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Begin With A Budget
You may have big plans but you’re still going to have to work to a budget. And it’s not enough to simply know roughly how much you want to spend. Instead, get granular with it. Really think about what elements of your event are most important, and which areas you’re willing to spend a little less. For all corporate events, we would recommend portioning out the budget to each element of the day as you make your plan (see below). Doing this will be a great help when you come to negotiate on prices and gather quotes!
Make A Plan
Before you make a start, make a plan. Everything is much more manageable with a plan. But make sure it’s thorough. While it’s unlikely (but not impossible!) that big elements will be forgotten, it’s usually the smaller details that get left out. And trust us when we say that it doesn’t go unnoticed when they are. So, make a list. Move step by step through the event and write down all the things that need to be taken care of. Don’t forget to consider elements such as transport, lighting, and marketing!
Assemble Your Team
No man is an island, and when it comes to event planning many hands really do make light work. What’s more, collaborating with others and being able to put ideas out of your own head is definitely better than going it alone. So, when you have your plan of action in place, get your team together to run through the brief.
It’s important to make your team aware of the overall goal of the event and the budget they’re working to. If you assign very clear roles and expectations at this stage, it helps you stay on top of the whole process. So, be very clear. Set out what you expect of who and when you expect it by. If you’ll be having regular planning meetings, make sure these are in the diary and they are honoured.
Stay In Touch
When you have a team of people working together on planning an event it’s important to stay in control. Don’t just assume that everything will be done only for it all to come crashing down around you on the day. Instead, stay in touch and ensure everyone keeps you up to date of developments, challenges and achievements. Similarly, make sure you keep your team in the loop too. Make sure that any changes to the plan are communicated quickly so adjustments can be made.
As well as this, ensure you are in regular contact with vendors, venues, and suppliers throughout the course of planning. Ask questions and ensure that everyone is aware of where they should be, when they should be there and what they should be doing.
Create A Marketing Strategy
There’s no point in planning an exciting, engaging event if no one is there to experience it. So, make marketing a part of your overall plan too. For company-wide events, this means devising a marketing strategy to spread the word (through emails and posters, for example) and handle the RSVP process.
For corporate events such as networking, or a product launch, you may want to compose a guest list. This isn’t simply just a list of names of people you would like to attend but their contact information too. When this is done, it’s time to build a buzz around your event to get people engaged. The most effective way to do this is through a multi-channel marketing campaign that uses all the tools at your disposal. Think social media marketing, email marketing, direct marketing and any other creative ways you can deliver your message to your intended audience.
Be Prepared For Anything
You want your event to go swimmingly, however that’s not always a realistic expectation to have. While you can keep the majority of elements under your control, sometimes things just go wrong for one reason and another. For these instances, have a contingency plan. Having a plan B under your belt will help you to stay calm should anything go wrong. And if you can handle an issue quickly without losing control of the situation, it’s more likely that your guests will be none the wiser that anything was amiss.
Much like you did at the start of planning, it’s important to brief your team and make your expectations clear. Who should they speak to if there is a problem? How will they be able to communicate with you? What is their role in an emergency?
Finally, make sure everyone is aware of the itinerary and is confidently able to signpost guests should any questions arise. Ensure they know the basics too, such as where the bathrooms and fire exits are and any other information guests are likely to ask about.
Ask For Help
If you’re reading this, it’s likely that event planning isn’t your only role at the moment. So, not only do you have the task of spinning all the above plates, you’ve also got your own job to do as well. Having a clear plan and the support of a team is one step to breaking down what seems like a mammoth task into manageable bite-size parts, but you may still find yourself feeling overwhelmed.
If this is the case, then ask for help! Event management organisations (like us!) eat, sleep and breathe all things corporate events. Therefore, with their help you can turn a colossal task into a manageable one, while still getting your day job done.
Here at KDM Events, we provide flexible support with corporate events. If you don’t want us involved from start to finish, we’ll take the reins on the things you need help with and leave you to the rest. Similarly, if you’d like to hand over your event and have someone else take control entirely, we can do that too! From venue sourcing to entertainment, motivational speakers, team building activities, security, decoration, sound, lighting and more, we use our experience, knowledge, and contacts within the industry to create second to none events that guests love.
Our Event Managers are on hand to help you flesh out the goals of your event and ways in which you can make it engaging and memorable for all the right reasons. What’s more, we’ll help you achieve all this while staying true to your budget. To get in touch, simply give us a call at either of our offices in the Midlands or London and talk to us about your next event.
