Let the data sweat, so you don’t have to

We’re ushering in a new era of in-person events.

From January to September 2022 alone, the number of in-person events held on Bizzabo's Event Experience OS increased by 724 per cent. Transformed by the challenges and lessons of the last two-plus years, these burgeoning in-person events feature the best of what event organisers learned from their pivots to hybrid and virtual experiences.

Among those transformations? Organisers are leveraging data to empower event experience leaders to work smarter — not harder — to create personalised, impactful event experiences and drive better business outcomes.

Event organisers’ most significant challenge is what we at Bizzabo refer to as the Event Impact Gap — the discrepancy between organisers’ aim to offer exceptional experiences and their ability to reach those goals with their event technology.

Data can bridge this gap, acting as a guiding force to constantly refine the audience experience. By embracing data and implementing the right event technology, you can surface and act on data insights to fuel better experiments, adjust in real time, and power greater attendee engagement before, during, and after your events.

Our recent 'State of In-Person Events' survey found that 70 per cent of event organisers have seen event budgets remain the same or increase in the past year. But as economic uncertainties continue, more marketing professionals will need to make the business case for their events.

Data empowers organisers to measure and communicate event success through key metrics. Rather than overwhelm your team by trying to measure everything immediately, focus on three to five key metrics.

Survey respondents said they’re measuring success with attendance, engagement, pipeline, overall satisfaction, and registration insights. If, for instance, you want to increase registrations, you could capture these data points as critical indicators of goal progress:

● Marketing email open rates and click-through rates (CTRs).

● Social media clicks, form fills, and shares.

● Event site CTRs, page bounce rates, and form fill rates. Data not only helps you communicate the success of your efforts but also drives continuous improvement.

Data enables event organisers to look beyond the event agenda, nourishing a community from pre-event planning to long after the closing keynote.

Use post-event surveys to glean insight into where your event exceeded expectations and which areas need improvement. Leverage quantitative data — such as most-attended sessions and most popular content downloads — and qualitative survey findings to customise post-event messaging and offer relevant content.

Those data-driven touches will extend your event’s value, enhancing attendees’ takeaways and driving better outcomes. — Make data the hardest-working member of your events team, and you’ll see the impact on every aspect of your event strategy. From tracking key metrics to demonstrating your event’s business value to using real-time data to experiment and pivot, your team can act on better insights more often — all to provide the best possible event experience.