was or was not a success.

  1. Estimate event growth:

NPS® analysis (discussed further below) assists us in estimating how much our event will expand in the next few years.

  1. Improve future events:

We may use the guests’ insights and constructive input to improve future events.

  1. Gain insight into participant’s experience:

Post-event survey questions can provide insights into participants’ preferences, satisfaction, experience, and opinions about the event. It can help you understand the level of expectations they had, what aspect of the event was successful, and what needs improvement. 

  1. Measure the event’s success:

The survey can help you gather valuable data to evaluate if you have successfully met the event’s objective. Learn from the attendees’ perspective what you have done right and where you have failed to meet their expectations. 

  1. Enhance attendee engagement: 

Gathering attendees’ feedback about their experience and satisfaction can help you learn how you can improve their experience for future events. You can identify the concerns and issues to resolve them and enhance attendee engagement. 

Post-event surveys are an efficient tool for you to measure event success and gather reliable feedback. Leveraging the survey, you can identify areas of improvement, make effective decisions, and enhance attendee engagement. By incorporating such surveys in your event planning, you can create successful events.

How to conduct a post-event survey?

Structuring and organizing the post-event survey is a deciding factor in eliciting actionable feedback. Here are some factors you need to keep in mind when conducting your event surveys. 

  • Timing is crucial

After the event is done and dusted, don’t wait too long to conduct a survey. You want the event to remain fresh in their minds. You may send a survey as soon as the event is over, either in a follow-up email or on your app’s homepage.

  • Identify your goal

Understanding the motive behind conducting the survey makes it a lot earlier to come up with accurate questions. Do you want to know about the food or music? Is your focus on improving the content of your event, location, or something else? Knowing what you want to measure allows you to frame questions accordingly.

  • Mode of survey

Surveys should be mobile-friendly. Your guests can easily fill in the surveys at ease on their phones. The response rate will also improve as a result of this. You might not obtain enough responses if you perform the survey in offline mode. This is because attendees may leave as soon as the event is over.

  • Categorize your survey into sections

Your post-event survey might include questions centered around everything from promotion to content. It’s important to ensure that you divide the survey into different sections and structure your questions accordingly. 

  • Ask a variety of questions

Post-event survey questions can be a mix of both open and closed-ended. The more diverse your questions are, the better your responses will be. You can use an array of closed-ended questions ranging from the Likert scale and ranking to rating scale questions. Use one or two open-ended questions and place them at the end to improve the response rate. 

  • Avoid asking leading questions

Leading questions about your event can skew the data. Avoid writing questions that suggest a particular answer. Instead, ask neutral questions that allow respondents to offer their honest opinions. 

  • Give a hint about your next event

You can use the post-event survey to deliver some information about your next event and get an estimate of how many people are likely to attend the event.

  • Focus on gathering actionable feedback

Instead of asking questions about all the aspect of the event or generalizing the event, focus on important aspects. The purpose of the event survey question is to gather actionable feedback so you can make improve future events. 

For example, if the attendees say that the catering did not include many options, you can take steps to rethink the menu options. Or if they say the event is too crowded, you can look for a bigger venue or make the event virtual for half the attendees. 

Use these tips to ensure an effective post-event survey that will provide you with insightful data to make informed decisions.

What are the types of questions you can add using event survey software?

Post Event Survey Questions Post Event

Following our event, we may ask two sorts of questions: open-ended and closed-ended inquiries.

Open-ended questions provide profound insight but are more difficult to quantify and analyze, whereas closed-ended questions provide less insight but are easier to analyze.

Useful post-event surveys, or surveys that provide us with actionable feedback, comprise a combination of open- and closed-ended questions, but the sorts of survey questions we ask ultimately rely on the input we need. As an example:

  • If we want intelligent responses, we should offer open-ended survey questions such as “what would you like to see better for the next event?”
  • If we want to know if our event fulfilled the expectations of the participants, we might ask a yes/no question like “did our event meet your expectations?”
  • If we want to know how satisfied participants are with our event, we may use a Likert scale to have them score it on a scale.
  • Use rating scale inquiries like “how likely are you to suggest this event?” to track prospective event growth.
  • If we wish to segment our audience, we may ask simple questions such as “what is your work title?”

Here are some examples of questions for the event survey based on the sort of feedback you need.

Maximize response rates by adapting to respondent preferences.

  • Meet respondents where they are. 
  • Drive survey completes. 
  • Deliver a seamless survey experience.

1. Open-ended post-event survey question

Open-ended questions cannot be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ It needs thoughtful responses from your event participants, making them ideal for gathering rich, qualitative data.

Open-ended questions are useful for eliciting thorough responses, but they are more difficult to evaluate and need more time (and thinking) from participants than closed-ended questions.

Examples of post-event survey questions:

  • What did you like the most in the event?
  • What would you want us to improve for the event next year?
  • What were your expectations before attending the event?
  • How would you describe the overall experience of the event?
  • What issues (if any) did you have enrolling for the event?
  • What issues (if any) did you have access the event?

Why is it useful?

  • Helps us understand what we did right 
  • Helps us understand what aspects of the event were less useful or engaging
  • Helps us understand we portrayed our event accurately through marketing and promotions
  • Helps us understand how attendees actually experienced the event versus how we thought they would experience it
  • Helps us understand what barriers may have prevented people from signing up for the event.

2. Closed-ended post-event survey questions

Closed-ended inquiries are those that do not demand extensive responses. They frequently take the form of

  • ‘yes’ or ‘no’ queries, such as “did you like today’s event?”
  • Likert scale questions: “How satisfied were you after attending the event, on a scale of 1-5?”
  • Rating scale questions: “Rate our venue on a scale of 1 to 10,” for example.
  • Nominal queries include, “Did you witness the event in person or view the replay?”

Closed-ended inquiries are simple to assess and evaluate since they contain a predefined set of options from which our receiver must pick.

3. Yes or no questions

‘Yes’ or ‘no’ questions are simple to answer (there are only two possibilities!) and can assist us in segmenting responders for follow-up inquiries.

Examples of post-event yes/no survey questions

  • Did the event meet your expectations?
  • Was the event easy to sign up for?
  • Was the event easy to access?
  • Would you like to attend another one of our events in the near future?
  • Would you recommend this event to your colleagues?

Why is it useful?

  • Helps us understand if we are over-promised or under-delivered
  • Helps us estimate future event growth
  • Lets us gauge event success and loyal attendees
  • If we had many people enroll but only a few attended, this helps us understand that event was inaccessible.
  • If sign-up is lower than expected, this makes us understand that it was difficult to sign up.

4. Likert scale post-event survey questions

It is a 5 or 7-point scale that helps assess a respondent’s level of agreement or the strength of their sentiments about a certain topic. When we want a more in-depth understanding of how participants feel following our event, we may use Likert scale questions.

Using Likert scale questions to learn about the ease of use (for example, how accessible the event was or how simple it was to sign up) can help us calculate our Customer Effort Score (CES). CES assists us in understanding attendee satisfaction, which may provide insight into whether they will attend future events and whether they will suggest someone to our event.

Examples of Likert scale questions

  • How satisfied were you with the event? (1- very dissatisfied – 7- very satisfied)
  • How helpful was the event? (1 – not at all helpful– 5-very helpful)
  • How easy was the event to access? (1- very difficult – 5- very easy)

Why is it useful?

  • Asking attendees satisfaction questions will help us understand whether our event met expectations or not.
  • If attendees say that the event was helpful, that means they like the information presented, the speakers, or the overall setup.

5. Rating scale questions

Answers to rating scale questions are shown on a scale, often ranging from 1 to 10. To detect trends in our data, we can plot relies on graphs and charts.

Rating scale questions are useful for assessing various online events to see if they are improving over time.

Examples of using rating scale questions

  • How likely are you to recommend our virtual event on a scale from 0 to 10?
  • Rate our event on a scale from 0 to 10
  • Was the event too short or too long?
  • Was the event well organized?

Why is it useful?

  • These questions will give us a Net Promoter Score (NPS®) and helps us in future growth.
  • Tells us whether our event was better or worse over time.
  • Helps us determine the optimal duration.
  • Helps us learn about additional support opportunities.

6. Nominal questions

Nominal questions, often known as multiple-choice questions, are helpful in categorizing our audience for future study.

For example, we may find that people who saw the event video were less satisfied with our event than those who attended in person. This data assists us in identifying particular areas that require attention.

Examples of using nominal questions.

  • Why did you sign up for this event?
  • Did you attend the live event or watch the replay?
  • What is your job title?

Why is it useful?

  • Helps us understand what attendees want to gain or learn from our event.
  • Tells us whether our live event was held at the optimal time.
  • Helps us determine if our marketing efforts target the right people.

Explore all the 100+ question types possible on Voxco.

How to ensure higher response rates on post-event surveys?

Distributing the survey isn’t the difficult part; it’s getting them to reply that frequently stumps employees.

Try the following to elicit responses:

  • Leverage a post-event survey software that enables you to trigger the survey within 48 hours of the event automatically.
  • Keep the survey short to focus on the important aspects of the event and ask essential questions only. 
  • Make certain that each survey is sent to the appropriate audience. We don’t want attendees answering survey questions intended for speakers and vice versa.
  • Keep the survey brief and relevant to the event (no unnecessary questions for data collection!).
  • Increase participation by offering an incentive, such as discounted tickets to the next event or a raffle entry.
  • Personalize the post-event survey by including information about the event they attended. Make them feel valued and increase the likelihood of a response. 
  • Leverage a survey software that allows you to distribute your survey over multiple channels. Reach attendees through various channels to increase the likelihood of them seeing and completing the survey.
  • Use simple language. Avoid using jargon or complex wording that may confuse the respondents.
  • Re-send the survey link to individuals who haven’t answered within a week, along with a personal request from a member of our staff or event committee.

What should you do with the post-event survey data?

After we’ve gathered all of our responses, it’s time to examine our survey data and utilize it to organize our next event.

Leverage a post-event survey software that enables you to analyze quantitative and qualitative data. You can use statistical data analysis tools to analyze quantitative data. Additionally, closed-ended questions are simple to evaluate and organize because the replies may be arranged in charts and graphs. 

While you can use text analysis and sentiment analysis tools to make sense of the open-ended feedback. Word clouds or sentiment charts can help organize the responses and give context to the quantitative data. 

After you have organized and analyzed the survey data, you may use it to:

  • Schedule follow-up conversations to delve further into a given topic.
  • Contact unsatisfied event attendees to reestablish their confidence and learn more about what caused their discontent.
  • Obtain authorization from event participants to produce based on survey results.
  • Make any required edits for our next event.

Take a guided tour of Voxco Online Survey Software.

  • Customize surveys with brand image. 
  • Create mobile-responsive surveys.
  • Ask relevant questions. 
  • Distribute it to multiple channels.

Who should be the audience for your post-event surveys?

The target audience of your survey includes everyone who attended the event. You can ask the following group of audience to respond to the post-event survey questions.

  • Attendees: The most evident kind of audience for the post-event survey is the participants for whom the event was arranged. The success of an event is hugely determined by their experience. 
  • Sponsors: Sponsors help you put together your event. Their experience will ensure that you get support from them in your upcoming events.
  • Volunteers: At an event, the volunteers are the ones who interact directly with the attendees. They have a pretty good understanding of what went well. As a result, they might be able to make some suggestions for your future events.

Post-event survey questions for attendees

  1. How satisfied are you with the following elements of the event: Speakers, Venue, Quality, Duration
  2. Was the event well-organized?
  3. Did you face any problems while registering for the event?
  4. What would you like us to improve in our future events?
  5. How likely are you to tell your friends/family about this event?
  6. Was the location of the event convenient?
  7. What are some of the themes you’d want to see covered further in-depth at our future event?
  8. Did you receive clear information before the event?
  9. Were the sessions informative?

Post-event survey questions for sponsors

  1. What is your overall impression of the event?
  2. Did the event live up to your expectations?
  3. Will you work with us in our upcoming events?
  4. What was your impression of the staff’s helpfulness?
  5. What could we have done differently to make the event more enjoyable?
  6. What part of the event did you enjoy the most?

Post-event survey questions for volunteers

  1. How would you rate the event?
  2. Did you get enough opportunities to network?
  3. Did the event meet your expectations?
  4. Would you volunteer with us in the future?
  5. Have you received any feedback from the attendees or sponsors?
  6. How could we enhance the experience of attendees?

Final thoughts

Event planners must go above and beyond to distinguish their events apart from the competition. The overall experience of attendees goes beyond the content. It all boils down to how the audience felt at the end of your event. Post-event surveys are important to gauge the audience’s feedback and improve your events in the future.

FAQs

  1. When should you send a post-event survey?

The best time to send your post-event survey is within 48 hours or a few days of the event. Make sure to send the survey while the experience is still fresh in the attendees’ minds. This will allow them to offer reliable feedback. 

  1. What are some common questions in post-event surveys?

Some of the common post-event survey questions you can ask your attendees are about the event overall, the venue, the quality of speakers, and the content. 

You should also ask them about the likelihood of attending future events organized by your company. This question will help shed light on any other concerns the attendees might have. 

  1. How you can use post-event survey data?

Post-event survey data can help you improve future events, enhance attendees’ engagement, and increase satisfaction. You can use the feedback to identify areas of improvement and make changes to ensure a better future event. The feedback can help you uncover the aspect of the event that needs more focus and how you can make changes. 

  1. What are the benefits of event survey software?

Using event survey software, you can save time and effort by automating the process of distributing the survey. You can customize surveys with your brand elements and distribute it via multiple channels. The software enables you to automate data analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data. 

  1. Can event survey software only be used for post-event surveys?

The tool is not designed specifically as post-event survey software. You can conduct surveys for both pre and post-events. 

Pre-event surveys can help you learn what your audience prefers prior to the event. This can help you plan and design the event. 

Post-event surveys can help you evaluate the event to understand audiences’ satisfaction. This can help you improve future events.

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