Putting together a feedback form may be tedious but careful thought must be given to it. A well-crafted questionnaire will help an organiser to gauge the impact of an event.
Although questions seeking qualitative comments like “What do you think of the overall programme?” will give you downright personal views of the customer, a rating system will actually quantify the satisfaction levels in many aspects of the entire programme. It provides a simple, expedient “soundboard” for the customer and heaps of data for the organisers to analyse.
A case in point: Marquee Marketing, a Melbourne-based incentive house, carefully crafted a survey form given to participants on an incentive trip to the Philippines. A rating system was provided from one to five, with five being the highest. At the same time, a space was allotted for personal testimonials for each of the items rated.
For example, a rating was asked for the Philippines as a destination (resulting in a high 4.45 score), with a comment that “it was the best event of my life”. This feedback is reassuring, and gives us (especially the organiser in Australia) a lot of confidence in the Philippines as a very attractive incentive destination. Every component of the itinerary was rated from dining venues, accommodation, the attitude of the hosts and ground managers down to the execution of the event.
From the ratings, an analysis was drafted and sent out to the key people involved in the organisation of the event. These key people, having the assessment in hand, now become stakeholders of better events in the future.
As the destination management company onsite, we now have the experiential landscape of the programme – spotting the low points and high points. For example, although there were no major issues raised about the farewell dinner on the beach, we now know that another restaurant choice would have kept the vibes of the evening higher. A valuable lesson learned.
Getting feedback from customers is at times scary as we can choke on the complaints and the negative remarks. But if we digest them properly, these criticisms are golden nuggets of wisdom that help us to be fresh and always on our toes.
