Rule Two

Think 'Return on Investment' to define the value your event creates.

The concept of return on investment (ROI) or return on objectives (ROO) is growing in the training industry and no doubt will grow in the conference industry. How you measure the return is challenging. There are two perspectives you need to consider.

1. For the host organization - Someone is paying the bills. What is important to them? Generally it involves some form of change in the behavior, knowledge or attitude of participants.
2. For the participants - The individuals invest their time (and sometimes money) to attend. What do they need or want to learn or experience to feel that the conference delivered value?

The bottom line for both differs but is equally important. According to Meeting Planners International (MPI), the overall conference industry has been slow to focus on ROI for the millions of dollars that are invested in conferences. No one in the conference industry has defined a working model for measuring the return on the investment in a conference. This chapter offers many insights that are crucial for doing so.

Questions for conference designers

• What is the bottom line for your event? It must be more than the 'satisfaction' of participants.
• What must be achieved for the event to be successful?
• What can you do for your participants that is important to their success?