Event Planning and Management are always monumental tasks. Be it a large conference or an event, Event organizers require meticulous preparation and planning. From determining a precise budget to promoting the event, event planners must consider a number of components.
Every event has a unique goal, budget, audience, and accomplishment. Event organizers must take several actions to begin the planning process, stay on track, and ensure the event’s success. Here is a step-by-step event planning checklist for organizers to run events without much stress.
1. Define the Goals Clearly
Set goals and objectives before getting into the details, such as speakers or venues. It is essential to spend some time determining the purpose and the reason behind this event.
The first thing you should do is answer the question:
- What is the main objective of this event?
- The reason you decided to organize events in the first place.
- Are you trying to Increase sales?
- Promote a launch of a product?
- Improve brand recognition?
- You may be trying to increase brand awareness.
- Several objectives? Consider what you wish to achieve and how this event can help in achieving this.
- Then, what are your goals?
For any event you plan, you must establish the objectives which will help you achieve the purpose.
Below are a few examples of event objectives:
- Increase registration by 20%% from the last event.
- Increase revenue by 40% from the last event.
- Receive 100 preorders for upcoming products.
- Increase social media mentions/follows/reposts during the event.
With your goals and objectives in place, you can create a preliminary scope of the event. The scope should include essential details and outline how you can meet your objectives.
Although it isn’t fixed in stone, it should outline the necessary information about your event.
Dates:
The date and time frame for the event, i.e., within 6 months.
Attendees:
What is the number of attendees? 100 or 1000? Is it a corporate event or a social gathering?
Are your guests coming from all over the world, or is this a local event? When you design your event, you need to consider your guests’ demographics.
Location:
Does your event take place locally? Or is it held in a different location? Make a shortlist of venues and cities that will work for the event.
What kind of event?
Are you promoting awareness of the latest product? If you are planning a single-day event, consider confirming a keynote speaker. Whereas if you are planning an event for thousands of customers, a two-day conference is a good choice. If you are organizing an internal or association gathering, a day of smaller gatherings is a good choice.
Setting out your objectives and preliminary scope of the project allows you to plan your event and gain support from the leadership. If your business is committed to the idea, your goals and objectives will help you forward to the next phase of making plans.
2. Create a Budget for Your Event
Creating budgets is an essential initial step in planning an event, which helps clarify the other elements of your event plan. In addition, having an appropriate budget can help prevent unexpected unpleasant surprises (like having to pay to decorate or food, etc.). You’ll be more successful by laying out the entire budget prior to completing it, keeping it updated when you have finalized variables, and keeping a close eye on the procedure.
It is estimated that nearly half of the budget is used for promotion and marketing campaigns and almost one-third for all speakers and talents. Renting value holds one-fifth of the budget. Visit the budget again and again to ensure that it is intact.
3. Create your Team for Events
Be it a small event or a large-scale event, event planners will require an organized group. If you’re forming your team from scratch, it’s crucial to define roles at the start for accountability. Everyone on the team should report to an event manager, with access to all involved pieces. The ultimate team for events is typically between 2 and 5 employees (45 percent of events), which means that a lot of people are required to wear several hats.
With the team assembled and a plan in place, you can begin to build an event-related plan. A plan for a project is much more than an agenda of tasks. It’s a thorough detail of every action item, which identifies the owner’s dependents, dates due, and the status of completion. It is essential to justify every action by linking it to your highest-level goal for the event.
4. Tools for Event Management
Tools are required for managing projects, streamlining events, and organizing them. Use tools that keep every moving piece organized. With the capability to monitor and assign projects, project managers will have a clear view of timelines and progress using these tools:
- Asana
- Trello
- Smartsheet
5. Choose the Location and Date
Choosing a venue and date for the event are two significant considerations that will shape the rest of the project plan. Start researching venues as early as possible. The event marketplace is crowded, so finding a time when there will be venue availability is essential. When deciding on a venue, there are a number of factors that you need to concentrate like travel and rental costs.
In January, February, September, and October, it is very challenging to find large spaces. It is also tough to find places that offer traditional exhibition flooring.
When you begin researching and meeting with representatives from different venues, be sure to ask as many questions as possible to ensure an appropriate choice. You should look for budget, theme suitability, place of the event (is it in a prime location and travel-friendly?), facilities, and personnel on-site. What is the current situation regarding emergency response and fire control?
Tips: Once you find the ideal location, feel free to negotiate rates. Half of the organizers negotiate discounts from the published rate when they do, and of those that do, the organizers are more likely to bargain for free WiFi or AV.
6. Develop a Detailed Event Plan
A detailed and well-prepared event plan is very important for the successful execution of the project. The event calendar should outline every task, responsibility, and deadline and track progress. The detailed plan must also include vendor contacts, contingency plans, and timelines.
7. Event Promotion
Every successful event comes with a plan for marketing and promotion to promote the event and generate excitement. How do you get started? There are myriad methods to market your event, from blogging and social media to online advertisements and billboards. But whatever method you decide to use each strategy should be an integral part of your marketing strategy.
Event promotion is the key to attracting attendees and creating a buzz on social media. Event planners are experts in event promotion and will help you promote your event through email campaigns, social media posts, and traditional advertising. You can also use influencers to extend your reach to different dimensions.
8. Logistics and Vendor Coordination
The success of the event relies on vendor coordination and logistics, too. Organizing transportation, accommodations, catering, on-site registration, and excellent AV is essential for a perfect event. Event organizers must ensure that all these parameters are fulfilled and everything is noticed.
You can also designate a person to oversee the logistics and have contingency plans in place for potential issues.
Effective on-site management is essential for streamlined operations on the day of the event. Make sure to have proactive management.
After concluding the event, conduct an evaluation to assess the event’s success and obtain feedback from all sectors.
Tip: A walkthrough of the venue before the event will help the organizers identify any potential logistical challenges and address them in advance.
With a well-constructed program in place and wheels moving the following steps, you can transform your event from a vision into a successful reality.
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