Measuring Success

To be able to measure specific results it is a good idea to set yourself targets for each activity you undertake. You can then measure your success rate against these targets and look at improving your performance as you continue. Here are some useful examples:

Helpline
If you set up a helpline, try and set yourself a target for the number of calls you would like to see coming into the helpline. You can make an estimation based on talking to people who run other helplines, bearing in mind the epidemiology of genital herpes within your country.

Patient Leaflets
If you produce leaflets that are offered through surgeries, clinics or magazines see how many of them are requested. Have you used up all your stocks and need to re-order or do you have the majority of them still in storage? Set yourself a target on how many you would like to distribute within a certain time frame.

Website
If you have a website, you will want to attract visitors to the site. Look at how many visitors other herpes or healthcare sites attract and set yourself a target for traffic through your site. You can also include a feedback section within your site, asking visitors to provide comments.

Workshops or Seminars
If you are organising an event you can measure the success initially by the number of delegates you managed to attract to your event. Secondly, success can be measured by the feedback received from your speakers and delegates. It is always a good idea to provide delegates with evaluation forms for your event so you can gather and take on board any constructive criticism.

Publicity Campaigns
If you are running a PR campaign you can measure your success by the number of articles you have generated in the press.

Although its difficult to judge which journalists will pick up on your story, you can set yourself targets for how many pieces of coverage you would like to achieve.

These can be broken down into different types of press; national, women’s press, regional, radio etc. Look up the circulation figures of newspapers and magazines and audience figures for radio and TV where you have achieved coverage. You will be able to estimate how many people you have reached with your messages. You will be surprised at how many people you have reached in total.

You can also analyse the quality of your coverage by looking for your “key messages”. Each key message mentioned can be rated. The impact of PR campaigns can also be measured by the uptake of resources publicised such as a helpline and website. If your media coverage includes details of these resources you can see if calls and traffic increase directly following your media coverage.

Remember:
- look at your objectives

- set yourself targets before you undertake any major activity

- feedback and evaluation forms should be used where possible

- ensure you find out circulation/audience figures for media reached so you can estimate how many people read or heard your story.