Measuring Events

When Katie Paine discusses measuring sponsorships and events in chapter seven of Measure What Matters, I found this information to be very interesting and helpful. Planning events is something I've had experience with on campus and at my internship this past summer. Knowing seven steps to measure events helps determine the impact of events. Here are her seven steps:

Step 1. Define your objectives. You objective could be to sell products, launch new products, drive affinity between customers and the brand or to reach new markets and customers. No matter what your objective is, you need to define it in order to properly measure your event or sponsorship.

Step 2. Determine your measurable criteria of success. After the objective is selected, defining specific criteria of success is important. This will differ depending on the type of event you are evaluating, but the metrics you use will change based on your criteria.

Step 3. Decide upon your benchmarks. You need to be able to compare your event to another. This is your benchmark. Choosing your benchmark will be what you compare your event to and help you measure your event. 

Step 4. Select a measurement tool. Surveys are a great measurement tool, especially if you can do one before and after the event. This will provide great measurable information. 

Step 5. Define your specific metrics. The specific metrics you choose will be based upon your goals. It depends upon if you want to change people's opinions about you or if you want to sell something.

Step 6. Choose a measurement tool. There are multiple types of tools including counting, survey, sales tracking, web analytic and content tools. Based on your objectives and what you want to measure will determine which ones of these you will use.

Step 7. Analyze you results and use them to make your events more effective. After analyzing and learning from your results, you can implement changes and keep your strengths going strong. You also need to step back and look at the big picture of the event, not just comparing and analyzing each part.