Company Event Strategies For The Entrepreneurially Challenged
Entertainment can be very subjective and there are plenty of ways to go about it. For companies, it is a serious task to create unique experiences in which most people will indulge involuntarily. That is why corporate event planning is a science on its own. Such endeavors require high levels of organizational skills, attention to detail and incorporating the industry and niche into account. It can be a lot of fun to pull off and can deliver rewarding experiences that will be remembered for a long time.
This is why event management as an industry has grown so rapidly over the years as of late. Estimated growth is about 25 percent on an annual level which is a lot, considering the highly saturated, global market. This constantly changing and evolving industry does come with its own set of challenges that need to be overcome. Here are some of the things to consider when planning a corporate event.
#1. Financing
It really should go without saying, our budget constraints should be the first factor to take into consideration. All other factors stem from this common one. We all want our events to be as grand and as lavish as possible but that is rarely a realistic possibility.
Everyone has a fixed budget, sometimes small and sometimes larger but always a finite one. There are also costs that might initially be hidden from the organizer such as safety and legal fees that we will brush upon.
Financial plans also are required to have a cushion, a buffer for any unforeseen circumstances. This might be used for the special demands attendees may have or any last-minute changes that might occur. The commonality is always the same, make sure that you can cover all the expenses and plan accordingly.
#2. Legality
Depending on the nature of the event and many other factors, usually, an official permit is required. This also varies greatly on the country we find ourselves in, so your local laws may differ greatly from your neighbor’s. Permissions need to get acquired from authorities for the venue, the food, refreshments, maybe music, etc.
The last thing we would want to do is to have our event shut down because it is not in accordance with laws and regulations. These permits will surely carry a price tag themselves, which ties into our previous key point. The takeaway here is that professional help should be consulted when it comes to legal questions as these can be very finicky and vary greatly on a multitude of factors.
#3. Meeting attendee’s requirements
It is important to have a firm grasp on what our audience expects from an event. It can be a very loud one intended for a hard-working to socialize and let off steam or it can be a quiet one if the situation and people involved require it.
Misunderstanding the requirements of an event can have very adverse effects on the entire thing. From this point can we begin to plan further because if we get ahead of ourselves, we can find ourselves backtracking which costs us money and time.
#4. Technology
Being in the most technologically advanced era has many great benefits and many of those reflect on event organizing as well. It is important to utilize technology in as many aspects as possible as it will cut down on costs, time and stress down the line.
It makes organizing events much easier but like all things, it does come with challenges and obstacles. And it does not need to be expensive to be usable. Start small, like with professional-grade cameras for documenting your events as opposed to recording with a smartphone as it can look a tad unprofessional. It is still out of your budget, there are always companies that specialize in certain areas like The Party Starters for example.
No matter the piece of technology you may need, it does not necessarily mean that you have to acquire it yourself. For instance, big expensive, energy and space-consuming sound systems, the like concerts have, are not very feasible to permanently own.
But these can be rented for a fee which is a much more economical option. The only situation in which we may actually purchase an expensive piece of technology is if we know that we will be using it very often and for a long time. Only if those conditions are met, will the technology acquired pay off for itself over time.
As we can see there are a lot of considerations that go into organizing company events. Naturally, the knowledge base has expanded greatly regarding the industry which has made event planning very affordable and accessible. By keeping these basic principles in mind, we can plan out events that will be successful and remembered for years to come.
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