Successful events are those that respond directly to audience needs.
But organisers seldom take the simple approach to uncovering what audiences really want.
Researching this post confirms precisely that.
Popular media is saturated with guidance and rationale around leveraging data analytics.
But two alarming trends that are revealed.
First, the most prominent guidance is provided by event data technology providers.
Second, it’s all the same content, almost word for word.
I’m not devaluing the importance of data analytics.
I’m sceptical about how complex we’re led to believe event data analytics is.
And why event technology is often pitched as the only solution.
So, I’m bucking the trend.
This isn’t exclusively technology-led data analytics guidance.
There’s plenty of that online.
By the way, it’s all the same.
This is about two fundamental approaches to leveraging data analytics.
The first is about understanding the difference between event data and data analytics.
So, what is event data?
· Information collated
· Metrics
· A focus on gathering information
And how then is data analytics different?
· Process of analysing information to gain insights
· Process of identifying patterns and trends
· A focus on improving event effectiveness
Interestingly, both have a technology role.
The complexity of collating valuable information and metrics is served well by event technology.
And what used to be a human analytics role is, and will forevermore, be served by Ai learning.
And the second approach?
It’s as human as human connections come.
It’s about eliminating guesswork.
It’s about asking what audiences really want.
There isn’t a simpler approach.
Oftentimes the simplest approach is overlooked, and that’s a mistake.
Producing hugely successful events therefore can be calculated by the formula below.
Asking + Gathering Information
What audiences want = _________________________
Analysis
I confess, this isn’t actually a formula, but you get the sentiment.
The key result however is remembering simply to ask.
And once it’s understood this falls under the fundamental of ‘a focus on gathering information’ you can start to get creative with the ways you ask and tools used to collate valuable responses.
