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Originally Posted On: https://includedmoney.com/a-complete-guide-to-planning-a-corporate-event/

 

There’s no denying how COVID-19 changed the nature of event planning and its entire industry. However, the appetite for a well-organized corporate event is higher than ever.

So, you’ve been given the go-ahead to organize a major corporate event that will leave workers motivated and inspired. That’s great news.

However, if you don’t have a lot of time for event preparation, you may feel overwhelmed. But, no worries, you’ve come to the right place. Keep on reading for our full breakdown of how to ace planning an event.

Corporate Event 101: The Different Types

Let’s start with the basics.

Corporate events might include anything from corporate conferences and in-house training sessions to team outings and client receptions.

Therefore, when preparing a business event, it’s important to take into account the size of the audience.

Micro-Events

Up to 100 participants may attend these events, which are also known as “simple events” and are often held in the form of meetings or smaller-scale training sessions.

Room reservations, presentation facilities, break-out refreshments, and registration may be all that is required for these micro-events.

They may seem straightforward at first glance, but the logistics of preparing an away-day or hospitality event for 50 senior managers may be just as complex as planning a conference for 500 people.

Small-Scale Events

Between 100 and 250 delegates are included in this category. The events might be training days, seminars, or even departmental meetings.

There may be the main stage and many break-out sessions, along with lunch, refreshments, audio-visual facilities and online registration and transportation to be managed by planners for the event.

Midsize Events

Allow yourself to be increasingly dependent on technology. Conferences for up to 1,000 attendees or summits for high-profile clients to meet with top executives are examples of these kinds of events.

The cost of a branded website, pre-event marketing, and a mobile app for the event should all be taken into account.

Attendees may need lodging and transportation to and from the conference location. Pre or post-event entertainment may be necessary for a multi-stream conference program, although it is not always necessary.

Large-Scale Events

Enterprise IT solutions are typically needed to handle features such as hotel reservations, delegate flights, budgets, and online registration for conferences and other large-scale events

For multi-day events, offsite activities, banquets, partner programs, or an awards ceremony may be required.

It will be necessary to arrange for everything from staffing, food, registration, speaker, and delegate management at a large scale to ensure success.

Attendees at conventions, for example, may range from a few thousand to tens of thousands. Needless to say, you’ll want to take into consideration event transportation.

For instance, you might want to hire the services of a company like HB Corporate Buses. This way you don’t have to spend too much time trying to finagle the transportation logistics.

How to Plan For a Corporate Conference

Setting the kind and goal of your event is the first and most important step you need to take to ensure that your event is successful.

Decide on the theme and goal of your next business event. Everything will go more smoothly during a team picnic or meeting with a clear aim in mind.

You should keep the needs and expectations of the attendees in mind while planning the event. If you know what your attendees anticipate, make a list of those items and incorporate them into your event.

Determine the Event’s Costs

Once you’ve decided on a goal for your event, it’s time to figure out how much money you’ll need.

You must take into account all of the costs associated with the event while settling on a budget. To avoid overspending, set budgetary constraints.

Make every effort to keep your expenditures down and to bargain wherever feasible. A lot of time and money may be saved as a result of this.

Create a Guest List

As soon as you’ve planned your budget and established your goals, it’s time to begin inviting visitors or designing a beautiful invitation card for your staff.

It is important to know your audience before the event so that you can choose suitable equipment and services.

Attendees will be impressed if you hand out wacky, eye-catching cards. The invites should be sent out at least a week in advance of the event if your goal is to attract or amuse customers.

Decide on a Venue

After completing the guest list, the next step is to choose a place. The most important thing is to choose a location that makes the occasion unforgettable.

Keeping your budget in mind while doing this is important. Your staff and your target audience will enjoy a setting that is appealing to both of these groups. In addition, the theme of your location should mirror the event’s goals.

Prevent major holidays and reserve the venue days in advance to avoid any last-minute hassles when scheduling your event.

Invest Time in Promotion and Marketing

Marketing and promotion are necessary if your event is being held outside of your organization. However, just because it’s an internal event doesn’t mean you can ignore marketing it.

To ensure that your event is a success, you need to develop enthusiasm among your participants in the months leading up to it.

Use social media to advertise your event, as well as channels like content development and email marketing, to create enthusiasm among participants until the day of the event is upon them.

Additionally, you may work with corporate event planners to help you publicize your gathering and manage it.

An event with a continuous marketing plan is always going to be different and more appealing.

Keep a Log of Your Progress and Evaluations

Track your event’s budget, objectives, location, and other relevant aspects to make sure everything is in order. Additionally, it is imperative that you maintain track of all costs associated with the event. As a corporate event planner, this is one of the most critical tasks.

By gauging whether or not your guests are having a good time, you can measure the success of your event. Do whatever it takes to improve the attitude of the attendees if required.

Event Planning: Simplified

Events can be great for the attendees. But, we want to also ensure that your job as the event planner isn’t overwhelming.

Hopefully, our guide has shed some light on the steps you need to take to plan a perfect corporate event. And, if you liked reading our article, then you’ll love checking out our business section for all the additional tips and strategies that you could possibly need.