Event planning is massively time consuming. Whilst it is straightforward if you have been doing it for years, there are a lot of elements that need completion to maximise success. Here are some event planning tips based on my 25 years’ experience in the B2B marketing world.
A number of skills are needed in event planning. These 5 are not some of them!
- Disorganised
- No attention to detail
- Bad communications skills
- Rubbish time management
- Poor negotiation skills
An event, whether it be a webinar, internal conference or external exhibition takes a lot of organisation. Ideally planning should commence at least 3 months before the event. If you are taking space at a trade fair, then it is likely that that space will need to be booked 6 to 12 months prior.
Here are some elements which can be forgotten and so lead to last minute panic:
- Travel and accommodation
- Brochures
- Event team briefing
- Furniture/audio/video
- Giveaways/competition
- Graphics and signage
- Lead tracking
- Pre-event communication to customers and prospects
- Post event communication to attendees
- Transportation of equipment to and from event
- Walls (shell scheme or are you building or bringing your own stand)
- Website update (via events page, blog or press release)
By starting the event planning process early, you limit the last minute stress. Because there will always be things that cannot be planned for which will contribute to that stress so best to be organised and start early.
And of course, don’t forget your business cards or a QR code to download them! Contact me if you need help planning your next event.
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First published 26 July 2018
