Business Event Strategy Planning Tips
Whether you’re running a business meeting, party or a major conference, do not start planning any event until you are thoroughly prepared. Before you book venues or invite speakers, you’ll need a comprehensive blueprint and strategy for the event.Here are some Tips to helping you get your next business function off to a successful start.
1. Information
Before you begin planning your event, ensure that you have a thorough brief from your manager or client. The brief should include their objectives for the event, a budget, and any special considerations that need to be taken into account. If you don’t have a brief, schedule a meeting with your manager or client and ask them what you need to know.
2. Budget
Your budget will provide the framework for the rest of your event, and govern most of your major event planning decisions. A budget should include both your fixed and variable costs, and should be managed closely throughout your event.
Anticipate Expenses
Make a list of every cost you can think of. Include a cost for every aspect of your event, from speaker airfares to plastic cups and everything in between.
Categorise your List
Divide your list into fixed and variable costs. Categorise your costs according to each activity, such as ‘Entertainment’, ‘Catering’, ‘Marketing’. Create a separate section for anticipated income.
Estimate Costs
Estimate a cost for every item on your list. Add a contingency amount of between 3-15%, depending on how rough your estimate is and how far in advance your event is (around 3% a year is a good estimate). Once you have a confirmed cost, enter that cost and reduce the contingency to 2% (for unexpected expenses).
Anticipate Income
If this is a seminar of sorts where tickets are sold, note the following points:
Estimate your income (from registration fees, sponsorships, ticket sales, donations, product sales etc), then subtract a contingency of between 3-15 percent depending on how rough your estimate is.
Assess and re-assess your budget
Assess your budget against any budget allocation you have (or ‘break-even’ point if this is a money-making exercise). If you are over the budget allocation or cannot break even, look through the list to see where you can reduce costs, or seek new quotes.
3. Define and list what you hope to achieve
Once you have factored in the budget. It is important to work out what you want to achieve from your event and to stick to it.
Develop an event outline to help you work out your objectives and refer to it continually throughout the event process. In the event outline, detail the primary and secondary objectives of the event and how you are going to achieve and measure them.
4. Be Prepared
One of the most common mistakes made by new event planners is to launch into ‘planning’ before they have done the ‘preparation’, leaving themselves vulnerable to budget blowouts, double-booking, lost tasks and mixed messages.
Ensure that you have:
- Created a timeline: An effective event planning timeline will keep everyone on track and ensure you do not miss any important deadlines. A timeline is not just a long to-do list, it’s also a schedule of key tasks and dates that are clearly defined and easy to use.
- Note your ‘brainstorming ideas’: Decide on all the key elements of your business meeting event before you approach suppliers or lock in dates. Brainstorm your ideas to be sure you cover off every option and select the best themes, dates, speakers and venues that will make your event a success. Decide who should be involved in the planning process and schedule a ‘brainstorming’ session. Before you get creative, discuss previous events and take some time to critically evaluate them. Pay attention to what worked in the past and what didn’t, to avoid repeating previous mistakes.
Have a list of subjects to brainstorm. These are likely to include:
- Theme and decorations
- Appropriate venues and hotels
- The best dates (thinking about seasons, competing events, costs etc)
- Accommodation
- Entertainment
- The time of day (would it work best as a breakfast function, a lunch or a cocktail event?)
- Speakers and seminars
- Audio-visual tools
- Transport
- Giveaways
5. Be Organised
Once you have all the above, it is best to set everything up on a project/ speadsheet format noting time frames for everything to ensure it all keeps on track and is on target.
You will find once you plan and organise one business event, the others will come quiet easily as you have laid the correct grounding in planning that is required.
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