Event measurement has long been tied to attendance numbers, registration conversions, and ROI calculations. While these metrics provide a useful baseline – and might just satisfy your budget holders for now – they fail to capture the full impact of an event. Hot take: measuring success is about whether an event derived more value than investment – and event planners have an opportunity to have a bit more fun and creativity on the value side of that equation. No “hacks” or cheating here – just real talk about sources of value that are more subtle than pipeline.
We know that revenue teams place great value on intent data; according to one source, the global B2B buyer intent data tools market size was valued at approximately USD 400 million in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 900 million by 2032.
So I ask you. Have we maybe been sleeping (a little) on events as hubs of real-time behavioral intelligence?
And not only that. Events offer insights that can (should) reshape segmentation strategies, refine content marketing efforts, and enhance follow-up engagement. Instead of understanding event success through the eyes of “Did our investment exceed our return?” we need to understand “What did we learn that will make marketing and sales efforts more effective?” and also place value on those learnings.
The event landscape is changing, and so are ways to measure—and redefine—event success.
Rethinking Event Metrics: Beyond the Basics
Events offer a goldmine of data: session choices, booth visits, live Q&A participation, and more. These actions are signals – and signals have value. Before we go into specific techniques, consider these macro questions:
⦿ How did attendees prioritize their time and attention across competing sessions, activities, or exhibitors? Start here to form hypotheses about what you can learn about your audiences and applications of that data. For example, perhaps one session stands out as a potential follow-up webinar with some customer guests.
⦿ What specific behaviors (such as booth revisits, live Q&A participation, or session engagement) indicated intent to purchase or deepen engagement? What did you learn about behaviors that are associated with intent? What did you learn about signals?
⦿ How did attendee content consumption patterns signal gaps or opportunities in our broader marketing efforts? What did you observe that might make your content program, segmentation, or sales enablement more aligned with needs and more focused on uncovering signals of intent?
With these considerations in mind, let’s explore six ways to measure event success beyond traditional metrics.
6 Sources of Value Buried in Traditional Metrics
1️⃣ Pre-Event Behavioral Signals
Of course, there are indicators of event value early before the event. Trends in email invite opens, registration numbers, and event site engagement are likely on your dashboard. But consider the value in signals you obtain at this phase:
⦿ Pre-event social engagement: Are attendees sharing the event, tagging colleagues, or commenting on speaker announcements? Engagement on LinkedIn groups, Slack channels, or niche industry forums can be predictive of deeper event involvement. Capture the value to brand here. Consider what it would cost to pay to advertise on these forums and that social engagement to your “return” calculation – that’s measurable value.
⦿ Session selection activity: What can you learn about session selection? While you want to avoid last-minute pivots here, signals at this stage enable you to pivot on some topics if needed. And bonus: keep an eye on attendees who frequently revisit the agenda and modify their session selections – they’re signaling deep interest.
2️⃣ Depth of Interaction
A packed room is great and makes for a good narrative and compelling photos. A closer look uncovers even more event value:
⦿ Active participation: Did attendees ask questions, participate in live polls, or engage in discussions? That’s engagement you would catch and assign value to if it was a digital content download. That value presents itself as better, more relevant communications with individuals based on more robust profiles.
⦿ Post-session engagement: Did attendees seek additional resources or follow speakers on social media? Did they share those great pics of a particularly compelling slide? Tracking these behaviors can reveal session impact beyond the event. Again – consider what it would cost to pay to advertise on these forums and that social engagement to your “return” calculation – that’s measurable value directly attributable to your event.
3️⃣ Behavioral Intent Signals
Events generate live intent signals that are easy to overlook. Examples include:
⦿ Live Q&A interactions: The nature of the questions asked can indicate a person’s buying stage. Early-stage prospects ask broad questions; late-stage buyers ask about implementation details.
⦿ Booth revisits, session selections, and movement patterns. This data is considered tremendously important when it’s digital – it’s even more powerful when it’s in-person. Capture this value with the dollar amount your organization places on intent data.
4️⃣ Emotional Impact
Emotions are a key indicator of event success, but they are often overlooked. While facial recognition tools are emerging, there are immediate ways to measure emotional impact:
⦿ Survey redesign: Instead of generic session ratings, ask, “Which session inspired you?” or “Which speaker will you follow after this event?” These types of questions will uncover more emotional responses and potentially yield powerful testimonials that have value to you.
⦿ Sentiment analysis: Analyze open-ended survey responses, social media mentions, and chat transcripts for sentiment shifts.
5️⃣ Cost of Curiosity
Instead of just measuring cost per attendee, calculate the cost of curiosity—the value of sparking meaningful conversations and decisions:
⦿ Compare session costs to engagement yield: A $25,000 keynote that influences five enterprise deals is more valuable than a low-cost session with 500 passive listeners – but so is a $25,000 keynote that gets your target buyers in a room vs. a less expensive one that doesn’t. That value is difficult but not impossible to calculate.
⦿ Follow-up effectiveness: If a session leads to high-value sales conversations, you’ll want to make sure you develop a method to calculate that value.
6️⃣ Footprints
Post-event, attendees leave behind digital footprints that signal continued engagement and event value. An event “RoI” number is constantly evolving if you’re observing the following:
⦿ Session replay engagement: Post-event video views indicate ongoing interest.
⦿ Resource downloads post-event: High-value content consumption suggests deeper engagement and potential for account-based marketing follow-up.
The Evolution of Event Success
Event success isn’t just about traditional metrics anymore. It’s about understanding how attendees engage, what captures their attention, and what drives them to take action. If marketers and event planners can tap into behavioral intent and intelligence, they can redefine how they capture value and therefore measure success. Ready to Elevate Your Event Strategy?
Find out how Streampoint can help you capture and leverage behavioral intelligence to maximize event success. Schedule a demo today.
