The corporate vent market in the U.S. in 2020 was estimated to be worth $95.3 billion. It’s set to grow to $510.9 billion before 2030! So it’s safe to say plenty of people are holding corporate events, but how do you make yours a standout success?
Well, if you’re in the mood to wow and congratulate your staff for their efforts and create networking opportunities like never before, we’ve got you covered. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll talk you through five must-know tips to make your event a memorable one.
Let’s now run through the 5 tips:
1. Don’t Focus Too Much on the Budget
Of course, you need a budget for your event, however, don’t be too stringent, or you’ll wind up getting way too stressed. You might also end up feeling very limited with your options if you’re always trying to stick within your budget.
Instead, have more of a loose figure in mind when it comes to planning a corporate event. This way, you can enjoy the experience of planning the event and the occasion itself.
A better way to keep your spending in line is to understand what your event is all about. When you write down the things you want to accomplish and why you are hosting the event, you’ll start to realize what’s appropriate and what’s not. Your budget should then fall in line with your goals without much effort needed to keep tabs on it.
2. Know Your Audience
One crucial aspect of corporate event planning is knowing what your audience might expect from such an occasion. Upper management and executives might want a whole different array of things from an event compared to low-level staff members.
As well, if you have business partners attending, you should be more aware of how your company might be perceived. You might want to brief your own company members on “acceptable behaviors” to ensure you don’t end up reducing business partner confidence in your firm.
In terms of invites, it’s often a better idea to invite more people than you might be able to handle than too few. In the worst-case scenarios, you’ll have a few empty seats when you do this or people packing out the place, which will always look positive on your front. Just make sure there might be alternate ways to bring in that extra capacity with the venue if everyone does decide to turn up!
3. Choose a Tasteful Theme and Format
It might be tempting to think outside the box for a theme that no one has done before at a corporate event. In reality, the reason why this might be the case is that the theme isn’t so good.
All great themes have been used time and time again at corporate events because they work and they’re generally tasteful. It’s best to stick to a tried and tested theme, and then you can add a little creative and unique flair to it if you like to give it your own stamp.
One very solid theme and format to follow is to get in a notable guest speaker. By doing this, you associate yourself with the speaker and position your company as wise and knowledgeable (this may depend on the speaker, of course).
But also look for fun things that your attendees can do while they are at the event. The more people get involved with such fun activities, the more bonds people can make.
Activities lead to better networking and team building. Sitting and watching something entertaining at separate tables might be fun, but doesn’t promote interaction so well.
4. Create a Sturdy Project Timeline
While you might want to be a little loose with the budget, having a sturdy timeline is a must. The reason for this is if you don’t have things falling into place on time, you’ll be playing catch up throughout the whole planning phase (nightmare).
Thus, allow for more time than you would expect for each planning phase of your event. For instance, give yourself plenty of time to get the decor in place. It might seem like a 2-hour job, but things will always go wrong. In this example, you might want to allocate 5 hours for decor prep to allow for some breathing space and hiccups along the way.
It might seem surprising, but a good project timeline for a corporate event is one year. You can then work in 3-month increments to track the overall progress of your event planning. Yet, as the big date comes closer, you may want to narrow the increments down to a monthly and then weekly basis to keep solid track of things.
5. Location Is Key
When people even hear someone speak about a certain commercial venue, most of them will have a preconceived idea of what it’s like. A general preconception can be great for your event if it’s positive. Yet, if people already don’t like a place, then it will be an uphill struggle for you to promote your event right from the word go!
The advice here is to spend time looking for corporate venues. There might be better facilities out there you can make use of, but do question whether people will see it the same way as yourself. In most cases, it’s best to play it safe and go to some tried and tested venues that people can feel excited about.
Make Your Corporate Event One to Reminder
Try to see your corporate event as an investment as much as it’s anything else. It’s a way to show the world that your company exists in a bold and powerful way.
Having a super strict budget isn’t going to do you any favors if you want to make a real impact. Just ensure your scheduling is tight and try to keep things classy rather than tacky for a memorable experience for all.
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