Reader rant: Events data should be more efficient

The industry is missing opportunities when it comes to making events more successful and targeted.

Companies such as Cisco and HP are getting this right; they are leading the way in how events should be measured. But so many smaller companies, often with just one events organiser, don’t leverage data from simple reports, social media and what is going on at their events.

Planners often just have an Excel file, which they then put away until the next event, whereas – especially if they are running multiple events – there is far smarter software to discover who is travelling where and to whom you should market. It is important to have engagement all year round.

The event may be fabulous, but there is a lifecycle that needs to be acknowledged. By sending, for example, a text to viewers of a seminar immediately afterwards, an organiser can gain feedback within minutes. They can then give that feedback to the speaker, who might amend their repeated presentation with the advice.

Darko Dejanovic, president, The Active Network