Organizing an event for your business from time to time is essential because it can foster various purposes such as attracting new customers, launching a new product, or partnering with upcoming brands. However, with all the things that you need to look into, event planning can prove to be challenging and overwhelming. To help you come up with a successful event for your business, this article lists down the steps that you need to take accordingly.
Step 1: Define what you want to achieve with the event
The first thing that you need to do when it comes to planning an event for your business is to define what you want to achieve with it. In this case, you need to be able to answer what made you decide to plan an event in the first place. For instance, you may be compelled to drive new sales with your food cart in London or launch a new product in the UK. It can also be that you have a combination of multiple goals that you want to achieve through the event that you are planning.
In defining the objectives of your event, you need to be as specific as possible because this will make it easier for you to gauge the success of your event later on. For instance, one of your objectives might be to increase your registration by 10% compared to your last event or receive hundreds of pre-orders from UK residents for your upcoming products. When you clearly define the objectives of your event, you will be able to come up with preliminary details such as your time frame for the event and the number of persons that you will be inviting, as well as whether your event will be held locally in London or what type of gathering it will be.
Step 2: Allocate an appropriate budget
As soon as you have clearly defined the goals and objectives of the event that you are planning, the next thing that you need to do is to allocate an appropriate budget for it. In this way, all the other aspects of your plan will be clarified and you will also minimize the risk of any unwanted surprises along the way such as running out of funds for decorations. As much as possible, map out the entire budget of your event in advance, updating it along the way as necessary.
As a general rule of thumb, the budget that you allocate for your event should be broken down into four categories. 43% of your funds should be allocated to event marketing and promotion while 32% should be towards the speakers and talent. 29% of your funds should be dedicated to the program while 18% should go to the venue. Make sure to revisit your budget time and again because for sure, the line items will change depending on the current market status in the UK.
Step 3: Dedicate an event management team
Depending on the scale of the event that you are planning, you may come up with an event management team that is composed of only a couple of people, or a larger one that can handle a bigger event. Some of the seasoned providers of event production services in London suggest that as you designate members of the team, the roles that they need to fill should be clear to ensure accountability. For bigger teams, the members may even need to report to a project manager who has visibility across all the aspects of the event planning.
In building the ultimate event management team for a large-scale event, you should designate a project manager who will oversee all the aspects of the event. There should also be a venue or show-floor coordinator who is the main contact for the venue, as well as the vendors and sponsors onsite. One person should also be in charge of scheduling, another for creative design, and another for marketing and communications. There should also be a person who will man the registration and check-in during the day of the event. To keep your team organized, you can leverage event management tools such as Asana or Trello.
Step 4: Create a master plan
Once you have the perfect event management team, you can already proceed with creating a master plan that should encompass all the aspects of your event. At the very least, it should include the venue, logistics, and catering management. As much as possible, list down in detail the contracts, permits, and insurance that you need to process beforehand.
Your event master plan should also include the speakers and presenters, as well as the activities and entertainment in your event. Fortunately, in London, there are various event services that you can consider to make your event more memorable. The event master plan must also cover your publicity and promotion tactics, as well as your sponsor and partner management. Make sure that you create a detailed timeline for seamless event preparation progress.
Step 5: Set a date
In parallel to creating a master plan for your event, you should also establish a date that will allow you to have enough time to prepare. Ideally, you should pick a date that is at least four to six months away, if not more. Having only a couple of months to prepare, or even less, will prove to be quite stressful, but there are instances wherein you are left with no other choice but to make do with the time that you have for your business. This is particularly true when most of the appropriate venues in London are already booked or reserved.
Aside from the availability of the venue, you also have to consider statutory and religious holidays, as well as school holiday periods in setting the date of your event. You should also check with your event speakers, presenters, and other VIP guests if they are available during the said date that you are interested in. From there, the next step that you need to take is to make venue reservations.
Step 6: Make venue reservations
Booking a venue can be quite challenging because you have to consider the kind of event that you are planning, along with the number of guests that you want to invite. For this reason, you have to start looking for a venue as early as possible. For instance, it can be quite challenging to find large spaces in London in January and February because these months are heavy on sales conferences. This trend tends to happen again in September and October.
More often than not, establishing a date for your event should happen simultaneously with making a venue reservation. In this way, you are sure that the place where you will hold your event is available on the date you prefer. Some of the other things that you need to consider when it comes to booking your venue include its accessibility, and of course, the cost that you have to pay for it.
Step 7: Develop event branding
You should also take the time to develop event branding that encompasses the overall theme of your event. Keep in mind that a strong event brand will provide a vision that will steer your event in the right direction. Thereby, it helps to think of an event name that will reflect the vision that you have for your event, as well as a theme that will tie your event together. From there, all the logos, colors, and typography that you use should be consistent. Even the individual elements that you incorporate in your on-site decor, email, and signage should be aligned with your theme.
Step 8: Invite and confirm sponsors, partners, and speakers
In planning an event for your business, you should also consider whether there are organizations in London that you can partner with or who can sponsor your event to curb down your costs. Your partners or sponsors can even increase potential participation because they get to spread the word. In this case, you may want to consider seeking corporate sponsors to fund a portion of your event or you can also partner with community organizations who may be able to offer a viable venue for your event.
In terms of identifying speakers for each session, you can either call for session submissions or personally invite speakers. Make sure to maintain an open line of communication as soon as you identify the speakers for your event. In terms of your event sponsors, don’t be shy in offering unique sponsorships such as a lounge or a wellness activity sponsorship. There is also the option for you to come up with an exhibitor package.
Step 9: Select tech tools
In this modern-day and age, you can already leverage various innovative tech tools for your event. For instance, in registration and ticketing, there are already online platforms available but you need to select one early on so that you can direct your audience to the registration website accordingly. You should also consider using project management tools to stay organized as well as mobile apps to streamline your communication.
During the event proper, you may want to consider live streaming or recording services to extend the reach of your event. You can also think about incorporating onsite technologies such as event gamification tools to encourage the attendees of your event to participate in the activities.
Another valuable option to enhance your event’s production quality is leveraging the live production features of the Pearl Nano. This compact, all-in-one production system offers powerful capabilities, such as multi-camera switching, live video encoding, and seamless integration with streaming platforms. It ensures professional-level production with minimal setup, making it an ideal solution for events that require smooth, high-quality streaming.
Step 10: Come up with a promotional plan
No matter how great you are in planning the event that you have in mind, it won’t be a success without the attendance of your target audience. This is why promoting your event to your target participants is essential. For this reason, make sure to come up with an event marketing plan that is composed of all the essential elements which include your goals and objectives, as well as the tactics that you can use to achieve them. You should also build a marketing timeline that will define a good view of the duration of your marketing activities.
Some of the most viable strategies to promote your event include web page announcements as well as social media posts. You can also consider email blasts, as well as press and media connections. There is also the option for you to go the traditional route, handing out printed materials to your network.
Step 11: Prepare for “On-the-Day” activities
Event planning doesn’t end on the day of the event, but rather, it continues from there, and even after the event itself. This means that you need to keep track of the order of the activities that will transpire during the day of the event itself. Thus, you need to come up with an agenda that will be able to walk you through the whole day, including every little detail no matter how small.
Step 12: Set metrics to gauge the success of your event
Finally, you should also consider a post-event review to gauge the success of your event. This is where the metrics you have defined early on will come into play. When your event reaches the metrics that you set, then you can consider it a success. Otherwise, you may need to come up with measures to improve your next events.
When it comes to planning an event for your business, you first need to define what you want to achieve with it. From there, make sure to allocate the appropriate budget and dedicate a team that will be on top of the event management tasks. You should not forget to create a master plan that will serve as your guide. As soon as you have decided on a date, you should already book a venue.
You should also take the time to develop your event branding before you invite sponsors, partners, and speakers. Take the time to select innovative tools that you can use in your event and come up with a promotional plan to pique the interest of your target audience. Make an effort to have a plan for the activities that will take place on the day of your event. Finally, set metrics that will help you assess the success of your event. All these are geared towards successful event planning and implementation.
