How temporary wifi for events’ quality affects the event success?

Temporary wifi for events to the organizer is like salt to a chef. It will not ensure the success of the event, but its absence will be very noticeable and annoying for every guest. Of course, a lot depends on what type of event you are planning. Nevertheless, in most cases, this factor may translate into the reception of the entire event. Read the article and learn how to measure its impact.

Many organizers take good quality of wifi services for granted. In a pre-event mess, the matter of temporary wifi for events doesn’t get enough attention. The result is:

• wifi with uneven signal strength
• dead zones with no access to the internet
• failures that occur just because the wifi does not work as it should.

Surprisingly, this problem affects organizers and all guests.

A matter of modern habits: Why temporary wifi for events’ quality is so important?

According to research conducted by EventMB in January 2018, ‘most eventprofs (79%) feel that wifi availability and performance is still a big issue for the event industry. 44% also said that poor wifi was one of their main frustrations when dealing with venues.’

The modern consumer got used to 24/7 internet access via mobile devices. This is one of these things we don’t notice unless they disappear. While attending the event, we also expect the possibility of using the internet. And we want it to be flawless.

Many devices used by exhibitors and speakers also work thanks to the access to the network. Low signal quality that results in hardware problems, sabotage the fluency of the lectures and prevents the use of planned attractions. It can cause disappointment, disorientation and spoil the reception of the event to all those who participated in it.

You can easily assume, that temporary wifi for events’ quality has an impact on all participants of the event:

• the organizer and the comfort of his work, as well as the evaluation of his efforts by other participants
• exhibitors who have brought certain attractions and interactive materials
• speakers who have prepared materials for lectures and want to use, for example, votings, to involve listeners during their lectures or YouTube videos (endlessly buffering videos, if the wifi quality is low)
• partners and sponsors who care about the best reception of the event (because they label it with their logo), but also leverage the benefits of wifi during speeches and on their stands
• attendees who want to experience the event to the fullest.

And how does it look in real life?

A case study of HackYeah: Does short term wifi breakdown equal hackathon failure?

Some time ago, one of the largest stationary hackathons – HackYeah – was held in Poland. Despite the high quality of short term wifi, the human factor and unpredicted behavior of attendees gave the organizers an unpleasant surprise. The huge traffic caused internet crash. On the hackathon … What good is your meticulous planning if the wifi can’t serve so many attendees?

Read the entire interview with Marta Kowalska – Project Manager HackYeah

The solution was to provide all those in need with internet access via a cable. Quick response saved the biggest European stationary hackathon. Nonetheless, I suspect that this situation will stay in the memory of the participants for a long time.

What if you organize an event that is not a hackathon? Can the temporary internet service without a contract (or with contract – it works for both) influence the success of your event? Can it be measured?

Is it possible to measure how the quality of temporary internet access for events affects the event success?

It will be difficult to measure these parameters directly. However, with a few tricks, you can prepare a solid report summarizing the impact of event wifi on the behavior of its participants. Based on this data, you will learn how wifi quality influenced the reception and success of the event.

Tip #1 Measure the traffic to see how wifi affected attendees’ behavior

First, check how people moved around the venue. Check it out:

• near which attractions they spent the most time
• In which areas they usually gathered
• what were the general traffic trends

Then compare it with data on signal strength in individual places. You’ll see exactly if people were navigating to areas where the wifi signal quality was better. Also, check if they stayed there longer. When it comes to attractions, check whether those that required internet access gathered more guests than those that were offline.

Tip #2 Ask participants for their opinions

I have often written about the importance of gathering feedback after the event and sending real-time requests for evaluation of single program elements. The surveys you send to participants can contain both closed and open questions. Do not hesitate to ask for technical details. Ask directly if they were satisfied with the quality of wifi. Event guests are the best source of this kind of information!

Check whether in the open questions like ‘what could be improved’ attendees left the suggestion that the quality of wifi leaves much to be desired. As I mentioned in the introduction, wifi is like salt – we notice it the most when it is not there. If the quality of wifi was low enough for people to notice it, believe me, they will tell you. Remember that it is such details that build the final evaluation of the event!

Tip #3 Compare the number of generated leads in different areas

To make your dataset even more reliable, check in which parts of the object partners, exhibitors and representatives of your company generated more leads. Of course, you have to bear in mind the attractiveness of the stands and the skills of the representatives. Check, however, if the quality of the wifi signal correlated with the lead generation ‘map’. Perhaps it was the reason why salespeople were more efficient?

Why you should measure the impact of wifi quality on event success?

This question can be answered in several ways. First of all, if the type of event or the profile of its attendees calls for access to good wifi, it is worth knowing how much your investment translates into the final success. You will also know for the future how much effort you have to put to find good, short term wifi for a hackathon or conference.

Secondly, it may turn out, that wifi is a game-changing factor in generating leads or highlighting partners’ displays. You can enhance the fact that you took care of its greatest quality. Use it as an argument for establishing terms of future cooperation.

Thirdly, checking the impact of the wifi’s quality on the success of the event will help you justify the expenses in this area. When your CMO asks why you need so much money for an event, you can draw neat tables and explain clearly what translates into overall success.

Wrap up

The quality of the event wifi can have a smaller or larger impact on the success of the entire event. In the era of universal mobile access to the network, it is paramount to provide guests with this simple yet basic treat. While great wifi can be treated as something completely natural, a weak signal can be a significant flaw in a perfect picture that will stay in the heads of all invited guests for a long time.

However, you’ll never know how the wifi’s quality affected your event unless you will measure it. Request a demo if you want us to show you how to do it properly!

And what are your insights? Share your thoughts!