Corporate event planning involves a plethora of challenges. From tight purse strings to outlandish demands, our jobs entail a good deal of negotiation, patience and resilience. We’ve highlighted the four most common corporate event planning roadblocks, and detailed how to overcome them, below:
1. You need to paint by the numbers
Planning a corporate event in line with your client’s brand guidelines often leaves little room for out-of-the-box creative execution. So how do you ensure that the corporate event isn’t a yawn-worthy affair and keeps your clients happy? First off, educate your corporate event management team about the client’s existing brand guidelines. Then, and only then, can you brainstorm ways of making the event at hand as engaging and innovative as possible. In addition, make sure that your creative execution is in line with the type of event at hand. For example, an EXCO meeting doesn’t call for an imaginative execution. On the other hand, a client-orientated corporate event like a product launch leaves a lot of room for ingenuity.
2. Attendees aren’t excited about the event at hand
Many corporate events are mandatory for employees, and more often than not, the last thing someone wants to do is spend a day (or five) at a training conference. It’s up to you to highlight the benefits of attending and then weave these advantages into all event content. Win over apathetic attendees by providing them with tangible value as soon as the event gets going. By demonstrating the benefits of attendance early on in the programming, attendees are far more likely to engage – and remain engaged – throughout.
3.Your clients have no idea of what goes into pulling off a corporate event
Far too many clients have little to no understanding of the sheer magnitude of work required. And this can cause the butting of heads when it comes to signing off event budgets. Get your clients to see the corporate event through your eyes, by providing them with a detailed plan of action. Include a timeline and a list of who’s responsible for what. By walking them through the scope of work entailed, they’ll see the task at hand through your eyes.
4. The speakers aren’t professionals
And by professional, we mean that they don’t take to the stage for a living. While they may know their industry inside and out, they may not make for the most charismatic of presenters. Personality traits aside, one common grievance of corporate event managers is that they’re left in the dark about certain aspects of the event content, and therefore have no way of packaging it in an engaging, easily digestible way. Avoid going in blind by identifying the person or persons responsible for event slides. Then, set a non-negotiable deadline and include this in your SLA. Make it clear that if the content is not ready in time, your hands are tied. In addition, offer speakers a time in which they can rehearse, should they wish to. Lastly, supply them with a list of tips and tricks that outline key points to remember when delivering a speech.
Planning and executing a successful corporate event isn’t for the faint of heart. The good news is, you don’t have to go it alone. We know what it takes to pull off a world-class corporate event. Get in touch to find out how we can assist you.
