Backstage: What Event Organizers Really Think of Your Speaker Surveys

You finish your speech with a flourish. Cue applause. And then – BAM! 

Up pops your survey QR code. 

Do organizers cheer? Or do they secretly groan?

That’s what we’re hoping to find out with this latest edition of our feature:

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This week, we’re asking your clients if they mind when you finish up your speech and then pop that survey and QR code up onto the big screen.

Does it irk them? 

Are they offended? 

Or, do they think it’s fine?

To get our answers, we’re talking with three more event organizers: Darth Vader, Leia, and Han Solo.

(Yes!  Our event organizers are anonymous because they don't want to be bombarded by speakers with cold outreach.)

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Ready to lift back the curtain and chat with them about surveys?  Let’s go!

Wait… Which Surveys Are We Talking About?

First, let’s be clear about the topic at hand. 

It’s pretty common for event organizers to hand out speaker evaluations or event surveys to get a feel for how the audience views the content presented that year.  

Maybe you flash a QR code and ask people to input their answers in exchange for a free lead magnet. Maybe you’re using a service like Talk-a-Dot to collect feedback and gather testimonials.  

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Either way, this is a survey you are having the audience do in ADDITION to the ones the event organizer was already planning to distribute.

We use these surveys mainly for lead generation.  They help us gain feedback on our performance that comes directly to us – rather than waiting (and hoping) that an event organizer will share speaker evaluation results.

Plus, we’ll often ask for an email during the survey so they can be added to our email list for future marketing opportunities.

The questions on the surveys often look something like this:

• What did you think of my speech?
• Do you ever hire speakers for events?
• Would you be willing to refer me to someone?
• Can you think of an event that might benefit from my speech?
• Do you have an event coming up that I might be perfect for?

As you can imagine, event organizers have some strong feelings. Some hate it. Some tolerate it. And some say...

“Hey, no problem – if you do it right.” 

Without further ado, let’s travel to a galaxy far, far away and see what Darth, Leia, and Han really think…

When QR Codes Turn to the Dark Side

Our first event organizer, Darth Vader, is someone I’ve worked with for a very long time.  Like his namesake, he is a powerful figure in his industry and not afraid to speak his mind.  

(Trust me, you don’t want to be on the dark side of his survey policy.)

His response to the survey question?  

“It really bothers me when speakers distribute their own surveys!”

Darth (can we call him “Darth?”) gets annoyed by speaker surveys because he doesn’t always know how the contact information collected from the audience is going to be used.

He recounted several situations in the past where audience members were blasted with marketing emails from speakers – and then came to HIM to complain.

“It really upsets me when I’m not aware of it ahead of time.  I always want a chance to talk with the speaker about how it’s going to be used.”

 Leia Says: Don’t Keep Secrets From Me

Our second event organizer is a powerful woman who is ruling her own empire in the speaking world.  That is to say, she has organized literally thousands of events over the course of her career.  

Currently, she is the VP of marketing and business development at a software startup… and yes… still organizing events.

She may not be wielding a lightsaber, but she’s slashed down more rogue speaker surveys than you can imagine.

Princess Leia had this to say…

“If you’re going to offer a survey, that’s fine.  Just make sure you tell me about it first!”

She wants all of her audience members to be crystal clear on what they are opting into and how their information is going to be used.

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