July 14, 2023
If you want to host a business event, then you need to avoid these top mistakes. If you don’t then you may not be able to secure the results you’re looking for, and this can work against you.
One major mistake that people make is not giving any thought to the people who are going to be attending their event. You need to think about the experience they are having, so you can come up with ways to make sure that they’re having the best time. At the end of the day, your attendees are the beating heart of your event, so as you plan, you need to keep their experience in mind. Walk through the event, and consider things from their perspective. Are you able to navigate the event venue? Do you need signage? Do your queries clash with one another? If so then you need to give some thought to this, so you can give them the best experience yet. If you’re finding things like this difficult, hiring an event service, such as Yorkshire Event Solutions could be a good idea.
Another huge mistake would be understaffing. You can’t run an entire business by yourself, and you can’t run an event either. It’s important to make sure that you have more than enough staff on the day, so you can have your team jump on different areas as needed. Speak with the stakeholders and the vendors to see what they need. If they need more help during a certain time of day then ask your team to help out. It’s worth taking the time to outline everyone’s role too so you can ensure all of your bases are covered. Share this with your staff up to the event as well. If you have team members who have secondary roles, then make sure those are clear too. This will stop people from having too much on their plate at any one time. Little things like this might not seem important, but they are imperative to your event’s success.
It’s so important to make sure that you have an event management plan. You may have a lot of things to get through, but at the end of the day, you still need to create a master plan if possible. This will show everyone what they’re working towards so everyone can be on the same page. At the end of the day, an overall event management plan will help you take a step back and see how your event is going. It also helps you to make changes as things draw closer. Another key element would be for you to identify your risk process. This gives you the chance to see what could go wrong, and what you can do to mitigate it. Little things like this can make a major difference to how well your event goes.
Another monumental mistake would be you not checking the local area for other events. The last thing you want is for your event to compete, especially if you are targeting the same audience. You need to give people the chance to attend and less competition will help you with this. Reach out to local event planners, and also make sure that you take note of any other events that may come up shortly. Hiring a speaker is a great way for you to make sure that your turnout is good, but if there are similar events then all the good ones might be gone. Planning is key here, so remember that.
When it comes to event vendors, one thing to take note of is that a lot of things can go wrong. It may be that you lack staffing, or the vendors themselves might not be communicating very often. Either way, you need to get written communication stating that everything that has been talked about, is going to plan. Arrival times should not clash with other vendors either, as this will set your event back.
If you overspend then this will impact your event in more ways than one. You may find that you end up not being able to deviate resources to other parts of your event and that you also can’t pay the staff you need to hire. Budgeting is one of the bigger challenges that come with planning an event, so make sure that you communicate regularly and that you also reduce spending where possible. Schedule meetings so you can keep your team on board and if something does go wrong, or if you need to make changes, then don’t make them blindly. Review your budget and make sure that the new option isn’t going to take up too much money.
Nothing says a bad impression more than your attendees turning up, to see that you are still preparing. You have to arrive at your venue as early as humanly possible as this makes sure that you have more than enough time to set up. People don’t want to turn up and see everyone running around in a panic, trying to get everything ready. Check with your venue and see if there is an event that is happening either before or after yours. This will help you to know if you have enough time to get everything done.
When it comes to tech, you have to make sure that you have backups. If the internet cuts out or if you end up having an issue with your software then you may find that things end up getting overwhelming. Take the time to make sure that your staff understand how to use the software you’re utilising and also use check-in apps if you want to see who has arrived and who hasn’t. If you can do this then you will soon find that it becomes easier to get the result you are looking for. You may also find that it’s easier to track things too which is great.
