Whether it’s an employee retreat, an industry networking event or simply a company celebration, planning a successful business event doesn’t just happen overnight. There are a number of preparations to make when planning an event for your company – from arranging entertainment to compiling a guest list.
To make sure that your business event is as successful as possible here are a few considerations to think about when planning your event…
1) Why do you need an event?
If you don’t know already, the first thing you should think about when planning a business event is what the purpose of the event should be. It could be a gathering of industry experts at a networking gathering or perhaps it is an expo dedicated to the latest innovations within your sector.
2) Who is on the Guest List?
If your event is strictly internal employees, the guest list should be moderately simple. For networking events you may want to invite clients and suppliers in addition to professionals not currently associated with your business – remember to fork out a little bit for PR to ensure that you attract a good amount of attendees to your event.
3) Where is the Venue?
When you have got the guest list sorted, you can start to take a look at which venue to choose. Knowing who is going to come to the event will help you decide how big the venue should be as well as its location. For internal employee events, a reasonable sized venue in your company’s locality should do while you may even have conference facilities of your own. If guests are coming from all parts of the country, make sure that you choose a venue that has good public transport and motorway links.
4) Should you have Entertainment?
Having entertainment at your event is a great icebreaker and a good way of helping your attendees to relax. For internal company events, you may want to hire a motivational speaker. There are a number of motivational celebrity guest speakers who can inspire and encourage your employees through talking about their own achievements in life – ideal if you are a sales company eager to drive those targets. For networking events you may consider booking a celebrity host who will provide an entertaining commentary to help structure the evening.
5) What is the Event’s Itinerary?
After you have booked the entertainment, the next thing you should consider is the itinerary of the event. Having a clear schedule of speakers, entertainment and discussions will help to guarantee that the evening runs as smoothly as possible. Remember to allocate time for drinks or networking mixers to add that relaxed element to your event.