How Mobile App Surveys Boost Engagement Before, During and After Events

Most associations think of event surveys as something they do at the end of conferences. But with this approach, you miss out on the untapped potential of surveys as engagement tools throughout the entire conference lifecycle: learning attendee interests beforehand, collecting session feedback while it’s fresh, understanding exhibitor needs, and creating revenue through sponsored surveys.

When delivered through your mobile app, surveys become touchpoints that make attendees feel heard, help you correct course in real time, and show you're serious about making each event better than the last.

How to Use Mobile App Surveys to Boost Conference Engagement

A three-phase event survey strategy gathers attendee feedback at optimal moments before, during, and after the conference. This approach typically achieves 2-3x higher response rates than traditional post-event email surveys, plus it helps you improve the attendee experience in real time.

Why Mobile App Surveys Get Higher Response Rates Than Email

Mobile app surveys get double or triple the response rate of email surveys—and even higher when delivered via push notification right after an experience.

The biggest reason? Convenience. Since everyone's got their phones out, they can take the survey quickly, rather than having to remember to do it later from an email.

Push notifications drive immediate action. Notifications delivered at opportune moments—right after a session ends, during exhibit hall hours—catch attendees when the experience is fresh.

Your app's news feed and in-app notifications deliver surveys that don't get buried in overflowing inboxes. Mobile-optimized surveys look polished and load quickly, without the formatting hiccups you get with email surveys on mobile devices.

Pre-Event Survey Strategy: When and What to Ask

• Pre-Event Survey Questions to Ask

Before finalizing session or discussion topics, find out what issues and challenges attendees care about most. One trade association surveyed attendees about emerging industry trends and then featured those topics prominently in the app, making attendees feel their input shaped the agenda.

Ask about their conference expectations. Set a baseline so you can measure your success in delivering on those expectations.

Survey attendees about their goals for attending, interests, and networking preferences. Use this data to personalize their app experience with recommended sessions and connections.

Finally, ask about arrival times at the venue to better allocate staff and resources during busy and slow registration times.

• Pre-Event Survey Timing

Send your pre-event survey 3-4 weeks before the conference, when excitement is building but travel plans are finalized. Keep pre-event surveys brief: 5-7 questions maximum. Use push notifications to drive completion but avoid overwhelming them with reminders.

Capture Real-Time Feedback with Surveys During the Conference

• Conference Survey Types: Sessions, Experience, Exhibitors and Sponsored Surveys

Deploy session evaluation surveys immediately after sessions end. Use QR codes on session signage and closing slides. Send reminders via push notifications timed to session end times. Gather feedback on speaker effectiveness, content relevance, and key takeaways.

Event experience surveys let you make real-time adjustments. If surveys reveal room issues—audio problems, insufficient seating, messy rooms, missing refreshments—you can fix them immediately. Mid-conference pulse checks also help identify signage problems, food quality or quantity issues, and networking opportunity gaps. Send out these surveys during natural break periods like lunch or shuttle bus rides.

Survey exhibitors about booth traffic, lead quality, technical needs, and satisfaction. Identify who needs additional support during the event.

Sponsored surveys create revenue opportunities while providing attendee value. Allow sponsors to survey attendees about hot industry topics but ensure the survey results provide real value for attendees. Clearly label surveys as sponsored content and share aggregated results with attendees as soon as possible. For example, a technology vendor sponsored a survey about members' software usage and pain points, with results compiled into a report for all attendees.

• Survey Design and Delivery Guidelines

Limit surveys sent during the conference to 3-5 questions. Use Likert rating scales and multiple choice whenever possible. Send push notifications when attendees are likely to look at them, not during keynotes or prime networking times. Confirm immediately that you received someone’s survey response.

How to Maximize Post-Event Survey Response Rates

• What to Include in Post-Event Surveys

You'll still send post-event surveys, but now they're part of an ongoing dialogue rather than your only chance to gather feedback. There's a benefit beyond data collection: keeping attendees engaged with your app promotes year-round app usage.

Attendees can reference their personal agenda, saved sessions, and notes on the app while completing the survey, providing more specific and accurate feedback.

Cover these key areas in post-event surveys:

  🔹 Overall event satisfaction and Net Promoter Score (likelihood to recommend)
  🔹 Educational content quality and relevance
  🔹 Networking opportunities and connections made
  🔹 Value received compared to investment (registration and travel costs, time away from work)
  🔹 Intent to attend next year
  🔹 Specific suggestions for improvement

• Post-Event Survey Timing Strategy

Deploy surveys within 24-48 hours while the event is still top-of-mind and before attendees are buried in catch-up work. Use push notifications to drive completion since attendees still have the app installed. Keep the survey open for 5-7 days but send a reminder to non-responders after 3 days. 

5 Survey Design Best Practices That Boost Completion Rates

 1.  Respect attendees' time by only asking for information you’ll actually use. Tell them how long the survey takes. Start with your most important questions in case they drop off.

 2.  Don't ask anything you already know. “What's your job title?” irritates people who know their demographic data is in your AMS, CRM, or event platform.

 3.  Balance rating and multiple-choice questions with open-ended opportunities for detailed feedback. Avoid survey fatigue by limiting how many surveys you send and keeping each one focused.

 4.  Use skip logic to show only relevant questions based on previous answers. Someone who didn't attend the exhibit hall doesn't need questions about exhibitors.

 5.  Explain how survey feedback shapes future events. Share a summary of survey results along with your plan for using the information—this transparency encourages future survey participation. Consider incentives for completion like entry into a prize drawing, early access to session recordings, or a discount on next year's registration.

Transform Event Surveys into Engagement Tools

When you treat surveys as engagement tools rather than just measurement tools, you strengthen relationships and improve event outcomes. Attendees see their feedback shaping decisions. They receive timely responses to issues they've raised and get to contribute insights through sponsored surveys. Attendees feel like valued community members, not passive event consumers.

Ready to implement a three-phase survey strategy at your next conference? Download our Ultimate Mobile Engagement Guide to learn more about increasing attendee and member engagement through your mobile app.