To organize a successful event, it is essential to plan ahead and carefully every aspect – from planning and promotion to the measurement of post-event results. In this article we will discuss about all the steps to take into account in order to organize a truly flawless event.

The event plays a key role in business communication as it represents an important moment, an opportunity to promote networking, the company’s image and its values to different targets in a single meeting place. Whether it is a meeting, a conference or a trade fair, nothing can be left to chance. With the right amount of creativity and with a careful and accurate planning of all pre and post-event activities, we can organize a memorable moment.

Here are the steps to take into account to better organize your corporate event.

Define the aim of the event

Before start planning an event, it is important to establish its main goal. Let us ask ourselves what is the purpose and why we want to organise it. For example, if the goal is to increase sales, promote the market launch of a new product, make our company known to potential customers or even celebrate a milestone, such as an anniversary. Immediately after defining the goal, we have to think about what is the most appropriate type of event to achieve our goals, what is the target we want to involve and what kind of experience we want to make participants live. In this first planning phase, it is very important to define a goal that is S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-based). This will allow us to build intermediate stages and concrete metrics to understand and oversee every necessary step to achieve the goal.

Define the budget

The economic aspect plays a very important role in the planning of any event and it is essential to establish from the beginning the budget that we want to devote not only for the organization of the event, but also for its promotion. Once the available financial resources have been identified, they should be distributed appropriately to cover the various categories of expenditures, including set-up, catering, marketing, equipment, photography, etc. Planning our event in advance, will allow us to have time to contact more potential suppliers and ask them for a quote in order to choose the most suitable partners for our needs, including the economic ones.

Choose the date, the place and time

A phase not to be underestimated concerns the choice of the date and place of the event. To successfully plan a corporate event, we need to take into account different aspects that involve both the target and the time of year chosen. Asking ourself specific questions can help us make a thoughtful decision about the date and time:

• What time will guests be more willing to attend? For example, if we are going to invite colleagues, suppliers and customers, it should be taken into account that they will not always be able to be away from work for a long time, so it is preferable to opt for a day during the week, shortly after the end of working hours. If you hold a press conference where the primary audience is represented by journalists, they are more likely to participate during the day.  

• Is there another event in the same period? It is always better to check in which time of the year similar events are held, in order not to force guests to choose which event to attend and thus avoid competing with other events in the same industry.

For what concern the location, it is preferable to opt for an easily accessible and appropriate area to the size of the corporate event. For example, if we want to organize every moment in different spaces, we will opt for a location that will allow access to a welcome drink, and then continue in the main hall. Each room must be designed to allow guests to socialize avoiding crowds, but also excessive dispersion. After understanding the needs of spaces and environments, we can search through the reviews of different places and visit them personally to make sure they meet our needs. Once we have identified the ideal structure, remember to book it in advance to avoid non-availability on the chosen day.

Create a detailed plan

Detailed planning is essential to keep everything under control. Create a checklist with the tasks to be performed, deadlines and schedules to be respected, is an ideal solution to leave nothing to chance. Within the plan it is necessary to include all aspects, such as the management of registrations, the organization of suppliers, the creation of promotional materials, and so on.

Adhesions and subscriptions for the corporate event

First of all you have to choose a way to get adhesions and understand how many people will attend the event. We can send the invitation and the program of the event via email to a list of contacts, rather than choosing to send them a paper communication or still spread the invitation on our social channels and create an online form in which collect registrations. The important thing is that all registrations have to be reported in a single periodically updated file, in order to have an increasingly accurate idea of the number of participants that will attend the event.

Involvement of speakers

If we are planning a corporate convention or an institutional event, it is important to provide a moment of presentation that captures the attention of guests. To do so, it is essential to choose a moderator who knows how to involve participants and create a link with the audience, as well as the right speakers based on their skills and their work experience. For example, we could opt for a character who has an important reputation within a certain sector, or a professional specialized in certain issues rather than a motivational speaker who is an inspiration and source of reflection for the audience.  Once we have identified the moderator and speakers best suited to our corporate event, we should contact them in order to check the availability of the date and contractual terms. Then we will begin to discuss the issues that will have to be addressed during the speech and how to best present them during the event.

Activities dedicated to guests

In addition to the catering and buffet, to make the event memorable, we can offer our guests moments of fun and leisure. For example, why not capture the moment with a photo booth? It is a background specifically made for the occasion, enriched by the company logo, and an instant camera that automatically prints the photos. In this way guests can have fun taking different pictures and have a memory to keep with them after the event. If the location allows, we can also think of engaging the audience with live art shows or live music.

Technical service and technological tools

If the event includes a conference or a show, we can enrich the stage with screens or ledwalls that show corporate content, made specifically for the event. You can opt for corporate videos that tell the story and the business goals, or presentations on products and services, or emotional commercials of communication campaigns. In addition to screens, it is important to draw up a list of all the necessary technical equipment, such as lights, microphones, computers and an audio mixer.

The event lineup

For what concern the event lineup, after choosing all the activities, it’s necessary to create a plan that foresees what will happen in every hour of the day and the related activities:

• Pre – event: set-up, which includes the arrival at the location of the technical service, the set-up managers and the catering.
• During the event: welcome, networking time, conference or business presentation, activities involving participants, delivery of any gadgets and closing of the event.
• Post – event: disassemble.

Event promotion

The success of an event also goes through the promotion of the same. Properly promoting our event is essential to attract participants and convince them to attend. To reach the desired target, a winning solution is to use a combination of online and offline marketing strategies, which includes the creation of a dedicated landing page with all the detailed information, the use of social media, the sending of press releases to local and/or sector magazines and newspapers and the distribution of flyers. In order to achieve a measurable result and the communication goal, it is essential to plan our marketing strategy well in advance, so that our content has time to be seen and internalized by our audience. If our business is a B2C, we can also choose to collaborate with an influencer or with strategic partners.

Manage the day of the event

During the day of the event, a single person can hardly handle all the details. A solution could be to designate a dedicated, trained and trusted team that will manage all operational aspects. This includes welcoming participants, managing the flow of people, supervising suppliers, resolving any unforeseen events and maintaining the established program. Having a clear communication and a central contact point can help to coordinate activities effectively.

Evaluate the results

After the conclusion of the event, it is important to evaluate the results to understand what went well and what can be improved in the future. To do this, it is interesting to collect feedback from participants through surveys, analyze marketing metrics, published press releases and media mentions, in order to compare the results with the initial objectives. These information can be useful for planning future events.

Conclusions

To organize a successful business event it is good to pay the right attention to the smallest detail. Relying on a single supplier able to create the right atmosphere and synergy between the parties will not only save time and internal resources, but also to fully live the event and have fun, in full lightheartedness.

For over 10 years, Eos Mktg&Communication has been supporting companies in the creation and organization of each type of event, taking care of every detail and proposing itself as a single interface for the coordination of suppliers and national and international promotion channels, guaranteeing you quality, uniqueness and visibility. Discover our services and our events portfolio: https://eosmarketing.it/organizzazione-eventi-aziendali/