If you run a business, whether online or offline, you may have been toying with the idea of running live events. These can be a great way to create amazing value for your existing clients and also to reach a new audience, but the planning and where to get started with events often throws people off because they find it so overwhelming, so if you’re thinking you’d like to do this but don’t know where to get started, then in this post we’re going to share with you how to plan your first business event.
Shutterstock Licensed Photo – By sirtravelalot
Decide on the objective of the event:
The very first thing you’ll need to decide upon is the objective of your event overall since this is going to help you with planning the rest of it and bringing it all together. For example, is this event going to a low cost one that sells a higher ticket offer at the end or is it going to be one that’s already high ticket that really aims to educate people through things like different speakers, etc? Is it one that’s for your existing customers or one that’s part of your marketing strategy to gain new customers? There’s really no right or wrong here, but figuring out the objective of your event is definitely crucial.
Choose the amount of people you’d like to have:
Once you’ve decided on the objective for your event, you need to know how many people you’d like to have attending. If this is going to be a big event with more than 100 people, for example, then you’ll need to factor this in when looking for a location. The amount of people will also influence your pricing since you can usually charge less when you have more people in attendance.
Choose a location:
The location is a huge part of any event, so it’s important that you really put some proper thought into this and make sure that it’s a place that will contribute to the overall positive experience of the event itself. Whether it’s a luxury hotel in the city or a mountain lodge for a small retreat, the location of your event will really set the tone for the experience that people have.
Choose what’s included:
When people pay for an event there are typically some things included. However, it’s up to you what’s included in yours based on your business and the offer itself. For example are you going to hire a corporate catering company to provide food and drinks for your event that will be included in the price or are you going to include accommodation at the hotel? Whilst you certainly don’t have to provide any of these things, it’s definitely going to make a difference in the perceived value when people are deciding whether or not to buy tickets to attend.
Choose the price point:
Once you’ve worked out all of the above and know roughly what the event is going to cost you and how much you want to make from it, then this will allow you to come up with a price point that’s profitable for you and that’s also good value for those attending.
