A good post-event survey is short: five to eight questions, sent within a day of the event while it’s still fresh. Ask how likely people are to come back, what they valued most, what to improve and one open question. Send separate, even shorter surveys to sponsors and speakers. Then actually use the answers, and tell people what you changed.
Questions for attendees
Pick five to eight:
- How likely are you to attend next year? (0 to 10)
- Overall, how would you rate the event? (1 to 5)
- Which session or part of the day was most valuable to you?
- Was there anything you expected that wasn’t there?
- How was the venue, food and timing? (1 to 5 each)
- How did you hear about the event?
- What topics would you like next time?
- Anything else you’d like us to know? (open answer)
The first question, how likely they are to come back, is the single most useful number to track year over year.
Questions for sponsors
- Did the event meet your goals as a sponsor? (1 to 5)
- Which benefit was most valuable to you?
- What would make sponsorship more valuable next year?
- How likely are you to sponsor again? (0 to 10)
Send it with their photos and results report, not on its own. Our guide to sponsor retention covers that report.
Questions for speakers
- How was the experience of speaking with us?
- Did you have what you needed: AV, timing, information?
- Would you speak again?
Workshop and education session feedback
For a single session, keep it to three or four questions:
- How useful was this session? (1 to 5)
- What’s one thing you’ll use from it?
- How was the speaker? (1 to 5)
- What would you like to learn next?
When to send it
- Within 24 hours of the event, with the thank-you email or right after it.
- One reminder two or three days later.
- Close it after a week. Late answers are fuzzy anyway.
Get more responses
- Keep it short and say how long it takes (“2 minutes”).
- Make it mobile-friendly.
- Put the most important question first.
- Share what you changed because of last year’s answers. People answer surveys that lead somewhere.
What to do with the answers
- Read every open-ended answer, not just the scores.
- Track the “come back next year” number every year.
- Pick two or three changes and announce them when you promote next year’s event.
Frequently asked questions
What questions should you ask in a post-event survey?
How likely attendees are to return, how they rate the event overall, what was most valuable, what to improve, how they heard about it and one open question.
How many questions should a post-event survey have?
Five to eight for attendees, three or four for sponsors, speakers and single sessions.
When should you send a post-event survey?
Within 24 hours of the event, with one reminder a few days later.
How do you get more people to fill out an event survey?
Keep it short, make it work on a phone, say how long it takes and tell people what you changed based on past feedback.
Plan the whole event
For everything before the survey, see our event planning checklist.