Event Measurement & Analytics
Instructor-Facilitated

Now, more than ever, clients and stakeholders are bringing a laser-like focus to the R.O.I. of their events. With all the structural changes to the event industry wrought by the pandemic, decision-makers are scrutinizing how much money, time, and energy they invest in hosting, attending, exhibiting, and sponsoring events. And surveys alone won’t cut it. Instead, business leaders want valuable and actionable data that can drive decisions. But which data, where do you get it, and how do you interpret it?

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CE Hours

Earn 10 continuing education units

Modules

5 modules of content

Format

Instructor-Facilitated

What You'll Learn

This course will provide a step-by-step approach to mastering the art of event measurement, from event conception to post-event debrief. You’ll learn how to help stakeholders define event goals, identify ways to measure them and calculate an event’s Return On Investment (R.O.I.) for all stakeholders. In addition, we’ll explore how and where to collect the critical pieces of data you need, how to interpret that data, and, most importantly, how to craft and present a narrative about the event to your clients and stakeholders. You’ll leave this course well-versed in the lexicon of statistics and data analytics and feel empowered discussing your event’s performance and R.O.I. with senior leaders.

WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?

Prerequisites: No prior knowledge of math or statistics is required.

This course is for:

  • In-house meeting and event planners who want to be able to evaluate an event’s success and present key metrics to senior stakeholders
  • Exhibit managers looking for better ways to measure trade show ROI
  • Agency account managers who want to help their clients determine the ROI of their events and prove the value of their agency
  • Event planners & producers looking to integrate event goals, data capture, and KPIs into the event design process
  • Senior event professionals looking to be more comfortable engaging with executive management on event data and performance
  • Junior event professionals who want to demonstrate their value by collecting and analyzing event data for their managers.

Course Outline

Strategy: The Big Picture (The Why) & Statistics 101

  • Strategy: The Big Picture
    1. How data drives decision making
    2. Why acting on analytics is important
    3. Using data to craft a story about your event
    4. Review sample event case studies
  • Statistics 101: Terms & Tools of the Trade
    1. Getting an appropriate sample size
    2. Median, mean, mode
    3. Funnel conversion tracking
    4. A/B testing
    5. Common types of charts & graphs
      • When to use Column, Line, Pie, etc.
      • Trendlines? (Linear, Exponential, etc.)
      • Creating sample charts

Data Types & Sample Metrics

  • Data Types: What to Measure & Why 
    1. Transactional vs. Qualitative data
    2. Company-level vs. Individual-level metrics
    3. What’s valuable and what isn’t
    4. What data should/shouldn’t you share
    5. Identifying your event data asset – creating a data map
  • Sample Metrics for Each Event Category
    1. Registration metrics & Attendee Marketing
    2. Content/Session metrics
    3. Networking metrics
    4. Exhibition metrics
    5. Sponsorship metrics
    6. Feedback metrics

Data Ownership, Security, Collection & Design

  • Data Ownership, Security & Privacy
    1. Who Owns the Data?
    2. Data Security & Stewardship
    3. Data Privacy
  • Data Collection: Sources of Event Data
    1. Registration platforms
    2. Event apps
    3. Exhibit sales platforms
    4. Learning management systems
    5. Onsite tracking platforms
    6. Virtual event platforms
    7. Structured networking platforms
    8. Using data for in-event adjustments
    9. Avoiding data pitfalls  Do nothing
    10. The role of spreadsheets
  • Designing & Analyzing Effective Surveys
    1. Why so many surveys are relatively useless
    2. Structuring surveys to gain actionable data
    3. Tips for maximizing response rates
    4. NPS scores

Telling a Story With Your Data

  • Interpreting the Data: Event Measurement & R.O.I. Calculation
    1. Identifying Audience Personas
    2. Establishing Measurable Goals & KPIs by Stakeholder
      1. Event Budget Owners / Event Hosts
      2. Attendees
      3. Speakers
      4. Sponsors
      5. Exhibitors
    3. Weighting KPIs
    4. Calculating R.O.I.
  • Telling A Story With Your Data
    1. Reports that Drive Value for Different Stakeholders
      1. Event Budget Owners / Event Hosts
      2. Attendees
      3. Speakers
      4. Sponsors
      5. Exhibitors
      6. Exhibit Sales
    2. Creating A Post-Event Debriefing Document

Data Cleaning, Data Integrations & Getting Started

  • Data Cleaning & Enrichments
    1. Popular data enrichments that add value
      1. Geographic, demographics, firmographic examples
      2. Value-add 3rd party data enrichments
    2. How to keep your data clean
      1. Value of integrations
      2. Popular areas data goes “bad”
  • Data Integrations
    1. Integration with CRM, email marketing software, etc.
    2. Building your dashboard
    3. Data aggregation tools
  • Getting Started
    1. How to start when resources are limited
    2. What to focus on
      1. 80-20 rule
      2. How to prioritize
      3. 1st principles thinking
    3. Making data a habit

How This Course Works

Facilitated cohorts are led by industry experts and delivered online over five to twelve weeks. You’ll move through weekly pre-recorded modules at your own pace and come together for optional office hours and a peer community forum to ask questions, practice concepts, and stay on track.

Pre-recorded Weekly Modules

Move through the course with on-demand video lessons and resources released in weekly modules. Each week builds on the last—so you can learn at your own pace, review key concepts as needed, and come to live sessions ready with questions.

Live Office Hours

Join optional office hour sessions to connect live with your instructor and peers, ask questions, workshop challenges, and get practical guidance on applying what you’re learning.

Peer-based Community Forum

Connect with fellow learners between sessions to ask questions, share real-world examples, and learn from each other’s experiences. The forum is also a great place to stay motivated, get unstuck quickly, and build relationships with other professionals in your cohort.

Course Access Window

You’ll have access to the course for four weeks after the final module is released, so you have time to review the material, ask follow-up questions, and finish strong. Need more time? Extended access is available for an additional fee—just reach out to our team to request an extension.

Counts Toward Your CMP

PCMA Institute is recognized by the Events Industry Council (EIC) as a Preferred Provider of continuing education. Completing this course qualifies for CMP continuing education credit, so every hour you invest moves your certification forward.

Learn from an Industry Expert

Vinnu Deshetty

Founder and CEO

As Founder and CEO, Vinnu Deshetty brings over 20 years of experience working with conferences, meetings, and events. As a meeting planner, she understands the hurdles her industry peers encounter on a daily basis. As a techie, Vinnu knows that there are tools and tricks of the trade to help organizations overcome the unknowns of what will happen next.  Vinnu loves learning what peers in the industry have to share and share what she’s learned along this journey we call digital transformation. In an environment where technology is quickly changing, and the nature of meetings is evolving, Vinnu leads EVA’s team of meeting planners and developers that takes the guesswork out of meeting planning. “Armed with data that EVA collects, we no longer have to rely on our gut to make strategic decisions about our events. Listen to the data. It’s trying to tell you something.” Raised as a coal miner’s daughter in western Kentucky, Vinnu learned the value of hard work and community. Experiencing how a community rallies together in good times and bad, she knows that the meetings industry will champion again. Vinnu obtained a Bachelor of Science from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Public Administration. She now works and resides in the Washington, DC area with her fierce feminist daughters and her sidekick Toby the wonder dog.
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