Eventex events industry trends: Data collection  

With János F. Fazakas, Visual Europe Group

Attendees have always been the bread and butter of events, meaning their needs and experience should be always front and center. Then, there is the question of those who foot the bill, who need justification for their event budgets. Both of these challenges can be effectively handled with data-backed insight. It’s no wonder then that data collection is one of the trends highlighted in The Eventex Events Industry Trends Report. That’s why we’re taking a look at this trend in greater detail to give you some tips on how to implement data collection in your event.

Data collection in event management  

While data collection in event management features multiple elements, it involves three main stages, so we’ll go over each one to give you an idea of how to lay the groundwork for effective data collection at all times. 

Pre-event preparation 

Data collection starts before the actual event and includes the following main steps:  

• Define objectives to guide data collection efforts, focusing on attendee preferences and strategic pricing. 
• Utilize pre-event surveys and registration information for personalized event planning. Perform market analysis, including competitor events and audience research, to strategically position your event. 
• Select technology tools carefully, with an emphasis on data privacy and security, to facilitate efficient data collection and attendee engagement.

Collecting attendee data prior to the event will help you plan and ultimately create more personalized, immersive, and engaging events and experiences, increasing the likelihood of them being a smashing success. 

During the event execution 

Naturally, the second step covers the duration of the event. Here’s how to collect data at this stage and take an active, rather than passive approach to the findings: 

• Implement live polls and interactive sessions for real-time feedback, enhancing attendee engagement. 
• Track attendance and session participation to gather insights into attendee behavior. 
• Utilize technology such as RFID/NFC, QR codes, and mobile app analytics for a seamless and interactive attendee experience.
• Monitor operational efficiency through staff performance and resource utilization to address any issues in real time.

Getting real-time feedback will help you both boost engagement in real-time and stock up on valuable information going forward so that you can plan subsequent events better. 

Post-event analysis 

Last comes the post-event phase where you need to perform an extensive analysis, including: 

• Conduct post-event surveys to assess attendee satisfaction and identify improvement areas. 
• Analyze event performance metrics and financial outcomes to measure success and inform future event planning. 
• Examine long-term impacts like follow-up engagement and brand perception to understand attendee loyalty. 
• Address challenges and ethical considerations, focusing on data privacy, security, and accurate data management.

All of the above will help you identify strong as well as weak areas, plan for improvements, and take on challenges such as data privacy and security. Data collection and analysis will further help you fine-tune your efforts to create engaging and personalized events and present data-backed budget proposals to customers.     

At the end of the day 

The importance of data collection in events is bound to boost demand for solutions that make it possible. And if you’re on the lookout for solutions (data capture or otherwise) or suppliers, you’re very likely to find something to fit your needs at Eventex B2B Match — the free online event connecting industry buyers with leading suppliers. 

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