You set goals, assembled your A-team, budgeted and planned, and made an exciting event happen. Well done! Before you do it all over again for your next client, you need to debrief your current one
Why do I need a post-event report?
Firstly, your client came to you with a goal in mind – they need to know whether or not the event served its purpose by achieving this goal. Secondly, event reports can highlight your strengths and weaknesses, and will therefore show you where you need to improve.
Here’s what you should include in the report:
Title Page
The cover page needs to include the event name, date, and location, as well as the name of the person compiling the report (that’s you).
Table of Content
This should be a no-brainer! Whoever reads this report will greatly appreciate an overview of what they’re about to read. Include a table of content with each section hyperlinked for easy navigation.
Executive Summary
This is a summary of the entire report on less than one page. It includes the mission statement, key performance indicators, budget overview, team details, and any recommendations for the next steps.
While the executive summary is included in the first section of your report, it’s easier to create it last, once you already have all of the data.
Audience Metrics
This is where you’ll compare the number of registrations versus the number of attendees. Who attended your event? Where they the intended audience? Include demographics, viewership data, and attendee behaviour such as online engagement, physical sales, and others.
Specific KPIs
This section will contain the most important data regarding the purpose of the event. If the goal was sales, then you’ll include sales numbers here. If it was sign-ups, you’ll include those, and so on.
Program Review
The program review is where you’ll break down the event agenda and include details on the speakers, staff, sponsors, and any other notable instances. These instances can include the most engaging speaker, whether there were any delays or technical difficulties, and others.
You can also include attendee feedback in this section, to better understand how guests felt about their experience at the event.
Event Marketing
Include all marketing strategies and the success or failure thereof. List the channels used, such as social media or email marketing. How many attendees came from these channels alone?
If a third party organised the marketing of the event, get in touch and ask them for their assistance on this section of the post-event report.
The Budget
This section is where you’ll go more in-depth on the event budget. You most likely already have a budget document somewhere – include a link to this document, or copy it over here.
Your client will want to know exactly where their money was spent, their expenses versus the revenue, and their ROI (return on investment).
Future Recommendations
Lastly, use this space to conclude your report and expand on the future recommendations you mentioned in the executive summary.
This may seem like a tall order, but correctly reporting on your event is vital to both you and your client. A professional report reflects well on you, and is the last step in concluding the project.
If you’d like more tips curated just for professional event planners, consider subscribing to our newsletter – we promise not to spam you!