A major event can be a powerful marketing tool. Inc.com offers some guidelines to ensure your major event is a major success.
- Have a specific goal in mind
- Just as with anything in business, if you don’t have a destination, you don’t know if you’re going in the right direction.
- Pick the right venue
- Venue selection is usually the first, and easily the most important, decision that needs to be made. Other details from the food, entertainment, and decorations can be changed
- Don’t penny pinch
- As with most things in business, it takes money to do the job right! A poorly planned or executed event does not prove well for your company
- Evaluate the guest list
- An overcrowded event isn’t quite a good thing, but is better than a poorly attended one. The last thing you want is for your guests to think nobody cared enough to attend
- Keep speeches to a minimum
- Events are about entertaining versus communicating information. Keep speeches short and sweet
- Do something different
- You want to surprise and exceed people’s expectations. Don’t repeat themes or happenings, as guests remember
- Have a WOW moment
- Science has shown that only events that have this “WOW factor” actually build brand equity. Consider a surprise keynote speaker or guest.
- Consider a planner
- Designing and implementing a major event involves juggling a plethora of logistical details and requires long experience to handle the inevitable challenges
See more from Inc.com’s Contributing Editor Geoffrey James here.
