If you don’t have a solid plan, you will risk chaos, disorganization, and not meeting your event goals and objectives. Seasoned events planners follow a comprehensive plan that can help guarantee success. Rather than going into your next event with no clear plan, events planners cover the different stages of event planning.
Researching and Goal Setting
Depending on the event you are planning, you will need to carry out some research before starting anything. If you skip this important step, it might mean disaster for your event. During the research process, you need to determine what the goals are—raising money, networking, training, sharing new ideas, etc.
Prepare a list of questions to stay organized and efficient. You also need to know the budget needed for the event, the date, and the number of attendees you expect. Once you have completed your research, you also need to figure out how you can measure the success of your event later on.
Designing the Event
This includes the master plan for your event. This is where you will find a venue that can accommodate the theme of the event, its purpose, and the number of guests and attendees. You need to also work with the venue staff throughout the planning process to ensure things go smoothly.
Once you have identified the venue for the event, you need to also determine the team of people who can help you to work on the design tasks. Delegating responsibilities to different team members can help ensure things won’t be too overwhelming for you. You also need to make sure each member of the team will contribute to the plan.
Branding the Event
An event with clear objectives and goals is easier to brand. You will know what you want and the guests and attendees will know what to expect. When branding your event, you need to figure out how you can make your event unique and worth attending. You need to also use promotional materials to create some excitement around the event.
It would also be a good idea to come up with a tagline or motto for your event to make it even more appealing. Think about the right logo, tagline, and name as you build a brand around your event. It should be very clear to attendees what they can expect and what they can get from the event should they choose to attend.
Coordinating the Event
Coordination involves finalizing the plans with everyone involved in the event. Every member of the team should know what their roles are and how important it is to the success of the event. They also need to coordinate with different components so everything will go as seamlessly as possible.
Every member of the team should also know the start and finish time. It is crucial to also have important information ready in case there are issues that need to be addressed. For instance, everyone needs to know who to get in touch with in case there are unexpected technical issues that need to be fixed.
Evaluating the Event
The evaluation stage is important for event planners who want to gather feedback and would like to build their reputation as a planner. For formal work training and conferences, paper surveys and online surveys are typically sent out to collect feedback about the event.
You can also include questions about the specific objectives you have or questions about the organization in your feedback form. Discuss with the members of the team if you have achieved the goals and objectives you have identified. This is also the ideal time to explore the areas you need to improve on and the areas you are great at.
