Why attendee feedback is important and how to get it

January 3, 2023

It’s not always easy to get attendees to complete feedback. Yet feedback is crucial to determine event success. Therefore, you need a simple, convenient, and engaging way to gain submissions. We highlight below why attendee feedback is beneficial and recommend a simple way to get it – using modern technology.


Attendee feedback is important:

To know what went right and what went wrong

Gaining positive feedback after a busy period of planning and execution is rewarding and boosts team morale. Celebrate this and use that recipe again! On the other hand, knowing if something didn’t meet an attendee’s expectation is crucial for future events. Feedback allows event professionals to implement changes to improve. It also shows the event professional’s commitment to meeting needs and creating a better event experience. Requesting feedback shows that the company cares and wants to deliver good customer service.

To determine if the client's goals have been achieved

Event professionals work with their clients to set goals for the events and what content an event should include to achieve the goals. For instance, a company may want to strengthen employee relations and improve work culture. In this scenario, team building activities are important to include in the event schedule. Event professionals can then collect ratings or phrase questions around this to collect relevant feedback and determine whether that goal has been achieved.

To understand the attendees' needs

Attendees are at the heart of your event. They are the ones participating in the workshops, activities, seminars, dinners, etc., so those are the ones to impress. Your customer’s satisfaction depends on the attendees’ satisfaction. Gathering feedback from the attendees following an event helps event planners to gain a picture of what they value.

To improve future events  

You can use feedback to improve other events. For instance, thoughts on a venue or the duration of a seminar, will inform both your client and you whether something needs to change. Perhaps access needs to be available virtually as well as face-to-face. Acting on these reflections will help to strengthen your reputation as an event organiser and your competitiveness in the industry.

To keep clients and attendees coming back

Perhaps you planned an event that was hard to criticize. If so, congratulations! Feedback is something you’ll still want to gain so you know whether the event was successful, and you can use this as a testimony to your great planning skills and service. Use it to promote your services and gain business.  

If the event didn’t go as well as planned, then you have a better chance of knowing which factors lead to that. This is especially vital for repeat events such as annual kick-offs or conferences, where customer and attendee retention are crucial to retaining business. You also want customers to keep using your event professional services and contribute to positive word of mouth. Feedback can prevent losing business allowing you to pacify the client and act before they do.

How to get feedback

Our recommendation

Qondor programs is a seamless tool for collecting feedback during the event. Our users are able to create a whole branded event schedule and even enable feedback options per activity (e.g. workshop, presentation, venue etc.). You can then activate a star rating or a free text dialog where attendees can leave comments.

Example of Qondor Programs feedback tool

Attendees answer in the event program and responses are displayed in real-time for event professionals. It is easy to rate on the go, and as the program is their event guide, they will be constantly referring to it. This way they can’t miss it. Plus, the event is fresh in the customer’s mind, as opposed to sending an email with a survey which might not be picked up until later. By using this technology, you as an event planner will also have real-time data to analyze immediately.


View Qondor’s Program feedback tool

View here and paste 99999999 to open the program

Conclusion

Feedback from attendees is important to establish event success and for client retention. When gaining feedback, remember to share the positive comments and reflect and adapt where needed for future success. Event feedback is only valuable if acknowledged and acted upon. Finally, make sure you are using a feedback method which makes it easy for the attendee to respond to.


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