Corporate events present an incredible business opportunity for any rising endeavour. They are a chance for you to gather all the influential backers who brought you this far and maybe even reach out to potential new ones. Or, you can use them to celebrate a business milestone. Corporate events can even be for presentations, training and seminars. Whatever you choose to do with them, there is a lot of work behind closed doors beforehand. With a can-do attitude, you will be on the fast track to success, and we are here to help!
1. Preparation is half the battle
When is your event taking place? Each moment from now till then is your timeframe to get the ball rolling! Start by making a rough list of attendees. Make a broad list of possible cities or venues in your city for the event. You can start planning for catering, theme, duration, budget (more on that later), and accommodation for all involved.
Starting early will let you know who’s out of town and could use some assistance with google flights or other means of transport on the day of the event. Getting everyone on the same page requires everyone to be in the same place. The best thing about the planning phase is that you don’t have to send out any concrete messages, as you are still creating a rough draft. Once you sand off the edges, you can move on to the next item on the list.
2. Budget for everything
The crucial part of every event is your budget shows how much you can stretch in each direction. The number of participants, venue location, time and quality, event type, and other factors come into play when you start creating your corporate event budget. Decorations, material for presentations and attitudes, transportations and layovers are all important items in your budget.
Your company is playing the role of host, for your employees or visitors, and you are expected to live up to the hype. Don’t go out of your way to break the budget, or strain your company’s finances. A well-thought-out and planned event can leave a long-lasting impact in the same way as a gala night. More expensive does not necessarily equal better. Practice event budget restraints and reasonable expectations when planning.
3. Event details
How you can focus on the meat of the event, and that’s the details. What theme will your event hold? For what purpose is it being held? That starting point defines your target audience. Some events and presentations need a guest speaker, who can be an influential person in your branch or someone from the company who can share his/her knowledge. If this is your first event planning or running on a tight deadline, you will need all the help you can get.
The questions you’ve got so far are only scratching the surface, and you will discover a plethora of them along the way. Reaching out and asking for assistance from experienced individuals, like the professional and reliable Veritas Events, sets you up for success. Corporate events don’t require you to reinvent the wheel. All the knowledge for them already exists, and you can always reach out and profit from them. As is in your business, it’s all about who you know, and event planners have established relations with venues, caterers, photographs and trained event planners. You will need them all to make your corporate event the best one possible.
4. Logistics and promotion
Now it’s time to get everyone to your event and get as many people as possible. It’s easy to get lost in the curse of knowledge when planning a corporate event. You are dealing with it regularly for a prolonged period, and it has become second nature for you. But your attendees need all the help they can get. How can they get to your event? What’re the best means of transport? Where is it? Some will even need virtual mentoring to get on the same page.
People are different, and you need to accommodate each one, where the number of attendees makes your job easier or harder. One great way to convey your data to a larger audience is to create a custom webpage for the event. There you can compile the most important info and promote your event to all involved. Make sure to make it light, brief and mobile-friendly, or your best intentions will backfire on you.
5. Showtime!
So, the actual day of the corporate event has come, and you can feel the excitement in the air. It’s not over yet, but you are in the home stretch! Make a checklist of items you need to keep an eye on before, during and after the event, so you can glance over crucial info at the right time. Make a clear line of communication with your event staff and have confidence in each part of the event.
You can’t be everywhere all at once, but you can supervise. When anything, big or small, goes wrong, remember that the show must go on! With a smile and a positive attitude, you can make the small mistake disappear and focus your attendees on what lies ahead. Keep the ball rolling, and don’t stop the momentum! It will all be over before you know it.
6. Follow up
Even if this is not your first event, always send an event follow-up email. How did you like the event? What was good and what was bad? What would you do differently? If your events are a regular occasion, inform your participants of a future one. And always thank them for their time and presence. After all, your attendees are the ones for whom you’ve created the event, and it would not have been possible without them.
Celebrations, presentations, seminars and parties are all different forms of corporate events towards the same purpose. To celebrate your achievements, build up on them and entertain your visitors. All events have some items in common, and those can represent the foundation of your work. If you are planning for a corporate event, that means that your company is doing great, and you can relax and bask in the glory! Cheers!
