“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” – Alan Lakein.
How do I ensure my event is a success? It’s a question I’m asked time and again. As the Sales Director for Eventurous, I know that planning an event can be a stressful process. While I can’t identify all of the details you’ll need to think about, I can suggest some best practices that are essential for you to follow for any event. So, here are the 5 steps you can’t afford to miss.
Set an objective
It might sound obvious, but the very first step in planning an event is to set clear objectives and outcomes. Consider the reasons why you’re organising this event. Are you trying to expand your connections and gain new clients? Are you holding this event to help boost productivity within your own team? Setting clear objectives and outcomes will help keep you focused on the bigger picture when you’re planning and making your preparations.
Set an event budget
Budgeting is no one’s favourite part of event planning but it’s arguably the most important. Be realistic. Have you considered the following?
- Venue
- Food and Drink
- Accommodation
- Travel Expenses
- Audio-visual
- Entertainment
Blowing your budget on overly expensive entertainment might seem like a great idea at the time, but if you don’t have any budget left for other key essentials, you might find yourself in the tricky situation where you’re stuck without accommodation or staff. It’s always good to pay sufficient attention to planning and logistics. One piece of advice I always give is to not lump things like “food and alcohol” together; separate everything out as you might be sourcing products from different companies.
Choosing the right venue
Before you consider booking a venue, it’s always important to first confirm what size space is required for your event. Are you planning to have 50 or 500 delegates? Will there be sufficient room for any additional services such as entertainment and stalls? Is the space accessible for everyone? I recommend that you play it safe and pick a slightly larger venue than one which is too small.
Lastly, can you visualise the event taking place in this space? This is key.
Executing the event
Events are complex. With so many variables it can be difficult to balance the workload so it’s important that on the day of the event you delegate accordingly. Let’s face it, event management is a team effort. You need to make sure you keep a constant dialogue with your event staff, the supplies and the venue to ensure everything runs smoothly without issue.
Arrive at the venue as early as possible as this will give you time to manage any last-minute problems that may have arisen during the prep phase. It’s also worthwhile having a contingency plan in place.
If you want to execute the best event possible event without the added stress of project planning and management then I suggest you head over to our Event Management page here. We have the expertise to take your vision and bring it to life!
Evaluating your event
This is easier said than done. Evaluating how successful an event is more than just counting the smiles on the day, it’s about conducting research, collecting and analysing data, so you know how to improve in the future. You should start by revisiting your initial objectives and goals you set in the preliminary stage. Did you meet your main objective?
There are multiple methods you can adopt to help you measure the success of your event:
- Monitor social media activity
- Post-event surveys
- Number of attendees
- Face-face feedback
Organising an event can be a demanding task. By creating a solid plan with an appropriate budget and venue will help ensure your next event is a smashing success.
