The Event ROI Elevator Speech

Dr. Elling Hamso, European Event ROI Institute (www.eventroi.org)

Someone gets into the lift with you and asks: Could you explain to me the basic
principles of the ROI Methodology?

Luckily, it is a slow lift in a tall building, this is what you could say:

The ROI Methodology is a planning- and evaluation tool for all kinds of meetings and
events. It is based on the obvious fact that the only way to generate value form an event is
by influencing, educating, inspiring or connecting participants to actually do something
afterwards (not just think or feel) which creates value to the meeting stakeholders.

When planning an event, you must therefore always start by analyzing the business needs
of the stakeholders and define the desired business impact, which for a corporate event
will in most cases be either a cost saving or an increase in the gross profit from sales, the
only two ways of making the event profitable. If your organization is not for profit, the
meeting must contribute to the ultimate value for which your organization exists (your
vision and mission statements).

Secondly, you must define what specific actions different categories of participants need
to take after the event in order to create this value. They need to do something which they
would otherwise not have done, in order words, you need to re-enforce or change their
behaviour.

The third planning step involves defining what participants need to learn in order to
change behaviour. Learning can be information, skills, attitudes or relationships.

Next, you need to ensure that the facilities and atmosphere of the venue creates a good
environment for learning.

Finally, you need to ensure that the participants are the relevant target audience.

This is the planning process all professional meeting planners should apply for all types
and sizes of events.

When using the ROI Methodology as an evaluation tool, you measure the achievement of
these objectives:
 1. Were the right participants involved

2. Were the participant satisfied with the hospitality and content of the event? In
other words, did the event provide a good learning environment?

3. What did participants learn in terms of information, skills, attitudes and

relationships with other attendees?

4. How did participants apply what they learned, what behaviour did they display as
a consequence of having attended the event?

5. What value did participant behaviour create for the meeting owner, what we call
the business impact?

This sequence of objectives and evaluations from satisfaction to learning, application and
business impact is called ‘The Chain of Impact’.

If you convert the business impacts into monetary values and subtract the costs of the
event, you may calculate the event profit, which as a percentage of the cost is the ROI.

By applying this methodology to both the planning and evaluation of meetings and
events, you ensure that meeting stakeholders achieve the greatest possible return on their
investment.