Post-Show Debrief and Analysis
What to include in a post-show debrief
It’s important to have a de-brief with both internal teams (and if relevant, supplier teams) to agree on what worked well and any areas for improvement. It means next year (when you exhibit at HETT again! 😉), the information is captured, and your exhibition booth and participation will be completed in half the time and effort.
Rather than juggling lots of checklists, here is a simple guide to getting a post-show debrief right:
Step 01 – Plan the workshop
Consider the debrief a ‘workshop’ where your both an attendee and organiser. Spend a little time planning in advance to make sure you get out of it what you need.
- Decide who to invite: keeping the group smaller helps to keep conversations more focused, but make sure that all key groups are represented
- Foster a comfortable environment: make sure that your group are comfortable sharing productive and positive criticism, and meets in a setting free of distraction. You may want to provide an anonymous option to share feedback as not everyone will want to speak up in a group.
- Create a clear agenda: This is where it’s important to know what you want from the debrief. Stick to an agenda of addressing the important questions, analysing data you have and getting feedback from the group.
- Choose someone to facilitate: a neutral facilitator might push for tougher and more insightful answers!
Step 02 – Start with your objectives and summary
The buying cycle with the NHS can be long and complex. Therefore, measuring the success of exhibiting against revenue generated a few weeks after the event may not be the best KPI to use. Instead, look at the data that you do have access too i.e. the number of leads vs quality leads, good conversations, follow up actions, notes and responses.
Step 03 – Ask the critical questions
Break it down into a narrative:
- Did we meet the objective of the event?
- What went right?
- What went front?
- What can we do to make it better next time?
With an atmosphere of improvement, sending out a feedback survey to your team soon after the event makes sure everyone has a chance to share their thoughts and gives you a valuable 360-degree perspective.
Step 04 – Go through each key function
Next, wade into your event debrief by going through each key function of your event and asking your team critical questions.
Key functions include…
- Finding the event
- The planning process
- Designing the booth/set up
- Marketing and advertising
- Onsite execution
- Sponsorship (if relevant)
Step 05 – Send out an event debrief survey
An event debrief survey is a questionnaire that asks the same questions you would discuss at the meeting. It’s for people who couldn’t attend the meeting or weren’t invited. You might send it to non-leadership people who work on your events, and even some of the attendees you met onsite.