Type of Events
business meetings
While many events are celebratory or recreational in nature, business events mean business. The objective of the event is business-oriented; the budget is considered an investment, and after the last bit of confetti is swept away, the evaluation of the success of the event is based on bottom-line results.
In the planning stage, you need to have clearly defined feedback about what is expected. Try to set quantifiable goals, such as “a 10% growth in average order size from the targeted clientele” or “200 new leads in the targeted territory.” Having quantifiable results means you can measure the success of the event relative to the effort put forth.
When proposing a special event to management, be prepared to justify it. “A ‘Cinco de Mayo’ celebration would be colorful and fun” isn’t nearly as persuasive to management as “In the last three quarters our fastest growing customer group is Hispanic, and there are still thousands more potential customers in that target group—sponsoring a Cinco De Mayo celebration in their neighborhood could double our Hispanic customer base in a matter of weeks.”
Budgeting for a business event can be a real challenge demanding your creative best. Your boss may expect you to provide the client with a steak dinner on a hotdog budget
Your budget may include expenses for facility rental, decorations, food, entertainment, transportation, accommodations, promotional materials, reference materials, etc.
Besides juggling all of the aspects of the budget to reach a balance, you will need to develop a timeline and juggle all the details of getting the logistics of the event to flow smoothly no matter what.
You need to be prepared for anything from a technical glitch to a medical emergency. While a minor disaster at a family birthday party becomes the subject of a funny story, a minor disaster at a business event can harm your company’s reputation, alienate a good customer, or cost you your job.
One way to assure that your business event achieves its objectives at a reasonable cost is to hire a professional event planner. An event planner will be able to track all the details that make a business event a success.