In a few months, your company is going to be unveiling a brand new product. You want all your potential clients to know about it ahead of time. This way, you can get a few pre-orders in.
The best way to create interest is to have a huge party where you talk about the product in question. It’s not as easy to throw a professional corporate party as you may think.
The slightest thing can throw a wrench into your careful event planning and management. We can help you avoid these setbacks. Keep reading to learn how to plan a shindig that goes off without a hitch.
Decide on Your Goals and Objectives
Before you host an event, it’s important to know why you’re having it. What are you hoping to get out of it? What do you want the end result to be?
Do you want to rally your guests toward a common cause? Are you trying to persuade them to buy a product? Is the goal to entertain them?
Keep in mind that your goals and objectives don’t have to be so cut and dry. You can have an event with the idea in mind to both entertain and inform, for example.
Once you have the answers to these questions, it will help you to better plan out the rest of the event. Having tangible goals gives your staff members something to shoot toward.
Set Your Budget
The next step of your event management plan is to create your budget. This isn’t the most glamorous step, but it is a necessary one. The last thing you want is to have a great idea for your event, only for it to fall through the cracks because you can’t afford it.
The first thing you want to consider is your venue. You’ll need to book it months in advance if you’re going to save the date, so this needs to come first. We’ll warn you that it’s going to be the most expensive part.
Think about how many people you want to invite to the celebration. You might be able to save a little bit of cash by going with a smaller rental.
People go to an event for entertainment, but they stay for the food. If you host your event late in the afternoon, your guests are going to expect dinner. Start too early, and you’ll have to provide breakfast or lunch.
Our recommendation is to shoot for the early evening if you’re on a budget. It will be too late for lunch but too early for dinner. You’ll be able to get by with only providing snacks and drinks.
You can’t run the entire event yourself. You’ll have to pencil room in your budget for hiring staff members. If the venue is out of town, you should also consider providing transportation for your workers.
These are only a few things you’ll have to budget for. There’s also entertainment, guest speakers, decor, and of course, marketing.
Get Your Team Together
Again, handling all the event management stuff yourself is stressful. You shouldn’t put yourself through something that anxiety-inducing. You’re going to need some top-notch staff members onboard to help you out.
We recommend assigning someone to be your event manager. They can help you keep your head on straight through all the chaos. They can also assist you with finding speakers and entertainment.
From there, you can ask your other employees if they would like to volunteer to help out. You can pay them to hand out programs, tend to your guest, and take care of clean-up.
Decide on a Day
To book your venue, you’re going to need to know what day you want to have the event. There are a few things that you need to keep in mind here.
First, try to shoot for four or more months out. Planning a huge event takes time. If you try to rush through the process, it’s going to show.
If you choose to have your shindig during a religious holiday, most of the people you invite aren’t going to show up. Try to avoid school holiday times. It will be hard for guests to attend if they can’t find a sitter.
Once you’ve decided on a date and time, write it down in your WordPress event calendar.
Book the Venue
Now that you have a date in mind, you can book your venue. The place you choose should be assessable to everyone. Make sure there’s enough space for interpreters, and wheelchair ramps are a must.
Take a look at your guest list. The venue needs to be large enough for the entire crowd to move around comfortably.
Call around to a few places to get different price quotes. Every place is going to be different in terms of security deposit costs. You want to know that you’re getting a good deal.
Create Your Program
The last order of business is typing up your program. Include every single detail of how the day is supposed to go down. Don’t miss a single thing.
It should include everything from the opening remarks to the clean-up process at the end. Of course, you can’t plan for every little setback, but your program will act as a roadmap that will help things go as smoothly as possible.
Event Planning and Management Rules to Live By
Event planning and management is a lot harder than it seems. All it takes is a small issue to throw everything off balance. Using these tips won’t account for the small stuff, but it will help you keep your head on straight when things get stressful so you can focus on wowing your guests.
If you’re looking for more ways to plan the perfect corporate party, visit the Business & Finance section of our blog.