The small time promoter has to work hard and on a shoestring to get an audience of a few hundred people to fill a venue. Flyers, word-of-mouth and media name checks are some of the tools promoters use to fill small venues or club nights. Building a loyal following from grassroots is no easy task. Considering the amount of effort that can be required to fill even the smallest of venues it is surprising that very few promoters capitalise on their efforts and use the actual event to maximise the opportunity to encourage further audience contact.

With a little thought and small outlay online surveys can be used to provide the promoter with valuable feedback and the opportunity to engage in further contact with the audience. Using an online survey website such as www.surveygalaxy.com a promoter can now quickly and easily create an online survey.

With an online survey a promoter can find out exactly:-

who attended;
what persuaded them;
what they thought of the event;
would they expect to attend again;
would they recommend future events to their friends.

A good way to ensure a good response is to have a supply of business sized cards that are marked clearly with a slogan like "Feedback", "Your opinion counts", "Tell us what you thought". Each card would have a web address pointing either directly to the survey or to a website where a link to the survey can be placed. The cards can be issued at the door with the tickets, or handed out among the audience and being the size of business cards they are small enough to be stuck in a pocket, purse or wallet. It may not even be necessary but a small incentive wouldn't harm the response rate perhaps the chance to win a free guest pass for a future event, a signed CD or T shirt.

Using the results from online surveys the promoter is able to:

Obtain a profile of the audience
Gauge the overall success of the event
Measure the effectiveness of different promotion
Receive feedback on the venue and facilities
Receive feedback on the act
Promote on a one on one basis
Build a targeted database for future events
Build a loyal audience
Link to merchandise and other promotions

Considering the effort that it takes to promote an event and the little extra effort required in using online surveys to encourage further contact and all the immediate and long term benefits that will bring could it be any easier?

The following example shows the feedback that could be used for a breaking band. It not only gathers valuable feedback, but continues to promote the band, their CD and gives the opportunity to encourage further contact.

Sample Survey

To view the summary results of the survey: Sample Survey Results