Episode 37: How to get and use event feedback

Are you afraid to ask for feedback on your event because you're worried what people might say? If you aren't seeking feedback on your event, you're missing an opportunity to improve and grow it.

Why feedback is important.

You can't be everywhere all the time at your event. There's no way for you to know what every guest's experience was like. And I'm not suggesting that you cater to every individual guest, but getting feedback helps you find common areas that need attention or could use improvement.

Six ways to capture feedback.

1. Onsite surveys

2. Comment cards, a suggestion box, exit polls, or feedback walls.

3. A post-event survey emailed to guests.

4. Focus groups.

5. Social media polling.

Tips for creating a survey

Keep it short and simple.
10 questions max. I suggest 6 or fewer.
Focus on the most important information you want to know.
Most common survey questions focus on the key areas: registration or ticketing, the venue, parking, food, entertainment or program, auction, raffle or games.
You also want to gauge overall satisfaction with the event and ask a couple of open-ended questions about what the guest liked best, and areas for improvement.

Get people to fill out your survey.

1. Tell your audience it's a short survey. Only you know that it's short so you have to communicate that with the recipient. Let them know exactly how many questions you’re asking them to answer.

2. Communicate why the feedback is important. Filling out a survey is an easy, no cost way for a supporter to help your organization.

3. Incentivize your audience by offering a drawing for a gift card or something of monetary value if they complete the survey.

What to do with feedback once you have it.

Feedback doesn’t do you any good if you don’t do anything with it.
If you're not willing to make changes, don't bother asking for feedback. You're wasting everyone's time.
Analyze feedback to look for patterns.
Your audience and your goals should determine if feedback is actionable or not.

Six tips to not dwell on negative feedback.

If you're feeling especially down about negative feedback, please see a professional. Don’t let feedback from an event affect your mental health.

1. After you've read all the feedback, step away from it and focus on something else. Most importantly, do not act on it. Don't email or call anyone that worked on the event. Don't make changes right away. Don't quit because you're upset. Take some time to absorb and think about everything.

2. Focus on what went well. Start either reading positive feedback or write down everything positive about the event.

3. After you've stepped away for a bit, try to view it from the lens of an objective observer. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the attendee.

4. Talk to a trusted friend or journal about how you felt reading negative feedback. Sometimes just having a good friend to listen or writing down your feelings can help.

5. Come up with a plan of action. Determine if the feedback is actionable based on your audience and goals. If so, decide what you'll do differently next time. Having a plan is so much more empowering than just sitting back and feeling bad about yourself. Make lemonade out of lemons.

6. Try to be grateful for the feedback. I know that sounds crazy and it can be hard to feel grateful for negative feedback. But keep in mind that if someone doesn't give a lick about your organization, they're not going to take time to complete your survey. They'll simply not attend next time.

Listener Action Item

1. Download my survey template and edit it as necessary for your event.

2. Copy the link to that survey.

3. Add a line item to your planning timeline to schedule an email with your survey link to go out to all registered guests the day of or the day after your event.

4. Try to view negative feedback as an opportunity to make a positive change

Now that sounds like a plan.