Corporate Events ~ The Do’s and Don’ts
for the Perfect Day.
There are many reasons
for wishing to host an event for your clients,
staff, contacts or even suppliers. For most
people though, it is simply to impress the
right people and to either create or further
develop a strong relationship between them.
There are a number of do’s
and don’ts that should be followed
when choosing and organising a corporate
event. This article will discuss the
basic requirements for a first class event
and warn you of a few of the worst pitfalls
that can so easily be avoided, as long as
you are pre-warned!
1. Know your Client
2. What’s Your Budget?
3. Choose the Right Supplier
4. Be in Control
5. Enjoy Yourself!
1. Know Your Client
If you personally know who you intend to
invite this bit is easy. What do they like
to do? Are they sporty, up for anything
and adventurous or are they more likely
to prefer a more relaxed, slower paced event?
Either way, the important thing is to choose
an event that they would like to do, not
what you would like to do! Hopefully it’s
the same choice and everyone will be happy
but make sure. If you ring your potential
guest or guests up and ask for ideas not
only will they feel valued because you are
going to invite them but also because they
will feel that you value their opinion.
2. What’s
Your Budget?
Don’t promise the earth if you can’t
deliver it. Although the benefits of entertaining
guests are well proven and can easily be
justified it can be an expensive piece of
marketing. With trackdays costing nearly
£1000 per head and visits to football
matches and even minor sporting events not
far behind it is vital that you know your
budget and what you will get from it. Will
customers appreciate you simply for the
amount of money you’ve spent on them
or are they a bit more savvy than that?
Would they prefer to do something more hands
on, participate in an activity they’ve
never done before or just prefer something
more fun? It is also important to remember
that many people will equate a company being
overtly lavish with over inflated invoices!
3. Choose the Right
Supplier
If you do not have a current supplier the
obvious place to look is the internet. There
are an awful lot of companies providing
events but are they the actual providers?
Do you need 3rd party organisers? How much
work is actually involved in organising
an event? The answer is very little if you
pick the right supplier. The golden rule
has to be to personally visit the place
where the event is to take place and speak
to the people who, from your client’s
perspective, will be representing you on
the day. If somebody doesn’t have
the time to see you or starts to dictate
what you can and can’t have then you
have to ask how well are your customers
going to be treated?
4. Be in Control
As the customer, you should know what is
going to happen and when, don’t just
go with the flow. You should have a personal
liaison with a supplier who is on hand to
answer your questions, provide you with
a detailed itinerary and any further information
that is relative to the day. Everything
you could possibly ask from billing questions
to menu options should be very easy for
them to answer as they probably have to
answer them every day so never be afraid
to ensure that you know exactly what is
to happen and when
5. Enjoy Yourself!
On the day, you will need to be a happy
host. It does not look good if you are spending
your time organising the day. That is what
you are paying your supplier to do. You
should be spending time with your guests,
not making sure the itinerary is being adhered
too or whether or not lunch is going to
be on time. The whole point of entertaining
clients is to get to know people better
and to strengthen the ties between your
companies. You will not achieve this if
you spend more time speaking to the event
organisers than your guests.
Entertaining clients is
an art, albeit one that is easy to get right.
The key is to find the right provider who
can create an event that is impressive,
fun and value for money.
|
