Tips For Planning The Perfect Business Event

Are you planning a business event? No matter if it is a presentation, workshop, guided tour or any other kind of event, it is vital that you carefully plan the occasion so that it can be a complete success. These events are important for raising brand awareness and reputation, so you need to make sure that you are painting your organization in a positive light. This is easier said than done, but there are a few tips which should and reduce the stress of planning one of these occasions. Read on to find out more about how to plan a successful business event.

Determine The Goals

First, you need to establish what the goals are for the business event so that you can make important decisions to help you achieve these goals. A few examples include:

• Launching a new product
• Raising awareness about your brand
• Improving the company reputation
• Attracting new customers
• Attracting investors

Work Out The Size

Once you know what you want to achieve you can begin to plan the scale of the event which will also help you to find a suitable venue. A few keys aspects to consider will be:

• How many people will be attending?
• How long will the event last for?
• Will you provide refreshments?
• Will there be entertainment?

Assemble Your Team

You can then start to assemble your team to help put on the perfect business event. This could involve identifying people who can help make bookings, plan the structure of the event, set up, etc. You should also establish who will be welcoming guests, giving speeches, etc. as early as possible so that they have time to prepare.

Timing

Timing is everything when it comes to business events especially if it is a one-off. You will want to find a time where people will be free, but equally, you must factor in that there are likely to be other events happening around holidays and weekends.

Guest List

Next, you should start to make a guest list so that you can send out invitations. If you plan on having the event public, like a guided tour of your factory, then you need to estimate your attendance and consider putting a ticketing system in place to make sure that you do not have too many people showing up.

Create A Budget

When you start to plan any kind of business event it is very easy to get carried away and forget that money will play a big role in the scope of your event. Figure out exactly how much money the company can afford to spend on the event as this will then help you to work out how much can be spent on each area with a budget. Key areas to consider include:

• Furniture
• Decoration
• Catering
• Hired help
• PA system

A good way to keep the costs of the business event low is to find volunteers who can help with the running of the event and to look into purchasing goods second-hand or if employees are willing to let you borrow items for the event.

Communication

No matter what type of event you are hosting, communication will be crucial. Whether this is somebody giving a presentation, a tour or even a launch party you will need to be able to clearly communicate with the visitors. One of the most effective ways to do this is with one-way tour guide systems with Q&A interaction from specialists like Plant Tours. These are guide/leader headsets which enable you to deliver your message with ease even in a noisy environment.

Create A Schedule

You will now have everything that you need for the event so you can start creating a schedule. How the day unfolds will depend on what the event is and what your goals are but you can begin planning what will happen throughout the day and people can start work on speeches/scripts etc.

Advertising

It is then a case of creating awareness about your business event (if it is public). Fortunately, the internet makes this incredibly easy as you can advertise on your website and on social media. If it is a public event you could also create leaflets and distribute them in the community and advertise in the local paper. Be sure to let people know well in advance of the event so that you are able to maximize the amount of people in attendance.

Practice Runs

It is always helpful to have a few practice runs before the event. This will help you to get your timings right, iron out any issues and to boost confidence prior to the event.

Remain Positive

On the day of the event, it is very easy to over stress and worry about all the minor details. While it is good to be on the ball, it is also important to have a positive attitude particularly if you are interacting with guests. There will always be a few hiccups and small issues that occur during any event but you simply need to be able to take these in your stride.

Following Up

A crucial yet often overlooked area of business events is following up after the event. Seek feedback from your visitors so that you can learn and find ways to improve for the next one. It can be hard to chase up feedback sometimes which is why it is worth incentivizing visitors with a discount or free gift. You also need to work with your team to reflect on the event and figure out what worked well, what could be improved and if it helped you to achieve your goals.

Planning any kind of business event can be stressful especially if you do not have a huge amount of experience in event management. A business event can also be a brilliant way to boost your business and help you to achieve various goals, but only if the event is well-organized and clearly thought out. This post should help you to plan the perfect business event whether it is a product launch, guided tour, lecture or any other kind of event.