Planning A Corporate Event In 2022: The Ultimate Guide
Corporate events have remained a favorite marketing tool for many brands and small businesses. Traditional businesses still use them, even if it's just festive parties, to generate sales, brand identity, and establish a rapport with customers. However, corporate functions come with a long checklist of things you need to do when organizing an event. These items include booking a venue, ordering flowers and other decorations, planning the schedule for each session, and much more.
When planning a corporate event, you need to prepare early enough and prepare your team. This guide includes all you'll need to know about how to start preparing for a successful corporate event. You can find tips for getting started and information on where you should be focusing your efforts below:
Perhaps, the critical part of planning a corporate event is to set a realistic budget. Doing so allows you to have a guide when making decisions. It can act as an outline as you nail down the specifics of your corporate event.
For instance, how many guests and attendees are you planning to accommodate? What kind of food are you going to serve the guests? Are you going to book a big function room, or will the office conference room suffice? And as such, having the budget in mind allows you to plan the corporate event in such a way that you won’t go overboard when sorting out event details such as decoration, corporate gifts, and more.
While it’d be good to note that some companies have allotted a budget for corporate events, to be on the safe side, consider getting the input of other members of the team. You could sit down with the HR and finance team, perhaps.
Once you have a budget, you can plan other things knowing you won't fall short in finances.
Another essential tip when planning your corporate event is to finalize the date and lock in the venue early. And while corporate events can be held in different places, your venue depends on the scale and budget of the event.
But aside from budget, when choosing an appropriate venue, keep in mind its size and location. The venue you choose must be well-connected and convenient for the attendees to access and go to. You’ll also want to consider what type of amenities or activities this venue offers so that attendees can enjoy themselves once they arrive.
When planning your corporate event, prioritize booking your venue to minimize any issues. Furthermore, determining the venue and date of the event early has many benefits, such as:
- Better Pricing: The sooner you book an event space, the more likely you will be able to lock in a lower price for the room rental fee and catering costs.
- More Availability: The longer you wait to book your event space, the less likely your preferred venue will be available on your desired date.
- More Time To Plan: The longer you wait to book your event space, the less time remains for planning activities such as developing a menu, and ordering party favors and decorations.
Entertainment is all too often an afterthought when planning a corporate event. In some cases, companies try to hire an act last minute to fill a time slot. However, you should put some thought into the entertainment, too, since you can use it as a way to tie the whole theme of your event together.
To start, think about what sort of entertainment would be appropriate for your audience. For example, if you have an older audience and a lot of people who have been around for the long haul, you might want to hire an old-school band or some other type of classical music that will resonate with them.
You can also get creative with your entertainment and have events such as live screen printing to help draw attention and offer people a rewarding experience. When people leave the event with t-shirts, they'll hold the memories for so long.
Planning your corporate event also involves ensuring that your event is well-covered. For that reason, some companies opt for hiring event coordinators to manage the event on the day itself. And in most cases, the services of event planners and coordinators include the coordination of various events staff, such as the following:
- Security Personnel: They keep everyone safe and ensure that your event venue is monitored and has proper surveillance.
- Catering Staff: They prepare and serve food and beverages and cleanup to clear away tables at the end of the event. Caterers can help with bar staffing too.
- Registration Staff: They are in charge of ticket sales and guest lists. Parking attendants may also be necessary if your guests drive to your event venue.
- Photographers or Videographers: Hiring one enables you to capture memories from the event day so that you can share them on social media after your event or use them in marketing material later on in the year during other events such as trade shows.
If the budget permits, hiring an event coordinator could be an ideal option for you. However, if not, you can always assign team members to help in overseeing the event.
Now that you have sorted out and finalized the details of your corporate event, it’s time to inform people about it.
It’s always a good idea to send an e-mail blast or post announcements about the event as far in advance as possible. That way, your employees and other attendees can add it to their calendars and make sure that there’s nothing else planned for the same day. If you want them to invite guests or family members, it’s also a good idea to let them know so that they can RSVP on behalf of everyone who wants to attend. Remember to include what time the event starts and whether you need an RSVP from each person.
In addition to letting people know the date and time well in advance, you should also mention what type of event it is and what type of dress code there will be. There's nothing worse than getting excited about going out somewhere only to find out at the last minute that you don't have anything appropriate to wear.
Wrapping Up
Planning a corporate event can be challenging and overwhelming, but it’s not impossible. Yes, it may take a lot of time and effort, but it is worth it. For one, it allows you to connect and engage with potential clients and even your own workforce, which can help solidify your brand and generate more leads.
Consider the tips and insights presented in this article to help you plan your corporate event this year.
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
