In this highly competitive world of event organizing and planning, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd and be overlooked. When it comes to ensuring that your target market knows who you are and that you exist, you will need to be resourceful and creative. No matter how good you are at your chosen field, when you’re not “out there,” the client numbers will only come in trickles. So how do you position yourself above the rest? Here are five things that schools and seminars rarely teach you.
1. Unleash your inner artist.
Experience matters. You might be an effective communicator and can ensure that things are well organized and going smoothly, but if your clients can’t bask in the experience, you might not get a repeat. Even if you’re planning a corporate meeting, attendees should be able to remember the experience or the feeling they had while at your event. This can be in terms of food, ambience, accessories, entertainment, furniture, temperature—anything that would enhance the experience.
2. Be friends with data.
Find ways to quantify the effectiveness and impact of different efforts and strategies—and then make sure that you take these into consideration before making any planning decisions. You might think that a certain trend is what will work now, but if your data says that you market is not responsive to the idea, shift your gears and head towards what they will respond positively to. Simply relying on gut-feel will not work and will only give you the reputation of being an “out-of-touch” planner, which you definitely don’t want to happen.
3. Lists and bullet points are important.
Lists are your and your team’s ally. Whenever you give instructions to your team, ask them to rephrase the directions and say or write them back to you in list form to be sure that they don’t miss or misunderstand anything. The same goes for when you are talking to your client. You can send the client a list of what you understood to be the instructions so that nothing gets lost in translation. It’s also a great way to clarify the list of to-do’s with your customer so that there are no complaints later.
4. Always take photos.
Photos or it didn’t happen. Pictures are your way of encouraging engagement online. It will also attract new clients. Also remember that everywhere in your event is a potential backdrop for photos, so consider possible stops (or create them) where people will want to take photos and incorporate branding into those areas.
5. Build and trust your network.
When you have built a network of trusted suppliers and service providers, you will spend less time with food tastings, ocular inspections, site visits, and the like. Of course, you can’t rest your laurels on just your existing network, but it’s nice to have a go-to list that you know will never disappoint. As you travel for work, continue to explore and vet potential spaces and suppliers for any future connections. You never know when you might need them.
