How To Make An Impact When Throwing A Business Event

Any business you throw yourself is one that should be well thought out and planned. The reason is that you’re likely spending a hefty budget but you’re also contributing to the reputation of the company. A positive outcome is always better than a PR disaster, so it’s good to look at how you can make a bigger impact when throwing a business event.

Whether it’s your first business event or you can’t remember how many you’ve done, everyone has an opportunity to perfect and improve upon their craft. With that being said, let’s strip it back to the basics.

Know who your audience is

When throwing a business event, it might be a public opportunity whether it’s paid or free, or it might be for prospective clients and existing customers.

For whoever the event is for, it is important to grasp a strong understanding of your audience. Knowing who they are and how they operate helps tailor your event to their needs and preferences.

As a result, you end up with a kick-ass event that everyone will get something from. It’s important that the event you throw is one that the audience enjoys and gets value from. Creating an experience in the form of an event that resonates with them is helpful.

What is the goal of the event?

What are you trying to achieve from the event itself? Is it a celebration of the company reaching a milestone for example? It could be more to do with hitting some major sales targets that with the aid of the event, may just get you over the line.

The goal of the event is something you want to lay out before you get to planning the event itself. The reason for this is that you could end up in the wrong direction while planning and not achieve anything you hoped you would.

Figure out what it is you want from the event as an end goal. That way, you’ll find it easier to tailor the creation of the event.

Find the perfect venue

The venue you choose will definitely determine how many people can come to the event and what type of event you’ll be able to pull off. There are lots of event spaces to choose from, regardless of the location. 

If it’s an event space in another country, then it might be worth flying out and doing some groundwork to find the ideal venue in person. For those event spaces nearby, it’s good to take a look and assess your budget along with your needs before committing.

The venue is perhaps the most important part of the process when planning, so it’s good you’re making the right choices about it. To help make venue shopping more of a breeze, consider what it is you’re after and have a checklist that you can take with you so you’re able to determine what event space is appropriate for you.

Create a marketing timeline

In order to get the word out there about the event, it’s important to create a buzz online and offline. That requires a lot of marketing and strategising to ensure its success. After all, you want an event that people will pay for or show up at, at the very least.

Creating a marketing timeline is a great way to ensure you’ve covered all the bases required so that everyone and their next-door neighbour knows about the event.

Marketing timelines should include milestones that you want to hit in the planning and the leadup to the event. You should also incorporate some steps after the event where marketing will still need to be done to keep the conversation going.

Dress to impress

When it comes to the event space, you might have something to work with, or you could have a blank canvas. Whichever option you have, it’s imperative that you dress up the space to showcase your brand and business. If you have a theme, make sure you have everything in order to dress the room or building appropriately.

From giant LED inflatables to brand logos and banners, it’s important to showcase your business and brand at every point in the event. It should be dressed up so well that it’s impossible to confuse the event with any other that might be taking place nearby.

Tell a story with your event

Events need to be meaningful. They are often an immersive experience for all those who attend and when they show up, they need to be mesmerised.

With that being said, think about the story you want to tell when it comes to your business event. Anyone attending the event will love the journey that they go on. From the moment they enter the space, to the activities or networking they do, the food they eat, and the goodie bag they get as they leave.

It’s important that the story makes sense and that it’s something that will be memorable for a long time to come. 

Follow up with customers and leads afterward

While the event might have been a great success in your eyes, it’s important to follow up with your customers and potential leads afterward.

The reason is that you might not get the true opinions of your guests on the day of the event. It’s often after the event, that the guests have time to process their experience as a whole.

Look at how you can follow up with your customers, whether it’s through various direct contact methods like phone calls or emails. You might want to keep it more relaxed and reach out to them via social media instead. 

Whatever your preference for communication, always look to follow up with your customers in order to see what worked, what didn’t, and what needs improving.

Making an impact when throwing a business event is something that all businesses want to achieve. With these tips, you’ll hopefully achieve all of your goals and expectations for a lasting impression with your attendees.