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Memorable events don’t happen randomly rather require careful planning before actual commencement. No matter if it is conference, seminar, trade show or a meeting, every occasion holds enormous importance. Where a successful event can do so much to build a brand, one with a negative impact will reverse every effort and resources. Planning is the most crucial stage for any occasion. Proper and early planning using tool to plan meetings back up the onsite and after event efforts. Here we are sharing some key points for event planners from planning to collecting and contacting leads after the event.
Pinpoint your event purpose:
What is the purpose of the event? Launch new product or business? Boost sales or leads? Want to connect industry influencers? Or you just want to be heard?
For whatever reason you are into conducting the event, the key to success is be clearing illustrating the objectives associated with the gathering.
Anyone involved in the planning, execution, and piloting of the event should clearly know its purpose. Say, for example, you are non-profit organization attracting new donors, the speakers and other staff should be well aware of the purpose. Similarly, if you are planning to launch a new product, services or business, all the relevant staff should know the purpose.
This help in making a cohesive effort from all the parts of the organization to achieve the targets of the gathering. Moreover, with a clear purpose in mind, every member of the team would perform duties with due clarity.
Plan ahead:
The first step to a successful event was finding its ‘Why’. Now is the time to work on the ‘how’.
Planning is the most important step and should be done a handsome time before the commencement. Planning any kind of the business event whether trade show, meeting, conference or seminar, requires careful consideration of the details. Brainstorm everything about the audience, your goals, and objectives; and come up with a solid plan that should be followed step by step during the entire occasion.
The best way to plan is having a written plan. There are many advantages of having a written plan. First of all, anything written cannot be forgotten or neglected anyway. Secondly, it helps to distribute responsibilities among the staff. Also, a written plan helps greatly in keeping a check on the resources used and expenses made.
Distribute the whole event in different steps or stages and carefully plan and distribute each responsibility. The cohesive and break down approach works best in getting fruitful results no matter what the gathering is about.
Break down the details:
The written plan caters to every need of the planner and this one combine with it, helps in distributing the responsibilities. Both writing a plan and breaking down all the details, can and should go hand in hand. Soon when you are sorting out each detail about the event, assign all the responsibilities immediately.
Taking on or assigning too much responsibility is also not in favor of a successful event. The fact is most of the entrepreneurs are busy running the business. So don’t urge yourself or anyone for the heavy lifting, rather be smart and break down to each detail.
Also, it’s a good and wise practice to let the professionals do their task. So, if hiring a professional event planner does the job, you should go for it.
Leverage technology during the event:
You have planned everything, delegated all the details, now is the time to execute it.
Visual factors during the event are most effective and engaging for an attendee. The complete ora of the event including venue, marketing material and branding should illustrate the vision behind it. Technology plays a great role in bringing the interactivity and engagement to the show. iPad is the love of all event planners. Get rid of the boring pen, paper, giant screen rather bring digital screens into the hands of attendees using iPad. There are hundreds of iPad rental companies available in New York, California and everywhere in the United States that you can leverage to lease iPads from.
It can be used to conduct surveys, get feedback and at attendance desk. The information collected can then be used later.
Follow Up:
Conducting an event is just not enough if your aim is to attract new leads or customers. Rather there is so much to do after the event for a greater ROI. Create a proper plan or you can plan this with the initial plan of the event and delegate the responsibilities for this one too. Carefully analyze the information collected during the event. Stack up this information and contact the potential buyers.
You may also like: The Five Keys to Running a Successful Business Event
Image source: Depositphotos.com
About the Author
Tahir Awan is a man behind USA’s top iPad rental organization TabletHire.com. The company has been providing top-notch AV technology and iPad rentals for corporate outfits. With the widest array of branches spread across entire United States, Tablet Hire USA – iPad Rental offers the largest collection of tablets for business events. Connect with Tahir on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn.
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