Learn from event planning mistakes

Event planning is a big, competitive and growing business business and as barriers to entry continue to

diminish – be sure to be wise and learn from others’ mistakes rather than make blunders yourself. Three

things we teach those who come to us looking to break into our industry will definitely help in becoming

wise.

• Know your audience, know your attendees.

Imagine you think it’s a good idea to arrange a basketball tournament but everyone

likes golf instead? What if you ordered a steak menu but the group was an

environmentally friendly all vegan team? Rather than sit there with egg on your face,

get to know your group that you’re planning for. What they like, dislike, food

preferences and hobbies where appropriate. Does this require more effort and work to

get things right? Absolutely, but a memorable experience means a returning customer.

Think about that!

• You have heard it before in marketing, but the same is true for events – location! Location!

Location!

You might think this is a no brainer, but you’d be surprised. Just like picking a tea party

menu for football players is ill thought through, so is picking the wrong venue or

location. Say you have an event in downtown vegas and the group are seasoned

travelers who like to enjoy the local flavours of the city – placing them in a hotel with a

conference room that’s 5 minutes from the hotel is probably a bad choice. Think about

your options, the local restaurants, access to entertainment, and the weather even.

• People lose attention fast!

If you are planning a full day conference for a group of business professionals that is 10

hours long before the nights’ entertainment begins, the last thing you want is death by

power point. Think of ways to break up the day, keep people focused, have interesting

people come in and arrange regular breaks but not with coffee and muffins, with

interesting foods and selections they wouldn’t expect. Doing this breaks up the dullness

from a powerpoint and allows you to shine through, gearing up for a experience that

evening, making the company presentations worth it.

A little extra work goes a long way, learn to be wise and don’t make the mistake of going with the easy

route – it undoubtedly almost always results in an event blunder you’re unlikely to recover from.