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.
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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!