10 Tips For Planning A Company Conference and Event?

| 1 Likes

Looking for Planning A Company Conference and Event? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve seen a lot of business events over the years, and there are ten steps we’ve identified as key to a successful event. This guide may not be all of what you need to do because it will depend on the type of event you are holding, we can suggest some best practices that are important to follow for any event. 

 

10 Tips For Planning A Company Conference and Event?

#1 WORK OUT THE PURPOSE OF YOUR COMPANY EVENT

Your event will be different with others so you may require to work on a tailored event planning. To ensure you get the right event solution, start with a what and why? This help with your venue and suppliers in working out the best solution for your event. It also set as a benchmark to help measure the success of the event. Other important questions you would also have such as your audience size and style, date and time for the event, speakers and their content. Is your event for beginners or people experienced in their field or activities you prefer? Would your attendees prefer a breakfast, lunch-time, or evening event? What location would be most suitable?

You can generate revenue from ticket sales, sponsorship, grant, company donations or exhibition fees. With expenditure, you will allocate expenses include venue hire, activities, food and beverage, technology, speakers and entertainment, marketing and promotion, event styling and travel. You may need to have a contingency for unexpected costs such as allowance or after event activities.

# 2 HAVE A BUDGET

If you organise a company event, it might be a good idea to total all the cost and work under your budget as a little room to move is better than coming back to your boss to get more money. If you were planning a paid event, then you would need to work out your pricing strategy if you sell tickets, stands or sponsorship packages. Can you offer discount pricing such as early bird discounts, group discounts and exclusive discounts for VIP customers or bundle pricing with food, accommodation and event package? You can look into a ticketing partner, such as Eventbrite, who can manage the tickets including reminders "before and after" emails for the event. A venue works on the minimum spend as they will need to have enough revenue to support your event plus making a profit. For example, Otao kitchen cooking class package starts at $125pp from 2 hours with a minimum of 10 guests. 

# 3 RESEARCH POTENTIAL PROVIDER, VENUE & TECHNOLOGY

When working with a service provider, check their core business can deliver on your event requirements such as food related venue or just conference and event ones. You might have your favourite but consider the audience, guests and stakeholders. What are their wants, needs and expectations? A quality service provider should tell you what will work, what won't and why for your event concept. You can share your experience with them to help them develop the best solution for your event. 

Ensure the venue you select aligns with your goal, whether it is a casual cooking class studio or classic venue whilst taking into consideration the type of event and capacity requirements. Once you've narrowed your search, book in for a site visit face to face or virtual, so that you can understand their space and ensure that it's the best fit for the event you are planning.

Technology can be one of the most stressful elements of running an event as you and the provider will work to develop the best technology solution for your event. 

# 4 SELECT YOUR MENU

Your event participants want fresh, creative and healthy menus that cater to a variety of dietary needs. They also wish to hands-on food activities like a tasting or a cooking class. Your food should form part of the event experience and be a talking point during and after the event. Your event planner can assist you with menu selection and advise what will work best for your day programming, dietary requests and audience. Some venues offer menu tastings then you "try before you buy" even you might have to pay for the cost depending on the event turnover.

# 5 START YOUR SEARCH FOR SPEAKERS AND SPONSORS

Connecting to people who know the subject will matter for your event through professional networks. For keynote speakers, you can use Saxton. Let us know if you need help as we have been working with expert chefs and speakers over the year. 

Your brand should align with the potential sponsors such as brand activation and awareness, lead generation, education about a new product or service. We think a formal agreement includes what you get and what they get in money or in-kind support of goods and services. 

# 6 LOOK FOR ACCOMMODATION AND CONFIRM THE FINAL NUMBER

When it comes to accommodation, look for options within easy walking distance to the venue and close to public transport, restaurants and cafes. Another way to look at it is you want your participant to enjoy the local destination and experiences. At Otao kitchen, we recommend Quest Abbotsford of Amora Hotel because they are close to major attractions as well as many lifestyle venues. Alternatively, we can do the legwork for you and source group rates from our accommodation partners.

Otao kitchen or your event provider will send you an event schedule with the tasks required before the event day one to two weeks before your event. You will need to send over final guest numbers, menu and beverage selection, room set up and payment needing to be confirmed. 

# 7 PROMOTE YOUR EVENT

For a small company event like our cooking event, you can use a Facebook group or company email to invite. You can also use the platform such as Google forms to get participant details such as dietary or transport option. 

Remember, people only go to the events, whether online and face-to-face events, if they see the benefits of attending your event. You can highlight what they learn and benefit with your program, activities, speaker notes and bios, venue, accommodation options, flights and the destination.

# 8 ON THE DAY

If you go for a single event like our cooking class, you can show up with the team. Our cooking vents are 2-4 hours in length depending on your package. We handle all the food, drink and equipment even aprons so you and your guests can enjoy the bonding time together. Begin with a complimentary refresher while guests are arriving. Your guests are introduced to the chef and team for the day. We prep for one hour. Then we together cook all the dishes. Expect to work solo or in a small group of 2,3,4 or 5 people depending on the team-building format you selected. 

For a medium or more significant event, you and your team will meet at the venue ahead of time, check-in with your primary event day contact and set up your registration area, pull-up banners and event signage. If you require additional time to bump-in or bump-out, you can request this before your event day to ensure enough staff are rostered on to support you. Your technology contact will be on hand to run you through the equipment, then load and test your presentations. Before your guests arrive, have your staff greet your guests at the main entry and guide them to your event space.

# 9 REDUCE IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Play your part in the war on waste and make your event sustainable. Here are our tips to reduce your impact:

• Reduce or eliminate printed marketing use email or digital channels.

• Keep your guests' food and drink with reusable cups, plates and cutlery with notes for COVID Safe Guidelines.

• Reuse stationary from previous events, e.g. lanyard and use digital signage where possible. 

• Considering giveaways? We encourage customers to consider the environmental impact or fun ideas says online experiences.

• Select a venue that uses renewable energy or reduced energy have waste management practices or selecting a menu that focusses on local produce. 

# 10 POST EVENT EVALUATION

Survey your attendees with free tools such as SurveyMonkey or google form with our example. The platforms have free templates and sample questions so you can measure the event performed against your original goals.

Review with your team your event brief against what you set out to achieve. Identify what worked, what didn't and what could be improved. You can speak to the venue and service providers so that they have the opportunity to provide feedback and help to enhance your next event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meeting and Conference

Meeting and Conference

From ultimate fun experiences to unique venue, we have everything you need to create an unforgettable meeting,...

Duration 3 Hours

From AUD $197 Book now
Team Building Cooking

Team Building Cooking

You’re planning an important team-building cooking event for your colleagues. You’ve done it before, but...

Duration 3 Hours

From AUD $197 Book now
Virtual Team Building Cooking

Virtual Team Building Cooking

Connect meaningfully, and inspire your team with this virtual ‘happy hour’. We provide online food...

Duration 1.5 Hours

From AUD $795 Book now

Event Planning