Planning a Great Event for Your Biz
Wednesday April 4, 2018
Whether you’re hosting a happy hour at the local pub, or planning a full day of speakers and presentations, events are a great way to attract new clients and thank current ones. But hosting an event can be stressful, even for those who do it all the time. When it comes to event planning, there are a million details to consider, and you want to get every little thing just right. With these tips, you can be sure your next event will go off without a hitch:
- Determine your target audience. Before you consider anything else, you need to think about what you want to accomplish. Do you want to attract new clients? Get your name out there? Network with other business owners? There is no one-size-fits-all event, so you need to plan accordingly.
- How big do you want this to be? Business events can be short and simple, or extravagant, all-day feats. Do you want to get a few people together for drinks? Do you want a sit-down meal with entertainment? Or do you want to rent a space and invite vendors and speakers to take part?
- Set a guest list. Once you’ve determined your target audience, and the size of your event, you can start to build a guest list. Go through your contacts and find anyone that fits the bill, then narrow it down from there.
- Think about timing. When planning an event, you should always have a few dates in mind and be flexible. Holidays, industry events, and participants’ schedules can all factor into the date you ultimately choose.
- Figure out who is going to plan your event. This is where you need to know your own limitations and not take on more than you can chew. Hire others to take care of the things you aren’t familiar with or comfortable handling on your own, especially if you’re planning a large or costly event.
- Set a budget. Are you going to sell tickets to the event, or otherwise charge participants? Will you have sponsors? Is it going to be totally out-of-pocket? All of these things will factor into your budget and will help determine everything from the location you choose down to decorations and handouts.
- Promote your event. The worst thing in the world is to plan an event and have no one show up. Once you know the details, promote it in every way possible. Send out newsletters, buy Facebook ads, put it in the local newspaper – give people a reason to want to show up!
- Be ready for mishaps. On the day of, be prepared for anything. Even the best laid plans can go wrong, but you want your event to be seamless for your guests. Have back-up plans in place and have people on hand who can cover if you need last-minute help.
- Follow-up. Once your event is complete, follow-up with your guests. Ask them for feedback and make sure they had a great time. If you had a call to action, bring it up again while it’s still fresh in their minds.
If you have an event in the works and could benefit from big business-style organization or marketing, contact Assist For The Win and see what we can do for you!