Today’s attendees expect a truly engaging event experience. Courtesy of Cynthia D’Aoust

Ask anyone who lived through the pandemic if in-person events are valuable, and you’re likely to hear a resounding “yes!” — and that’s because face-to-face events have proven their worth for myriad situations.

But with limited time, budget and resources, clients expect a strong ROI for their events, which is different for everyone. Some expect a boost to their financial bottom line. Some look for an uptick in attendee networking and relationship building. And for others, it’s something else entirely.

Post-event surveys, attendee feedback and hard numbers are traditional ways of measuring an event’s ROI. Beyond the data, however, planners say the true value of an event lies in its Return on Engagement or Return on Event (ROE) — which is what the attendees gained from being there. ROI is easier to quantify, but by paying attention to attendee engagement at various levels, planners and clients can get a truly holistic view of how well the event met its intended objectives.

ROI vs. ROE

ROI is typically measured by how an event impacted the host’s bottom line — which is assessed by gauging factors such as registrations or sponsorships. The ROE takes a broader view, factoring in elements that are more difficult to measure.

“ROE related to events includes intangible or value-based benefits like employee engagement, knowledge or skill development, brand reputation, social or environmental impact and relationship building,” says Ashley Case, CMP, senior director of meetings + incentives operations for CADENCE. “A holistic planning approach ensures both measurable and experiential factors are valued. Open communication between planners and stakeholders ensures alignment and sets the stage for success from the outset.”

That means you should always be focused on the audience and what they might find most valuable.

“What’s going to have an impact, be memorable and have a major takeaway?” Case asks. “Once-in-a-lifetime experiences, speakers who change perspective and inspire, unique opportunities to make meaningful connections between attendees throughout the event — these are all elements that provide ROE.”

Know Your “Why”

With any event, you must start with a clear purpose then establish goals for gauging attendee engagement before, during and after.

During planning calls, define that purpose by asking questions such as:

• Why is the event being held?
• What are its intended objectives?
• What will “value” look like, and how will it be measured?
• What are we/you trying to accomplish?
• Will the sales team go out and be ready to sell the new product?
• Is the purpose of the event to network with clients? If so, how will those relationships and connections be measured?

To determine benchmarks, Cynthia D’Aoust, SVP of Global MICE for Your Event Solutions (YES) suggests the following steps:

• Be clear on what you are trying to achieve by asking your clients the above questions
• Design the meeting around those objectives
• Establish your criteria for measurement

“Do people want to be active and mingle, or learn in more of a traditional classroom setting? Do you want to get out of a hotel?” D’Aoust says, pointing out that more events are opting for a more nontraditional setting to encourage networking and brainstorming.

Internal events require the same level of attention and focus on a particular goal. Peggy M. Diab, executive vice president of tradeshows and conferences for HMP Global — a global leader in healthcare events and education — says her team works hard to ensure that attendees, faculty presenters, sponsors and exhibitors have an impactful experience at their meetings.

Diab’s team does this by following important steps. It starts with defining the event’s purpose, including the primary objectives for learning, networking, brand awareness and more. They also involve stakeholders by collaborating with clients, sponsors and team members to set expectations and align goals with resources to ensure they stay within budget, secure appropriate manpower and meet deadlines. Beyond that, Diab’s team works with project managers to break goals into smaller tasks, which are actionable steps and assigned responsibilities, and then monitor and adjust as needed. “We track our progress and refine our goals as needed to stay aligned with the event’s vision,” Diab says.

Setting the Stage

Once the goals and measuring tools are in place, you must find the earliest opportunity to start gauging their effectiveness.

Case and her team utilize event marketing and technology to create buzz that can generate participation and pre-event engagement. “We use mobile event apps before, during and after the event for surveys that collect preferences to shape content/activations/excursions, engage audiences with polls during sessions, set up social walls and add gamification that generates and measures engagement and attendee information assimilation,” Case says.

As senior director of global events – Global Business Organization for LinkedIn, Allison Nunes oversees a wide range of corporate events around the world. Among the largest she manages is LinkedIn’s sales kickoff event every July, a gathering of more than 7,000 salespeople from around the globe.

“We really set objectives for the sales kickoff and the year ahead. We recognize what we did, what we did well in the previous year. We acknowledge it, set a theme for the coming year, then we discuss some business goals we want to set for each line of business,” Nunes says. Company culture is everything at LinkedIn, so it is always built into the objectives.

To measure ROI this year, Nunes said, the company will “dig deeper into our enablement, where we want our salespeople to come right out of the event and go to market, whether it’s a message for the customer or really [having] the tools to be able to talk to any product roadmap or anything that’s happening now. Sometimes, there’s been a lag between the event and ramping [up] people on a new product or business objectives for the new year. We’re trying to tighten the timeline on that, and it’s something we’ll pay close attention to and measure better after we implement the change.”

In 2024, LinkedIn had a larger-than-average number of new employees attending their first sales kickoff. The company held its first “Know Before You Go” call to orient them with the event space and answer initial questions. “We didn’t want people to feel overwhelmed — we wanted them to feel informed. We wanted them to go through these steps so people get the ROI they’re looking for, they know where to go, what to do, what expectations to set, how much time they might need to get from one place to another,” Nunes says.

Preparing attendees in advance helps to ease any anxiety or uncertainty about preparation so they can ready themselves accordingly and jump right in as soon as they reach the venue.

One useful tool to engage registrants right from the start is a pre-event survey. “They’re so great. You’re customizing the content for the interested attendee — gathering what their interests are and building that out, and developing campaigns that can generate the buzz,” Case says.

Track Onsite Engagement

Continuous monitoring of engagement throughout the event helps planners identify what’s working and which areas need attention, all in real time. “Badge scanning and RFID tools to measure session and activation attendance are helpful as well. These tools help us understand what makes an impact, what sticks and what the audience is excited about — often in the moment!” Case says.

Diab monitors “day of” engagement in several ways, including real-time tracking of metrics such as attendance and participation rates in sessions, live polls and social media mentions. She also monitors revenue streams such as registrations and sponsorships, and uses data tools to assess traffic on event websites, as well as customer feedback. “These all allow for dynamic adjustments to improve outcomes before the event concludes,” she explains.

Presenters can help encourage engagement, too. “You might have different speakers who have a survey at the end of their session, which asks: ‘Is there anything you would like to have learned about?” D’Aoust says. “If you’re clever, leave space where you can take the day-to-day feedback and incorporate it at the end. Gather the feedback, get the people back in the room and close it out at the end.” This strategy works well for sessions with brainstorming or problem-solving components.

More relaxed agendas have been an enduring trend since in-person events returned after COVID. By giving attendees more breaks and down time, a shift has occurred — informal engagement is happening more organically. “Years ago, we gave people an agenda. Now we give them space to create community,” Nunes says. “We’ll see smaller sub-teams creating communities, engaging with the wellness team and creating a morning run — groups do things within the event. We create space for that.” She notes that her team is sensitive to attendees’ needs and will find smaller, quieter meeting rooms for those who might need a less overwhelming environment. “We try to replicate the services we have in our offices — we want attendees to feel at home,” she adds.

What Was Hot, What Was Not

After the event, it’s time to take a deep dive into the final numbers and attendee feedback. Once again, it helps to step back and look at the big picture to put the numbers into context. “Other than direct sales numbers, we’ll ask ourselves: ‘Did we move product? Did we move the business forward? Were the guests happy? Were there fewer complaints than in previous years?’” Nunes says. “It’s a year-over-year thing — and with our incentives, too — where we ask ourselves: ‘How can we replicate this? Was it positive?’”

Repeat visitors are a valuable source of feedback. “Tracking and recognizing return attendees is a great way to understand how you are upping your game year after year,” Case says. She also suggests paying close attention to increased participation against resources utilized and says that staying within budget — or within a proportional incremental increase—is a great indicator of ROI/ROE. “Budget tracking with per-person spend is key in monitoring your financial ROI,” Case adds.

ROE is a valuable metric for an event’s success, but when analyzing the hard numbers, planners use different tools — like building out calculators — to measure their client’s financial ROI.  Tracking registrations for paid events is another common benchmark. “Will the client have met their sales goals with registrations? In this instance, the value attendees perceive will be demonstrated by how many people sign up and pay to come. That’s an easy one to determine the ROI — how many people paid for the event?” D’Aoust says.

Diab says for HMP Global, an event’s overall success is determined through:

• Quantitative Metrics – Registration versus attendance, leads generated and sales closed, and sponsorship ROI for partners
• Qualitative Feedback – This includes post-event surveys to assess satisfaction and gather input for future programs and focus group meetings with attendees or stakeholders
• Engagement Metrics – This includes media mentions and social media metrics, along with app usage statistics, and long-term indicators such as repeat audience at future events, positive reviews and referrals

“ROI isn’t solely about financial returns — it’s about the perceived value for all stakeholders,” Diab stresses. “Always aim to provide measurable outcomes to justify the investment while creating meaningful, memorable experiences for attendees. Continuous improvement through post-event analysis is essential for long-term success.”

Taking steps to measure value throughout the event takes the burden off gathering all feedback at the event’s conclusion. It’s also a good idea to utilize apps for attendee surveys and to gather feedback, comments and more. Better yet, use old-fashioned in-person mingling in conjunction with the surveys to gauge attendees’ anecdotal response to the event. Then, make note of their remarks and discuss them with the same care you take to review the comments left on the post-event surveys at follow-up meetings. “Year over year, there are things that you learn, measure and tweak,” Nunes says. “Only measure what you have true control over, or what you’re willing to change or get true feedback on.”

True ROE = Long-term Value

The end of the event doesn’t mean the end of engagement. Following up and maintaining regular contact with attendees, sponsors, vendors and other stakeholders helps to establish solid long-term working relationships. Over time, those connections lead to increased attendance, engagement and brand loyalty. “Engagement. That’s what you’re there to do — bring people together,” Case says. “Utilizing someone’s time is valued in how engaged they were and how they perceived the experience.”

The tricky part, she notes, is defining the metrics. “We can take surveys, analyze the engagement based on tech use, but you sort of need bases to set metrics and gauge successes,” Case says.  “When you’re doing an event for the first time, that’s your baseline — the goal is to increase it from there. It’s not all black and white and numbers, especially right out of the gate.”

It can be challenging for a client to realize that the hard data does not always show the holistic value of an event. “People have a hard time quantifying the ROI. ROE broadens the application,” D’Aoust says. She urges planners to challenge the norm. “You’ll show more value, and you’ll probably have better survey results. Ask: ‘What specifically do we feel will justify the investment we’re making in this business?’ Through conscious intent, we’ll define what success looks like for us.” C&IT