No matter what kind of event you are having, it will require a lot of planning and organisation. Your event needs to have a budget, but it also needs to have the right entertainment, menu, and venue. You have to deal with many different components. Thus, it’s best to start your planning and organisation early on, so you don’t have to deal with too much stress! But while each event will be different from the next, you can follow some general guidelines. Here, then, is your step-by-step guide to planning the best possible event. Hope the pointers or tips will help you come across a full-proof plan to host a memorable event.
- Establish your objectives and goals
Identifying your event’s reason and purpose will help you decide on the other components. Thus, it is imperative for you to first establish your objectives and goals. Why are you having the event in the first place? From this, you can move on to more specific and detailed objectives. Be it about the increase in sales, enhance exposure, getting orders for your latest product, and so on. Once you have your objectives and goals, you can create your event scope. It includes date and time, number of attendees, location, and kind of event (a conference, seminar, exhibit, corporate party, and like).
2. Determine your budget
Creating your event’s budget is also essential at the early phase. It will help you map out other aspects more easily. Your budget should include not just obvious aspects. It could be a venue, entertainment, food and drinks, marketing, speakers, talent, and printed material. As you plan your event, your budget may change, but the key is to stick as close to your projected budget as possible.
3. Organise the team
In order to make an event successful, you need to have a collaborative effort of a team. The success of the event also depends on the ability of the team to look after the details. Make sure to segregate and allocate responsibilities to each one of the team members. This will ensure a smooth flow of work, and there will be no confusion in execution. This also makes the team accountable and ensures that the plan does not falls. It also enables the coordinator to delegate the whole event with sheer confidence.
4. Choose your venue
The venue you choose may also dictate your date, especially if you want to save your budget. Many popular venues are booked well in advance, so start looking for your venue early on, as suggested by party planning Oxfordshire experts like Oasis Events. The date can also affect your venue’s price – the months of January and February are busy times for conferences, same with September and October. June is a busy time for weddings, as is spring. If you can adjust the date of your event to save on venue costs, it might be a good idea to do so.
When you consider your venue, think about your budget, the suitability of the venue for your event, the location, facilities, and staff on-site. When you have your shortlist of venues, it won’t hurt to do a price negotiation, and you may even try to negotiate other aspects like free AV, WiFi, parking, and more.
5. Set your programme
Take note of your programme from the beginning, whether you want speakers, an evening party, workshops, talks, and the like. While your programme can still change as you go along, it’s best to have a preliminary programme so you can centre your event planning around it as well. And aside from your core programme, you also have to think about other programme aspects, such as the food and beverages, happy hour, games and other activities, networking, and entertainment.
6. Make use of the modern technology to streamline the event
The moment you streamline the event with the help of modern technology, you will have better results. With immense competition, events are getting very complex. Nowadays, people expect to do more with less from the event planners or oraganisers. Technology comes as a great saviour here. There are end numbers of new solutions spring up in the industry. All these enable event planners and the teams to create tech stacks. Eventually, it helps in better planning, execution and uplifts the overall satisfaction level of the client.
The impact of technology goes further than we can even imagine. According to the latest statistics, the use of technology in event planning increases productivity by 27%. At the same time, it also increases attendance by more than 20% and eliminates costs by around 25-30%. But again, all these statistics are possible when you invest in the right technologies to make smart investments.
7. Focus on the health and safety measures
It is important to cover all eventualities through risk assessment and by drawing a health and safety plan to protect the team from any problem. It could be restrictions for maintaining social distancing or the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) needs. Take all these factors into considerations before making any decision. In case of a virtual event, share the rules and code of conduct with all the attendees before the event.
8. Speak to all the speakers and suppliers
The next step to plan for an incredible event is to research the suppliers. It could be decorators to DJs to face painters to food vendors, and many others. Remember that the event’s overall success depends on the ability to find the best people you will work with. Then start securing the speakers and check out their availability. Make sure they are the right fit for the event by letting them know about the audience.
9. Promote your event
When all is said and done, don’t forget to promote your event, whether it’s via social media, your mobile app, or emails and newsletters. You may also want to live stream or record your event for other clients and participants.
We have to keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to events. Thus, it is important to explore all the options available. You can go for early-bird offers or teaser campaigns in order to create a buzz for the event. Collaborating with the sponsors and do giveaways on social media handles. Creating a unique hashtag would be the ideal thing to do as it is very trendy. It also boosts engagement with the target audience.
After all this hard work, in case of any mishap, the entire event will suffer. This is why it is always important to have plan B or emergency plans. Make sure to have a backup plan to offer in case anything falls down. This will ensure that the event happens smoothly without any disruption. Feel free to get back to the comment section in case there’s something you want to share with us.
It is always good, and there’s no harm in asking for help. This will make you more confident and will let you know how to deal with certain challenges. Once the event is over, do not forget to measure the success of the event. Focus on the key metrics such as lead generation, profit, attendee, and overall survey responses. You can get more information to visit our website.
Good luck!