5 Steps To Putting On A Successful Event
If you’re planning an event and are not a professional events producer, you may be shocked at the amount of work that needs to be done. There is a lot that goes into planning, coordinating and executing an event, and the hardest work goes on behind the scenes.
Whatever the occasion, industry, guest list or size, there are 5 steps you must always follow to make your event successful.
- Research
The first thing you should do is research. It’s important that you don’t skip this part; putting on an event is complex and has a lot of moving parts, and without in-depth research, you will risk missing things.
In the research stage, you should follow this checklist:
Define your goals and objectives
Outline exactly what the purpose of your event is what you hope the outcome will be. Are you launching a new product and looking for the press? Are you looking to close sales or are you looking to increase brand awareness and generate new leads?
Outline what your event will entail, and check it is feasible
You may have amazing ideas for your event, but if they are not practical you will run into problems in the planning stage. You should also consider the timings of your event and how you can best use that time.
Determine your audience
Who is your event for? Without having a clear vision about the demographics of your event attendees, you will be unable to effectively communicate with them.
Create a timeline
Once your ideas and approach have been approved, it’s time to create a pre-production timeline. These may differ depending on the scale of the event but should allow enough time to book everything in and create a buzz around the event.
Develop a budget
Events are always budget-conscious, especially if you’re putting on the event on behalf of another business or brand. Working to a budget will ensure that you effectively prioritize your spending, and determines what your event can offer.
By having clarity on these objectives before you begin planning, you won’t waste any time, money, resources or energy, and your event will run smoothly.
2. Planning
In the planning stage of putting on an event, you must consider everything: event schedule, venue location and capacity, guest list, catering, entertainment, space, and bump in and bump out times (the time you have to install the event and when you have to leave it).
Because there is so much to consider, the best way to plan is to break it all down into manageable parts that you can delegate to your production team.
When planning, you should continually ask the five whys and how. These include: What will your event entail and what activities will you put on? Who is the event for, and how will you please them? Why are you putting on the event? Where is the event taking place, is it available on the required date and is it accessible? (This is the point at which you should lock in the venue.) When is the event, and how will the date and time affect the outcome?
Keeping these key objectives top-of-mind will help you work to timings and budgets and ensure everything is logistically possible. You may also consider enlisting the help of external event experts to take on some of the work or can explore some shared information that helps.
For instance, you can read the Scope Production’s article where they have provided event management guide as an informative piece for their readers. You don’t need to go into all the technicalities of how precisely the professionals work, but instead, you can focus on how it will be useful in different ways, how it will save money and why it’s a better solution in general.
If you have a watertight plan and a slick timeframe in which to execute tasks, you will be able to mitigate any problems that may occur.
3. Promote your event
The next thing to do is to generate an awareness and buzz around the event. This may depend on the objective of the event and whether you’re putting on the event on behalf of someone else, but generally, it is up to you to spread the word and ensure that people attend.
Remember to outline the event in the most engaging way and offer attendees incentives to come (e.g. a talk from an industry expert, an appearance from a celebrity or influences, free food/drink, a goodie bag, etc.).
If your business has a strong social media presence you should leverage that to promote your event. Or, you may choose to harness email marketing or even printed marketing materials like flyers and posters. A mixture of both traditional and online marketing will be effective in garnering a wider interest.
When promoting your event, you should spread the word as early as possible. As events typically have a turn around time of only one or two months, you should give attendees notice as soon as you have a fixed date. Also, always request RSVPs so that you can gauge numbers.
Remember to remind guests about the event in the days leading up to it, either through email, social media, SMS message or an old-school invitation through their door (this depends on a budget allowance and the grandeur of your event).
4. Event coordination
When you have done all the preparation, planned the event and made guests excited, it’s now time to execute the event itself.
This is where the hard work comes in, as you must pull all of the elements together and oversee the entire production. You must call suppliers, source props, organised catering, book entertainment, sort out transfers, lighting, music, installations, etc. If you’re putting on a large scale event, this list can seem never-ending, but you must work through it with a fine-tooth comb.
In the event coordination stage, it is inevitable that problems will arise. A good events producer will be an excellent problem solver and will be able to spot problems and rectify them before it’s too late — all the while remaining calm under pressure.
You must also recheck you have everything in place for the day of the event and keep a constant dialogue with your event team, the suppliers and the venue. You should highlight the things that could go wrong and have a backup plan in case they do.
On the day of the event, arrive as early as possible so that you are in the venue as soon as you’re allowed. This way you can get everything in place ready for a walk through, and this is the point at which you can amend any last-minute problems that have arisen. You should also ensure the event space is properly cleaned ready for the guests. And then it’s show time!
5. Evaluation
Once the event is over you should always conduct a thorough evaluation to access the running of the event — what went well and what didn’t, whether you achieved your goals and whether the attendees were satisfied. With this information, you can also alert the press to further enhance your brand awareness.
Post-production evaluations are crucial for business reflection and to inform future strategy. And, if the event was a success, you can start planning your next one!
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