6 Elements to Planning a Successful Event

Hosting an event is a great way to promote your business. When properly executed, special events have the ability to express appreciation for existing customers, generate excitement from the public and prospective customers, and provide your sales team with qualified leads. Pulling off a good event, though, will require some time and careful planning. Here are the six steps that you’ll need to take in order to achieve marketing success with your own event:

1. Set a Clear Goal

What is it that you wish to accomplish with your event? For some businesses, the primary objective is to obtain the contact information for prospective clients, whereas others may be me more interested in hitting the sales element hard by selling a lot of product. No matter what your goal is, it will help to shape your event. If you’re hoping to win leads, for instance, your event may need to center around interacting with customers casually at a remote location, whereas product selling makes more sense within the scope of an in-store event.

2. Pick a Date

In order to ensure a great turnout, you’ll need to time your event just right. Is your desire to push sales? Try hosting an event to coincide with major holidays when consumers are most likely to make a buying decision. In a different situation, you may need to consider other local events and dates that your clientele are likely to be booked for, and then plan around them.

3. Determine the Nature and Scope of the Event

The date that you set and the goal that you choose will help you to determine the nature of your event. Perhaps you’ll need to center the event around a specific holiday, product release, etc. Both the timing and your objectives will also play a role in deciding on how simplistic or elaborate your plans should be. While envisioning your event, be sure to consider:

• The location of the event — This can impact space, availability, and the need for special permits.
• Number of attendees — Will this be an invite-only event where you can plan on attendance based upon RSVPs, or is this an open, public event where you’ll need to make an educated guess?
• Budget — Be sure to plan on everything you need to host your event so that it goes off without a hitch. Budget for costs associated with tables and chairs, sound systems, refreshments, pens and paper, giveaways, door prizes, etc.
• Staffing — Make sure that you schedule workers and volunteers for the event so that you can rest assured that you have plenty of hands on deck throughout the event.

4. Promote

In order for people to show up to your event, you need to get the word out there. Make use of all of your marketing resources including blogs, social media, store signage, print ads, email flyers, etc. It’s also smart to ask local reporters to promote and cover the event.

5. Run the Scenarios

Anything can happen during an event, and it’s best to be prepared. Brainstorm with your employees on the different things that could go wrong, whether it’s running out of plates and napkins or a faulty extension cord.

6. Follow Up

After the event is completed, be sure to follow up with all of your prospects who indicated interest or provided you with their information. This is, after all, one of the main reasons for hosting an event!

Don’t be intimidated by the idea of planning and hosting a successful event. By following these simple steps, you’re sure to see positive results.