Course progress and additional readings
Course lessons · 4 of 8
You will make: A short post-event survey and a second wave, both on the same member record.
How do you ask members a question so the answer lands on their record?
In short: send the survey to people you already brought in from your AMS. Each answer then arrives under that member’s Contact ID, so applications, assessments, surveys and event feedback sit on one record per member. A repeat wave becomes a comparison, not a new spreadsheet.
- Build one form, for example a post-event survey.
- Send it to the imported attendees.
- Run a second wave to the same people.
- Compare the two waves on each record.
What to ask: keep the survey short. Ask for an overall rating, a rating for the sessions you want to judge, one question about networking, one about what the person will do next, and one open comment. The post-event survey questions page lists ten you can start from.
How does the event follow-up flow work?
Your event platform knows who attended. Your AMS may not. Bring the attendee export in after the event, the same way you brought in the member list in lesson 2, and every attendee has a Contact ID before the survey goes out.
- AttendeesImport the event platform’s export.
- Survey outEach attendee has a Contact ID. Send from Sopact or from your own email tool.
- ResponsesAnswers land on the same record as they arrive.
- InsightRead what they said, then decide what to do.
The same Contact ID runs through every step.
What can go on one member record?
Four kinds of form can add to the same person. The Contact ID from lesson 3 is what keeps them together.
| Form | What it holds | Example (invented) |
|---|---|---|
| Application | What a person submits to apply | A speaker proposal |
| Assessment | A score or review of a person or submission | A reviewer’s rating |
| Survey | A person’s answers to your questions | A member satisfaction survey |
| Event feedback | What an attendee says after an event | A post-conference survey |
Why run a second wave?
In short: a second wave to the same people shows what changed, and because both waves sit on each record, you compare answers person by person.
Keep the second survey short and ask the same questions, so the two waves can be compared. Keep the question wording and the date with each wave. You do not merge two spreadsheets: the second wave adds to the record the first one started.
Some members will not answer the second time. Treat that as a missing observation, not a zero and not evidence that nothing changed. Lesson 3 covers the missing-wave check.
What does this look like with real numbers?
Illustrative example · invented names and numbers, not a real client
A regional trade association with 12 chapters exports 4,200 members from its AMS. The membership lead imports the attendee list from the conference platform’s export, and the 900 attendees each have a Contact ID. She sends a post-conference survey, then sends the same short survey again at 90 days. Both waves sit on each attendee’s record, so she can see which chapters’ satisfaction changed and read the open-text reasons.
Where does Sopact help?
Sopact Sense collects forms, surveys and repeat waves onto the same Contact ID, and analyzes responses as they arrive. People read the results and decide what to do.
Put it into practice
Plan your first survey and second wave
Bring one event and its attendee export. Write the three to five questions for the post-event survey. Choose the questions you will repeat at 90 days and keep the wording identical. Then check that every attendee on the export has a Contact ID before you send anything.
What questions come up most?
How do I follow up after an event?
Import the attendees from the event platform’s export, so each gets a Contact ID. Send the survey from Sopact or from your own email tool. Responses land on the same record and are analyzed as they arrive. Run a second wave later to the same people.
Can we send the survey from our own email tool?
Yes. You can send it from Sopact or from the association’s own email tool.
What is a second wave?
The same short survey sent again to the same people later, such as at 90 days. Both waves sit on each person’s record.
What file do we import for an event?
The attendee export from your event platform. Import it after the event, and each attendee gets a Contact ID.
What else can go on the record besides surveys?
Applications, assessments and event feedback all live on the same record per member.