Events are an essential part of strengthening any brand, establishing meaningful connections with our customers and partners, and achieving our business goals through personal engagement.
It is essential, therefore, that our events resonate with attendees, leaving them with a lasting impression and positioning us as leaders in our sector. In this post we explore the essential keys to running a successful event that will help us achieve our goals. To begin with, we would have to define them.
1. Define the objectives
As with any marketing activity, it is essential, before starting to organise, to be clear about the objectives we want to achieve with the event in order to design it with a concrete and measurable purpose. For example, an event may aim to launch a product or service, win new customers, strengthen relationships with existing customers or partners, encourage networking between teams, etc.
Once we are clear about the objectives, we need to know who we are targeting, so the next step is to define the audience:
2. Establish the audience
It is not only essential to know who our event is aimed at. It is essential to know our audience so that our event is attractive to them and is able to engage them. In order to do so, research must be carried out. What needs does our audience have? What are their interests? How can we attract their attention and raise their expectations? The better we know our audience, the better we will be able to personalise the event and generate a valuable experience, as we will know their interests and increase participation.
3. Set the budget
We cannot make decisions, plan or act without knowing the budget for the event. There is no point in having great ideas if they cannot be realised for economic reasons. It is better to stick to the established budget (as long as it is feasible and realistic) to generate the idea, rather than the other way around.
The groundwork has been laid; now it’s time to plan.
4. Plan
This is the basis of any event and is the most essential part. Good planning starts with a detailed timeline that includes all tasks, from choosing the right date, format, venue, to contracting all suppliers. You have to know when to send the invitation, when to promote the event, when to confirm attendance… Once the tasks have been defined, you have to define who is responsible for each of them: the team!
5. Promote and communicate
A sound communication strategy is vital to attract a large and diverse audience. Use multiple communication and marketing channels to promote it, such as social media, email, newsletters and collaborations with strategic partners. It is also advisable to create an attractive landing page where your audience can find all the information related to the event and where they can register.
6. Generate experiences
As we said before, a quality event must seek to generate unique and enriching experiences, taking care of all the details, especially the content of the event. The satisfaction of the attendees will contribute in an effective way to the good word about our brands…from the content, conferences, if any, entertainment, cocktail, attention, etc. Every detail counts.
7. Evaluate and be grateful
Once the event is over, it is important to thank all attendees for their attendance and to evaluate the results in terms of the objectives set at the beginning. One of the best ways to do this is to carry out satisfaction surveys among attendees in order to obtain valuable feedback for future events.
A dash of dedication, a spoonful of creativity and a good dose of organisation are the basic ingredients for the success of your business event. And remember: on the day of the event, take everything well prepared with the agenda, everything well rehearsed and leave nothing to chance. With these tips we are sure that your event will be a success.
