Taking measure of your events - what the heck does all that data tell you?
- Fri, March 05 2010
- Filed under: Events
photo by undoneclothing via flickr
We in the nonprofit marketing world spend a lot of time planning and holding events. We should spend an equal amount of time assessing the mountain of data they generate - and using that information to inform our future strategies. More measuring to learn and plan, please!
That’s the point made in a new eBook sent to me by Jono Smith of Event360 (and formerly of Network for Good - we miss you, Jono!). It’s called Analyze This: A Nonprofit’s Guide to Event Fundraising Analytics. You can download your free copy here.
This 18-page guide is designed to help event fundraisers move beyond only reporting the past and start using analytics to predict the future. A case study featuring the Komen Global Race for the Cure highlights how analytics helped formulate the steps the organization took to transform their highly attended event into a strong fundraising event.
For example, the guide explains that if you are struggling to build a reliable analytics program, start by looking at these key questions:
• What metrics are most important to your nonprofit?
• How does event fundraising impact those metrics?
• What are you currently measuring?
• How can you change those to take advantage of more information for more insight?
• What decisions will you make as a result of those metrics?
• What behavioral change is required?
I urge you to read it, because as I explained in my last post, knowing what worked and learning from what worked should be an approach we take much more often. Seriously.
Comments
Analytics and assessment of time are key in nonprofit marketing, but so is simply asking, and asking again. A conference at Stanford University “Small Steps, Big Leaps: The Science of Getting People to do the Right Thing” explained some of the theory behind how to ask for time and money most effectively.
Here’s a link to a review of the conference and discussion of “the ask”:
http://www.ssireview.org/opinion/entry/subtle_nudges_for_greater_good/
Thanks so much for the link to the free download. Not taking advantage of the vast data provided by events is a huge weakness of mine. I’m looking forward to digging into the ebook. Thanks!