Most critical pitfalls of event planning

Event organisers need to tackle so much while planning an event. Event planning includes everything from management to the marketing of the event. As events are complex in nature, there are many aspects to be covered for successful execution. If these aspects are ignored, there can be serious troubles as well. A sound understanding of such pitfalls and pre-planning can help a lot. Here are all such critical pitfalls organisers need to identify to execute a successful event plan- 

Not starting early

As an event organiser, if you wish to fly high with your event, better be an “early bird”!

Once you’ve planned basics like the venue or the keynote speaker, you should complete other formalities well in time. It’s a good practice to book all such services in advance.

 Also, many organisers tend to procrastinate when it comes to event promotion. This approach may be disastrous for your event. You must have a proper promotion timeline and measures to track its effectiveness. 

Not following up after the event

Only half the job is done as your event gets over. There’s another round of attendee engagement process you can’t miss out on. You can start this engagement with an email, a thank you note that appreciates the presence of your attendee. Moreover, the data that you have collected during the event is a gold mine you need to dig deep into. The insights obtained can be used to frame a retention strategy.

Relying on outdated practices

Change is the only constant in the event industry. Relying on outdated practices can cost you with your attendees. Don’t annoy them with long queues at the entrance, try to make the entire process easy, engaging and effortless. With the latest event technology, this can be done easily. From event apps to interactions using VR, you must keep yourself updated with the latest trends!

Not having a B Plan

“What if the keynote speaker isn’t on time?”

“What if the footfall isn’t as expected?”

“What about the last-minute technical glitches?” 

You must go through all such what-ifs in order to come up with a well-planned contingency plan. Even if you have adopted the best possible practices, there may be some changes or mishappenings beyond your control. Having an alternative plan can help you in such situations.  

Overlooking competing events

Competitor analysis is a must for any industry and event industry is no exception. This becomes handy especially while finalising the date/venue for the event. It’s better to avoid a clash with similar events else it may affect your expected footfall.

There are cases when a given venue caters to more than one event. If this is the case with your event, you must take note of the kind of event in advance. A distracting event in the same venue is like an annoying neighbour, avoid it!