How to Host a Successful Event!

Hosting an event is a great way to grow your business. You can reconnect with current customers and have prospective customers get to know you better.

If you are a savvy entrepreneur, you already know the value of networking. Take that success strategy one step further and host your own company event. You can be the ‘connector’ at your own event, connecting people that you know would work well together or have a synergy. You can also develop new relationships and so much more!

There is a lot of behind the scenes activities that go into pulling off a successful event, probably more than you can imagine.

To get you started, here are four critical steps for hosting an event that you should take before you hold your event.

1. Know your why 

It’s great to hold a party for no reason at all, but a business related party should have a WHY. Once you have your reason and motivation for hosting a company event, you can develop your theme. Be very clear about what your event is going to be about and for whom. This becomes your foundation. Don’t get distracted. Be clear on the why, the theme and your vision.

2. Create a plan

You should start planning your event at least 8-10 months out. If you are planning to host a large, 3-day conference for your clients, you may want to start planning 12-18 months out to ensure a successful experience.

If this is your first event, start small and get your feet wet with something easy like an evening dinner seminar.

Your event plan should include:

- The date

- The place (venue)

- The times

- The guest list (current clients, prospects, other guests) 

 Invitation (this is your offer. Think about how you will fill the seats. How will you reach your guest list – email or snail mail?)

- Your content (what you will present)

- Your sponsors (if applicable)

- The pricing (are you charging your guests or is this a free event?)

- The follow-up (follow up with your attendees is so important!)

3. Form a team 

You’ve heard the saying “it takes a village”? Well, event planning really does. There are a lot of moving parts so having a team in place to make sure your event will run smoothly from start to finish is imperative. Whether you are hosting a small dinner seminar or a 3-day conference, you need a team in place. Here are some suggestions for building your team:

- Your employees – they are the ones who know your clients and prospects and can create the invitation list

- An event management team, such as Blue Dog Marketing, who can manage everything from getting you a great location to negotiating a great contract. An event management team will be on-site during your event to manage the day. An event management team can also design your invitation and other materials for the event, hire an audio-visual company (if needed) and most importantly, they can keep you focused and on budget.

4. Determine your budget

Plan your event budget wisely. When meeting with your event management team, they can help you create a budget because they know the average cost for many of the items you need to make your event successful. Little things, as well as the big things, quickly add up.

Hosting an event is a great way to attract your target customers and grow your business. 

Use Events as Part of Your Marketing

You have done the work to determine who your target audience is. There are multiple ways to reach them. One fun way is to host your own events.

When you host, you have control over the guests, the format, the selling and marketing around it. That's what makes this such a great strategy.

Some reasons for an event:

·         a celebration of something (anniversary of your company, holidays)

·         a launch of something (product, service, book, etc)

What is the purpose of hosting an event? You want to meet new contacts and thank your current customers. Ask your guests to invite a friend or colleague who may be interested in learning about your company or has a business or challenges similar to theirs.

Your goal is to create a great experience for your customers and your new guests, and send the right messages to the people you are trying to get to know and turn into prospects.

Make it a quality event - don't skimp.

Events can be part of your overall marketing strategy. Have all your marketing components mesh for your event to be successful.

Need assistance planning and executing a corporate event? Give Blue Dog Marketing a call….we’re here to help you!