How to Create a Post-Event Report That Proves ROI

From small internal meetings to massive trade shows, events are increasingly being planned with the help of event management technology. In fact, a recent report on the events industry revealed that 42% of event organizers allocated more budgets to event management technology than in 2023.

Event management technology not only simplifies event management but also enables organizations to collect and track data that proves the overall success of their events.

Event managers must track a wide range of data to prove ROI. Collecting and compiling this data into a single, easy-to-understand report after the event ensures faster and easier ROI determination and helps inform how to approach future events.

What is a Post-Event Report?

A post-event report is a compilation and summary of all the data that stakeholders need to determine an event’s ROI, whether the event achieved its expected objectives/key performance indicators (KPIs), and where improvements might be needed for the next event.

Read also: How to Write Event Performance Evaluation Reports

The event organizer is responsible for the post-event report. It is their responsibility to use this report to present your event’s data in the clearest possible way.

Why are post-event reports so important for event organizers?

Having all the data is important, but what’s even more crucial is ensuring it’s organized logically and smoothly to showcase the event’s success to decision-makers within your organization. A well-designed and organized report is also an effective tool for attracting sponsors and exhibitors to participate in future events. Therefore, preparing a good post-event report should be an essential part of event organization.

You’ll find some stakeholders who are only interested in numbers; they like to delve into the finer details and draw their own conclusions from raw figures. The post-event report is your opportunity to present the most important data to these stakeholders.

Often, stakeholders appreciate a clear, engaging, and concise presentation of events without having to dig through raw data. This is where a post-event report comes in. It adds a unique touch to your presentation through charts, tables, and other visual elements.

With a post-event report, stakeholders can clearly see what worked and what didn’t, enabling them to develop a data-driven strategy for future events.

How to Create a Post-Event Report

To begin creating a post-event report, you’ll need to gather all your data. Ideally, this data should have been collected throughout the event using event management software, allowing for seamless integration.

You’ll need to know what information your stakeholders require to make decisions, and what sponsors and exhibitors need to know before and after participating in your event.

After your event concludes, you can use the same techniques to create a comprehensive, accurate, and easy-to-navigate report. Even better, once you’ve selected a suitable template, you can use it as a ready-made framework for documenting future events.

It’s worth noting that an effective post-event report is visually appealing. So, whenever possible, try to present the data you collected using charts, tables, images, and other visual elements, rather than lengthy text or raw data.

Contents of a Post-Event Report

An effective report introduces stakeholders to the key event data points and provides a clear analysis of its success or areas for improvement. Begin by breaking down the information into easily understandable sections.

Event Summary

This section summarizes what stakeholders can expect, as illustrated in the charts and graphs throughout the rest of the report. Here, provide a brief overview of the event itself, its main objectives, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Then, analyze the extent to which the KPIs were achieved, highlight key successes, and offer any recommendations for improving and adjusting your future event strategy. At this stage, you are providing an overview before delving into the data. From here, the post-event report will detail your conclusions.

Marketing Efforts

What did you and your marketing team do to encourage attendance and attract sponsors and exhibitors? What kind of media coverage did you secure? Here, please list your engagement efforts and highlight the most successful ones, such as:

• Social Media (channels used, posting frequency, most viewed/engaged content, and hashtag engagement)
• Email Lists
• Paid Advertising
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts to drive organic traffic
• Press Releases
• Publishing content through sponsors’ and exhibitors’ marketing channels
• Publishing content on personal social media pages
• Freebies or other attendee incentives
• Early Bird or other registration discounts

Logistics

Discuss who, what, when, how, and why you planned this event. Analyze your venue selection to ensure it’s the optimal choice for your event’s type and size. Did you encounter any issues with transportation, accommodation, staffing, or adequate Wi-Fi?

Also read: Comprehensive Strategies to Enhance Guest Experience and Build Loyalty

Attendance and Registration

Here, you need to clarify not only the actual attendance figures compared to the number of registered attendees, but also the demographics of the attendees. This will help you accurately define your target audience and determine if the final data aligns with your expectations.

• Attendance: Record the total number of attendees, as well as high and low attendance rates for different dates or sessions.
• Registered Attendees: Compare the total number of attendees with the registration data to determine the no-show rate (number of registered attendees who did not show up). Furthermore, analyze the registration process as much as possible to understand when you received the highest number of registrations: Was this during a registration discount period? Or after a major promotional campaign? For many events, the last few days before the event are often the busiest for registrations.
• Demographics: Document attendees’ location, age, ethnicity, gender, industry, company, etc.
• Attendee feedback: Beyond the numbers, what did attendees think of the event? Post-event feedback is crucial for improving your future events.

Sponsor/Exhibitor data

Highlight the most and least popular sessions, demonstrations, and booths, and provide an analysis of the reasons behind this. You can also include sponsor and exhibitor feedback in this section:

• How was the turnout?
• Was the number of quality leads satisfactory?
• How easy was it to set up/take down the booths?
• For speakers, was the audience sufficient and engaged?
• Large trade show, where people were standing and sitting in white booths on a blue carpet.

Budget details

This section shows the event’s revenue after accounting for expenses. First, provide a detailed list of all costs associated with the event. Then, compare this to the revenue generated from ticket sales, exhibitor and sponsor fees, new business bookings, etc. Conclude this section by indicating whether the event’s financial results showed a loss or a profit, if applicable.

ROI Summary

The ROI of events often leans toward the financial side, but there may be other intangible factors that stakeholders might consider to be equivalent to financial losses, especially depending on the event’s objectives. These considerations might include the number of leads generated, whether fruitful relationships were established between companies or attendees, the amount of content created for future marketing materials, the number of sponsors or exhibitors who met their targets, and so on.

If you have the necessary data, determine whether your company’s brand improved in the eyes of the public and/or your industry peers. Then, with all of this in mind, it’s time to answer the key questions:

• Overall, was this event a success?
• Should this event, or similar events, be repeated in the future?