26 Post-Event Survey Questions to Ask Attendees

You spent time creating the best experience for attendees and executed an amazing event. But there’s still an important step that you don’t want to miss: Sending a post-event survey. 

We’re going to explain everything you need to know about the final step on your event management checklist along with questions you can start asking attendees. 

Why should I send a survey after my event? 

Sending out a post-event survey shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s a powerful yet simple event management tool. Some benefits of post-event surveys include:

  • Stay top-of-mind to your audience 
  • Build stronger relationships and brand loyalty  
  • Shape and improve future events 
  • Evaluate the success of your event 
  • Gain more sales 

If you don’t send a post-event survey, you won’t be able to see potential opportunities for improvement. You could be missing out on increased event attendance and success. 

To get the most feedback, reach out to attendees in the days immediately following an event. At this point, your event and brand are fresh in their memory. You’ll get an honest opinion to accurately gauge how you’re doing.  

What tools should I use to create and send my post-event survey? 

The good news is that creating a post-event survey is easy. Plus, it’s generally free! You can get started with tools like SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, and Typeform

After you’ve created the survey, you’re ready to send it. Use an email marketing tool like Promoter to easily schedule emails so you don’t have to worry about it during an event. With Promoter, you can send your survey to the right people using segmented, custom lists, too. 

Pro tip: Use shortcuts in Promoter to schedule pre-written survey emails. Email automation means less busy work! 

What should I say in the email? 

Similar to your event confirmation email, your post-event survey email should be gracious, short, and sweet. First, thank attendees for coming to your event. Then, ask them to fill out your survey. You might say something like:

“We’re so glad you could join us at the most recent Spanish Conversation Group meeting! In order to help us improve the next event, we’d love it if you could spare two minutes answering a few questions about your experience.”

To increase participation, you can offer an incentive, like a product discount or chance to win a gift card. 

What should my post-event survey questions be?

Your questions will depend on your specific event, business, goals, and audience. Regardless, you should include a mix of questions for best results. There’s no set rules on how many you need. But if you make your post-event survey shorter, more people will complete it. 

Rating scale 

These types of questions rely on a scale, typically 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. Make sure you specify what each number on the rating scale means! You could also use a scale without numbers, also known as the Likert scale

  • Very satisfied 
  • Somewhat satisfied 
  • Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 
  • Somewhat dissatisfied 
  • Very dissatisfied 

After you figure out your rating scale, ask attendees about the event overall, plus specific aspects such as the venue, guest speakers, food, and more. 

  1. How would you rate the event overall?
  2. How would you rate the quality of entertainment at this event?
  3. How likely are you to attend one of our events in the future? 
  4. How satisfied were you with the event sessions? 
  5. How satisfied were you with the location of the event?

Yes or no 

These types of questions are more straightforward by only requiring a yes or no answer. You’ll want to keep these questions specific so you don’t confuse attendees. 

  1. Would you recommend this event to a friend or colleague?
  2. Was this your first time attending one of our events? 
  3. Did this event meet your expectations?
  4. Was the event (or event platform) easy to navigate? 
  5. Would you be interested in more events on this topic?

Multiple choice 

Similar to yes or no questions, multiple choice questions contain predetermined answers for attendees to choose from. These questions are still straightforward, but need more context other than a yes or no. 

  1. Where did you first hear about this event? 
  2. How many sessions did you attend?
  3. Which activity stood out to you the most? 
  4. Was the event too long, too short, or just right?
  5. Why did you attend this event?

You can also ask for demographic information to understand your audience better or attract event sponsors. You can use ranges in multiple choice format so people don’t feel awkward answering with exact numbers or information. Here are some examples:

  1. What is your annual household income?
  2. What is your age?
  3. What is your gender?
  4. What is your occupation?
  5. What industry are you in?

Open-ended 

These questions allow attendees to answer without limitations or predetermined values. Typically, these are best for questions that need a longer or more specific answer. They also offer you actionable, honest feedback, so be sure to incorporate them. 

  1. What could be improved? 
  2. What would you like to see at the next event? 
  3. What did you like the most about this event?
  4. What did you like the least about this event?
  5. What did you learn from this event?
  6. Please share any additional comments or feedback. 

Post-event survey next steps 

Once those responses start coming in, keep track of themes you’re seeing. It’s important to log and interpret this data, plus other analytics. You’ll be able to pinpoint what attendees loved and where there’s room for improvement. 

With these new, fresh insights, make changes as needed and start on your next awesome event! 

Looking for more ways to make your next event a success? Check out free and premium tools from The Events Calendar. There’s something for all of your event needs! Get started with a free demo today.