Top Event Success Metrics for 2023

It would be an understatement to say that the events industry has been thrown for a loop over the past few years. Moving into 2023, the world is actively pivoting towards a sense of normalcy as it pertains to gathering in-person as we were accustomed to pre-pandemic.

However, new challenges that will impact how event professionals plan for 2023 have presented themselves. Global inflation is driving up the cost of goods and services, impacting budgeting, procurement, staffing, and more. This combined with a general economic slowdown means that event professionals need to work even harder to justify every dollar of spend associated with a production.

Bearing these considerations in mind, we’ve come up with a concise list of success metrics to help guide event planning into the new year.

Registrations

Tallying how many individuals registered for an event (or for sessions happening during an event), is an effective way to measure attendee interest in your programming. Folks who took the step of actually registering for an event demonstrate significant more intent to attend than those who just opened a marketing email or engaged with promotional content on social media. Healthy registration numbers also highlight your ability to plan for capacity properly.

Attendance

Even more compelling than registration figures is the true number of event or session attendees. Ideally your conversion rate from registrations to attendees is as high as possible. While buzz can definitely be generated before and after an event, the most poignant connection-making and knowledge-sharing takes place during it.

Lead Generation

Moving even further down the funnel, measuring what percentage of your attendees are viable leads for your business is directly correlated to the event’s overall success. Filling a space with prospective buyers showcases how events can act as an important part of the overall sales engine.

Revenue

Many event professionals are dialed in to the 3 metrics listed above, but equally important to emphasize is how much revenue an event generated for the organization. This can be derived from a number of sources including tickets purchased, sponsorships, food sales, or merchandise sales. Be sure to

ROI

Staying with the fiscal theme, return on investment is an important tool for quantifying success. It’s also widely understood without needing additional context.

While not entirely comprehensive, this list of success metrics can help you prioritize where to focus time, energy, and spend. Moreover, they should be highly relevant to most stakeholders who are invested in the success of your event.