Return on Investment in Meetings and Events

Within the last few years, return on investment (ROI) has become one of the most challenging issues facing the meetings industry. The acronym “ROI” appears regularly in industry articles and is widely used by senior executives, meeting planners and suppliers alike, yet there is come confusion around the true meaning of the term. The meetings industry is in need of a standardized definition and approach to calculate the ROI on association conferences, corporate marketing events, user group meetings, management retreats, incentive travel programs, trade shows, sponsorship participation, etc. Through a standardized approach, all involved in meetings and events can strengthen their value proposition. The ROI Methodology™, to be covered in this book, was developed by Dr. Jack J. Phillips in the 1970s, refined through application and use in the 1980s and implemented globally during the 1990s. Currently over 2, 000 organizations are using this ROI Methodology™ within training and development, human resources, performance improvement, technology and now meeting/event initiatives. It is estimated that at least 5, 000 impact studies are conducted annually in these areas. This book will bring the methodology to meetings-industry and association executives.