7 Tips for Stress-Free Corporate Event Planning

Hosting a business event is a great way to build relationships, generate revenue and promote your business. But how many times have you spent most of your workday planning a corporate event only to walk into the room and feel like you are hitting a brick wall?

Planning a corporate event can be stressful, especially if you’re new to event planning, and you may ask yourself if it’s even worth it. However, marketing pros see live events as the most effective channel for achieving key business objectives, so it’s definitely something you should look forward to!

So if you’re anxious about planning your next event, we’re here to help. We’ve created a list of 7 tips on how to plan worry-free corporate events!

Corporate event planning checklist

#1 Ask the W questions

Before you begin any organisational work, be sure to take some time to plan ahead. Here are four questions that can help guide you as you plan a successful event:

What

‘What’ is the most important question to ask. What is the event about? What is its purpose? What do you want to gain from it? What are you planning to do during it? When you are able to answer these questions, it will be easier to decide what type of event to organise and your event planning will run smoothly from the very beginning.

For example, if your goal is to launch a new product, then maybe you want to host a product launch or release it during a brand conference. If your aim is to raise money for charity, then maybe you want to host a fundraiser. If you are seeking to attract new customers, then perhaps you want to host a promotional event. Question your goals at the beginning of your planning process to help you set up clear event objectives and clarify the decision-making process.

Who

Once you know what the event is about, you can easily answer the next question: who is your target audience? Is this event for clients or potential clients? Are they all going to be working in the same or a variety of industries?

If your goal is simply to get people together who share common interests and could benefit from networking with each other, then any member of the community is probably a good candidate for an invitation. However, if there are specific individuals in industries relevant to yours whom you’d like to reach out to, then you might want to consider sending invitations only to them.

One other important aspect of this question is deciding who is going to be on your planning team. Make sure to gather together a team who can help ensure an efficient and smooth planning process.

When

Finding the right date for your event is not an easy task, as you must take into consideration such things as venue availability, the weather (if you’re planning for an outdoor event), important holidays and other industry-specific events. That’s why it’s smart to plan your event several months ahead, so you can have time to schedule everything and make changes if necessary.

When looking for a date for your event, here’s a tip. If your event is intended to be a recurring one, find a date that can be easily repeated, like the first Monday of May or every third Thursday of the month.

Where

Securing the right location for your event can ensure its success or doom it to failure, so it’s important to find just the right spot. Thankfully, here at Tagvenue, we’re experts in venue finding, so we’re more than happy to help you locate the one that will fit your event perfectly. Read on to find some suggestions from our team.

#2 Set the budget

Setting up a budget for your corporate event is very important. It will help you keep track of how much money you’re spending and what kind of results you are getting so that you can make informed decisions about how to spend it in the future. 

When you set up an event budget, it is always best to take the guesswork out of the process. Rather than having to guess how much money will remain at the end of the night, a budget ensures that there is enough money left to cover expenses.

#3 Secure the venue

As we’ve mentioned before, choosing the right venue can make all the difference to your event. Here at Tagvenue, we have a selection of almost 11,000 venues to choose from. Our smart filters allow you to conduct your search according to the number of people, date and price range, which makes the whole venue hunt and booking process even easier. So, what kind of venues are best for all sorts of corporate events?

• Corporate event venues – some venues specialise in hosting corporate events, so if you want to be sure your organising process will be smooth sailing, reach out to one of these venues.

• Conference venues – the right conference venue will have all the equipment you will need for the speakers to give speeches worry-free and for the guests to have the best attendee experience. Some venues also accommodate hybrid events, so make sure you ask about those options.

• Outdoor venues – If you’re planning your event during the summer months, why not take advantage of it and organise your event outdoors? The right venue will leave your attendees satisfied with the event experience and the memories they take home.

• Affordable venues – Planning your event on a budget? Don’t worry! There are a number of venues that will fit into your event budget while still offering a great location for your event. We have a range of affordable options to make your planning process as painless as possible.

• Blank canvas venues – Do you have a clear vision of what your event will look like and just need a place to host it in? Blank canvas venues might be just what you need: these bare bones event spaces can be easily transformed to be exactly what you want them to be, and they are suitable for all types of corporate events.

Before you make the final decision on your venue, make sure it:

• Has enough space for all the attendees
• Is available on the date you need it
• Provides catering or allows an outside vendor
• Has all the equipment you will need for your event
• Is easily accessible
• Has enough parking spaces

It is always a good idea to talk to the venue manager about any questions you may have about what will take place at the event to make sure the venue can accommodate all your needs.

#4 Go hybrid

Does organising your event as both an in-person one and an online one seem like too much hassle? It shouldn’t! In the post-pandemic world, the possibilities for organising hybrid or online events are endless, so why not make the most of your options?

If you want to run a hybrid or an online event, the easiest way to do it is through live video streams. You can use different streaming platforms to broadcast videos live and then save them, so they’re available on demand afterwards. This is a great way for people who are unable to attend in person to still participate in your event.

When organising a hybrid event, make sure that people watching online can participate as well. Hold live Q&A sessions, have chat rooms available for discussions, and offer special deals to attendees watching online.

If you decide to live stream the event, record it so that people who couldn’t watch it live can still access it later on. Those recordings could be available behind a lead generation form or a paywall, so you can still benefit from the event. The recordings can come in useful in a different way, as well. Video snippets from them can be used later on to produce content for your social media channels or to create ads for future events.

If you decide to record your event and later use your recordings, make sure all people appearing in the videos sign a release waiver.

#5 Plan for entertainment

The right entertainment can help make your event memorable and engaging and leave a lasting impression on your guests. You want to make sure that what you offer the participants is a good fit for your audience and stays within your budget.

From DJs and live bands to magicians, comedians and more, there are a lot of options to choose from. Here are some ideas:

• A photo booth (don’t forget the props!)
• A background for selfies (it can include your company logo or event branding)
• A live band or DJ
• A scavenger hunt
• A video games corner (you can organise a game tournament as well)

#6 Market your event

One of the best ways to attract more people to your event is to market it online. Social media is an essential tool for event marketing. It allows you to target customers directly and invite them to join your event.

If you can, use multiple social media channels. The more channels through which you reach out to people, the better your chances of getting them to attend. It’s also easier for them to find out about the event since there are so many different places that they are exposed to the information.

By using your social media channels to promote your event, you can build excitement as well. When people start talking about an upcoming event, it creates a buzz and builds anticipation. The more people talk about an upcoming event, the more likely others are going to be interested in attending as well.

What can you do to market your event?

• Create a dedicated event landing page or add a section to your existing site about your upcoming event
• Create an event hashtag to promote it across your platforms
• Use your social media channels to promote your event
• Send out event announcements via your newsletter list
• Use out-of-home (OOH) advertising such as radio ads or billboards.

Remember that the most important thing about marketing your event, whether you use traditional methods or just online channels, is to start the marketing campaign early enough to build awareness of your event, create a buzz, and get people excited for what’s to come.

#7 Follow up

Mason Cooley, a known American aphorist, once said: “An event is not over until everyone is tired of talking about it.” So even if you’re all excited for the event to happen and for it to be over, don’t forget the follow-up! 

A good follow-up will have you reflect on your goal. If it was to sell more products or services, consider sending out an email after the event with a coupon code for attendees. If your goal was to get people excited and interested in your brand, consider sending an email with a link to your website and social media channels. Look back at what you wanted to gain via the event, and circle back to it in the follow-up.

Summary

When you look at what’s ahead of you when organising a corporate event, you may feel intimidated. But we hope that our tips will make the event planning process plain sailing for you.

Still have more questions than answers? We have many more articles to help you out with your event planning, so make sure you check our business event tag to find more useful tips on business event planning.

See you at your event!

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