A killer post–event report for partners: what data it calls for?

Bear in mind, that the event doesn’t end when the last visitors leave the venue. All leads require nurturing. And partners will be grateful for a thank you email with the detailed post-event report. The platforms for event organizers gather all kinds of data. What is important enough to be put in the post-event summary report? Read our guide and find out!

Why is a post-event report so important for building relations with partners?

A thank you email after successful event followed by thorough analysis wrapped up in a detailed post-event report will be the perfect closing of a trade show. It will also present to partners what they got for their commitment. After all, it takes months to build strong relations with the partners. To make it grow you should focus on delivering tangible value on a regular basis. Inviting partners for various events is a part of the cooperation. But how to prepare a post-event summary report that will amaze the partners?

What data should you include into a post–event summary report for partners?

A killer post-event report should be packed with data and wrapped up in a digestible form. At this point I assume, that you rather rely on a software for event organizers to collect data rather than a piece of paper to gather event statistics. Platforms like Eventory gather all kinds of useful data. However, if you just copy-paste them into the report it won’t be actionable nor even digestible for a partner. So what should you put in the report?

1. Start with the basics

Describe the event:

• What was its name?
• When and where did it take place?
• Who was it aimed at?
• What was the main goal of the event?

You may include a mission statement and information about the organizer (i.e. your company). Mention the theme of the event. List the growth highlights. It will provide the necessary context for a person that will read the report in the future.

2. Then go to the advertisement

Show how did you promote the event. Describe media exposure. Focus on ads and other forms of content in which sponsors’ names appeared. Don’t forget the press coverage. Show the reach of the ads in particular channels. Button down the most effective ones.

3. Relevant statistics

Now it’s time to pick from the data-pile the most valuable information. Focus on data that will be important for a partner. Most of them you will find in the organizer’s analytical panel of the software you use. Here’s the example list of information that you can get from Eventory.

Attendees:

This part of the report should definitely include such information as:

• a total number of participants – the simplest yet really important information that helps to put all other attendee-related data in a context
• the participant’s profile, including their demography (gender, country of origin, age),  professional status and their role in the event

You can also include data such as, for example, the purchasing behavior of a given group of participants (use statistic data, white papers published by companies that study customer behavior and so on).

This information will be valuable for the further use – it pre-segment the leads and suggests what to do with them next.

Partner’s goals – lead generation KPIs:

The important information will include:

• The number of people who visited the partner’s stand during the event – especially compared to the overall number of attendees – this number will help them assess the popularity of their stand, check the conversion rate and so on.
• The time spent by guests at the partner’s stand during the event – another number that shows the alignment of attendees’ interests with partner’s offer and performance during the trade show.
• The lead generation data – the crown jewel of this part of the report – the exact number of leads acquired by a partner during your event; this information gives the answer for partner’s question ‘What’s in it for me?’
• The QR code statistics of the partners – the number of scans that may help partners in tracking their goals during the event.
• The networking statistics – illustrate how important was the event for building the professional network.

Partner’s goals – brand recognition KPIs:

There are some information that you can highlight to show how the event affected partner’s brand recognition.

• The social media coverage of the partner – how to measure goals related to the brand recognition after the event? Use online tools that track brand mentions; compare the number of mentions generated during the event (and a few days after) to the number from before the event to get the context.
• The important statistics of the event’s promotional materials such as newsletters – show how good you are when it comes to marketing performance; mention the open rates and click-through rates; you may also mention how big was the audience reached by the newsletter.

Event feedback:

Did attendees like the event? Just ask them and gather information from the source.

• The participants’ feedback regarding the event – prepare the feedback poll for the attendees and ask how did they like the event, what was the best part and what was a big no-no.
• The participants feedback about partner’s performance during the event – you may prepare some feedback questionnaires that include questions about partner’s performance, gather real-time feedback on lectures and keynotes; for a partner, it will be an information of a great value.

4. Wrap it up nicely

The data itself is important. And it’s obvious for you and others who got used to it. However, for an end-user of your report, the conclusions will be paramount. So explain why 50% open rate of newsletter campaign is a good thing, and why 20% of click-through rate is a bee’s knees.

Another important factor is how you present data. Numbers are good, but graphics are better. Use various types of charts – pie charts, bar charts and radar charts. Make a good use of tables. Show numbers as a percent share. All these actions will make the report more readable.

Be specific and don’t fall into razzle-dazzle pit. Your post-event summary report should present a perfect balance between solid data and actionable insights. It will also help you convince partners that your trade show or a conference was a perfect addition to their marketing strategy that brought tangible results.

Wrap up

A thank you email after a successful event is an important part of maintaining relations with the partners. The attached report full of actionable insights is a vital part of the post-event ‘service’. It highlights the benefits of the event participation and consolidates further cooperation.

How do you prepare the post-event report? Do you agree with our list? Share your thoughts!