Event planning can be a tedious process. The purpose of your event dictates the shape of your event. Whatever the goals of an event are and whichever tent rentals you hire, there are some challenges and problems every event manager has to overcome. Let us lay out event planning problems with their solid solutions for a successful event.
Overspending
This is a common problem every person who organizes an event has to deal with. This is why budgeting is such a critical part of event planning. Avoid rushing the budgeting process because it would lead to problems later.
For budgeting, analyze the data of the previous events so you know how much to spend for the event you’re planning.
Anyone who knows a thing or two about event planning knows that unexpected things can come up. So, make sure when you set up the budget, it has room for some unexpected expenses.
Underestimating Early Planning And Booking
Everyone understands the importance of planning, but even then, some can make the mistake of planning too late for something that will take longer to plan and execute. Depending on the type of event, your plan should be ready at least six to nine months before the event.
It’s required because after planning, you and your team will have to book the venue and vendors. The stakeholders won’t like to hear that the venue they wanted was not available because someone who was planning the event underestimated early booking.
So, work with your team to plan out the entire event and get on with booking everything you will need for the event so you book the venue, production company, rental, and others which were your preference. That being said, you should still have a backup if you can’t book the vendor or venue you wanted.
Audio Visual Failures
Audio visual is a big part of every event no matter the size and type. This is the element that can add awesomeness to your event. However, as it’s an element that your event relies on for presentations and whatnot, any problem with it during the event will not go unnoticed.
So, if you don’t want an AV mishap, planning is critical, and even more important is communicating well with your event production team.
Ensure that there is enough build time for the AV company to load in and set up the equipment and arrangements. Moreover, your AV team should know everything about the timeline and details of the event. If anything changes, you must inform them so they adjust accordingly. In fact, it’s better to give away too much information to the AV company than less information to avoid AV failures.
Additionally, using a countdown clock for your speakers is a good method of keeping presentations on time. Make sure you communicate this with the presenters and they can see it properly.
No Creativity And Uniqueness
Events, especially corporate events, can get boring. So, it’s your job to make sure that your event doesn’t become boring or mediocre for the attendees else, the audience will only be talking about how bad the event is going.
Events can be exciting if creativity and uniqueness is involved. So, create your event planning team and involve everyone to come up with ideas that will engage the audience.
Audience Engagement
This can be a continuation of the last point because one part of making the event interesting is engaging your event audience. If you haven’t planned anything except the presentations of the guests, then it can turn into a snooze-fest for the audience.
Look for ways to involve the audience in the event by holding Q&A sessions, planning breakout groups, and letting your speakers ask attendees questions.
Moreover, use social media to make the event successful. Design the venue to be photo-worthy, share hashtags, create photo opportunities for the audience with the speakers, and more.
No Or Poor Backup Planning
You must be prepared for anything and everything. Even if you plan out the event early on, create an excellent team, hire the right people, and book everything, something can go wrong.
For instance, a common problem that many have to deal with outdoor events is weather conditions. What if it rains? Have you planned anything else if gusty winds make the venue dusty? What if some or all speakers don’t show up or many of the staff members become sick or bail?
These and many other unexpected things can happen so you must be prepared by having a proper contingency plan. With backup planning, if anything bad happens, instead of picnicking, you will know what to do the next moment.
Venue And Vendor Selection
Finding the right venue and vendors can be a tedious process because you want the perfect arrangements specific to the event. You will also have to start the booking process as early as possible because the in-demand venues and vendors are booked months in advance – sometimes more than a year.
So, as explained in another point before, plan the process so you have enough time for booking the venue and vendors. Moreover, create a business relationship with key venues and vendors that you know are the best to make the booking process a bit easier.
No Attendance Tracking
This can not only save you from overspending but also from difficult situations. For instance, if you track your audience and find out that fewer people have signed up for it, you can shift the location to a place that suits the size of your audience so it doesn’t appear too less.
On the financial side of things, you will also get the opportunity to prepare fewer meals and save money. This will only be possible because of attendance tracking.
Fewer People Showing Up
We touched up this problem in the last point that you can manage low attendance by switching the location and making it appear cozy and fun. But if you don’t want low attendance to happen in the first place, your event should be hyped well.
People attend events they know about and want to attend. If your event is not marketed enough or not marketed well, either fewer people would know about it or people won’t like it. This will lead to low attendance.
So, stay on top of event marketing so people know about the event and want to attend it. Use social media and word-of-mouth techniques to ensure this.
Finding Sponsors
If your event needs sponsors, you need to start the sponsors-hunting process early just when you plan the event. Avoid delaying it because this will only prove to be crippling for your event. On the other hand, finding and getting sponsors early on will solve one problem of the event and you will be able to properly focus on the planning and booking process entirely.
Now, you might not get sponsors from the companies you want. So, make sure the sponsors list you create is big so you have many options if your favorites are busy with other engagements.
Conclusion
Event planning is all about preparation. If you prepare well and plan out every detail, you can prevent many of these problems and sail smoothly. Create a stellar team and hire the right event rentals Frederick for a successful event.