With the start of 2018, now is a great time to think about ways you might better market your business, cement client relationships, and increase conversions to achieve your goals in 2018. One way that can help achieve this is to throw successful corporate events.
However, memorable shindigs don’t just happen – you need to know how to effectively organize and hold an event that gets people talking for all the right reasons, and spending more now and into the future with your firm. Read on for some tips you can follow to throw legendary events in 2018.
Know Your Target Audience, Goals, and Budget Up Front
For starters, before you even begin to think about venues, food, the guest list and more, take time to become clear about who your target audience is for the event, your goals for running it, and how much money you can afford to spend.
Once you know the type of people (current and/or potential customers) you wish to draw to the proceedings, you will be better able to make decisions about where to hold it, the format and theme to use, the speakers or other content to include, the price to charge for tickets if relevant, and so on.
Understanding your goals for holding the event are also important because every decision you make about the gathering should support your purpose. For instance, is the main reason you’re holding a party to build brand awareness with a particular crowd of people, or to generate more leads for your business? Or perhaps it is to launch a new product or service, break into a new market, develop and reward customer loyalty, or celebrate a big win?
Of course, you won’t be able to achieve your goals if you end up spending too much money on the event and wish you hadn’t hosted it. As such, always set a strict budget and ensure you stick to it as you choose all the elements of the day.
Give Yourself Enough Time
Next, avoid leaving the planning and preparation to the last minute, and steer clear of throwing an impromptu celebration too. Well-organized and well-run events don’t just happen; they require dozens of decisions to be made over time, and generally a long lead time for locations, food, service staff, auction items, decorations, and guest speakers to be sourced.
It pays to give yourself at least a couple of months or more to throw a great party. Not only will this help you secure the best venues, caterers, and MCs for your budget (keep in mind many book out months in advance), but it will also help you save money. If you have to rush things, you will typically always end up paying more on services.
In addition, don’t forget you need to give guests plenty of notice and ensure your preferred attendees are able to make the date. You also want to allow yourself plenty of time to market the event in advance so that you have the best turnout possible. Unless you plan to have an exclusive, invite-only affair, you spend time plugging the occasion on social media, in your company newsletters, at industry events, in person, and via advertisements in the weeks prior.
When you give yourself plenty of time to throw the perfect event, you will also have the chance to come up with a contingency plan. After all, things can and do go wrong, so you may find you have to shift the date because of something else that’s on, or you might have to have a backup for unpredictable weather, new products that don’t turn up when expected, etc. The more planning time you have, the better you can prepare for every eventuality.
Don’t Try to Do It All by Yourself
Lastly, look for ways to enlist the help of others. When you try to plan an event all by yourself you’ll not only be more likely to burn out before the day even comes, but you will probably also miss things, or come up with less inspired ideas than you might if brainstorming with others.
If you have the budget, consider hiring a specialist event firm (iDEKO Productions is an example) that can put on an event based on your requirements and budget. These contractors can not only arrange everything in advance, but also set up on the day and coordinate the whole event, leaving you free to mingle with guests. Companies working in this area can usually take care of the required marketing and follow up too, further guaranteeing a successful outcome.
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