Today I’m sharing a guest post from Kevin Maddox. Kevin works in the events industry and put together this guide for event professionals all about event planning. Learn a little bit more about Kevin below in his bio, and enjoy this special post on the Regpack blog!
Author Bio: An avid reader, Kevin loves to explore technology for events. He is currently working with event2mobile as a developer and hopes for a bright future for this industry.
From branding your business to connecting with potential clients or finding the next resource, corporate events help immensely. The nature of business meets, which are mostly work-oriented make them a tad-bit less engaging and here lies the importance of planning them properly. The trick here is to strike a balance between knowledge and fun…making them beneficial from the company’s revenue point yet engaging for the attendees.
In this blog, I will be structuring the process of effective event planning in 7 steps and I am sure at the end of the blog, you will have all that is needed to make your next corporate meet a hit. However, it is important that you use these as guidelines and make necessary tweaks based on the nature of your event, whenever needed.
Fix your budget and work around it
There is not one successful event planner who would say otherwise. The key determinant in any corporate set-up, it is very important to break down the financials way beforehand. It may be a humongous amount or a budget-friendly meet, it really doesn’t matter as long as you know how much can you shell out and plan accordingly.
There are several broad areas which need careful assessment like- venue, decor, catering, prints etc. Recent years have seen the rise of event-related technology in the form of event apps and they are indispensable for the perfect meet!
It is wise to spend on a dedicated app for your next event as it will help you manage the whole event better and reduce expenditure by removing paperwork to a good extent. We also recommend hiring a dedicated team of mobile app developers.
Know the target group and audience
It is very important that you understand who is going to be the target audience. Even the best selection of venue may go wrong if it doesn’t agree with your attendees. Corporate meets can be broadly classified as training meets, networking meets or simply a promotional event. Understanding the needs and preferences of the audience and nature of your event will help you in every step of the planning right from seminar stationary to associated technology.
Here are some great event templates to get you started.
Schedule everything
Time is money and for a good event planner, it is even more important than money itself. Having a proper schedule ready in the initial stages of planning will help to execute the plan better. You must keep a track of the following on the day of the event.
- When will the attendees arrive
- When does the session start
- In-session breaks and refreshments
- When does the event end
- After you have chalked out these major blocks, you can sit with presenters to finalize the minute details like session durations, the order of presentations etc. At this stage, event apps can make the task smooth through their in-built schedulers and planners.
Download our FREE Event Checklist here!
Organize different teams
Diving the entire list of tasks between carefully sorted teams is a great way to carry out the task effectively. Of course, you need a supervisor to manage the operations overall, but good teams which are self-motivated towards the event help reduce the chances of goof-ups substantially.
Some of the committees are venue management, speakers; entertainment; branding and promotion, sponsorship and volunteers.
Venue selection
Keeping in mind audience choices and the nature of the event, you should select the venue and finalize it way in advance. This will help avoid last-minute rushes. The trend today is to think out of the box and utilize innovative spaces like museums, art galleries or even vineyards as the event venue. This or the alternative choice of an auditorium, whatever suits your budget, audience and conference agenda should be carefully assessed.
Check with the suppliers
After the initial rounds of planning and approvals are done, move straight to the supplier chains. Do not wait until the last moment to place the food order. Just as the overall branding of the event depends on adverts, it also depends on small things like quality of food, audio/visuals, printing jobs, conference kit etc.
Studying the market before you choose a supplier always helps and devote a dedicated team if needed.
Study and commit to learning something every day
Last but not the least, it is very important to stay updated with the latest trends. There are many online courses which are very helpful.
Summary
In today’s world, networking is one of the most important aspects of a successful work-life. Social media platforms are great when individuals are looking out to network but doing so in an enterprise set-up can be a little tricky through one-to-one social media handles. Corporate events thus, become a fantastic platform to allow such connections. Carefully planning the event with budget assessment, venue selection, team building etc. Are some of the steps to plan an event effectively.