5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Planning your Next Event

Planning a large event

Planning and coordinating events can be a challenging undertaking, regardless your level of experience. Even the most seasoned event planners are bound to make a few mistakes throughout their careers, often beyond their control. Unfortunately, these mistakes can lead to unfavourable outcomes, including decreased attendance, poor return on investment, and low attendee satisfaction. Let’s take a look at 5 common mistakes that occur when planning an event and how to avoid them.

1. Not having an initial plan

The first step, the planning stage, is arguably the most critical part of the process. It is the foundation upon which the event lies. If this planning stage isn’t properly considered or thought through, the potential for things to go wrong is huge. Leah McCrae, Director of Strike Productions, believes one of the most common mistakes event planners make is failing to allot enough time to successfully plan and execute an event. She explains, “You can have the best vendors, the most wonderful venue and magnificent décor, but unless a practical time plan is followed, the result won’t meet the expectations of the client.”

Make a master project plan with measurable event goals and strategies and prioritize them so you can market your event and measure the success of it more easily. Next, plot deadlines and activities that match budget points. Having a project plan and checklist is so important as it gives a broad overview of how the project is developing and ensures that important planning deadlines are not missed.

2. Not choosing the right tools

Event planning is complex. Lucky there are event planning tools at your fingertips to make your life easier and much more manageable.  Without these, things can slip through the cracks, deadlines get forgotten and important items get missed off the checklist. But many businesses, brands and agencies are still handling their events manually, rather than investing in event management software. No matter what your goals, KPIs, budget, or team size, you’ll want most — if not all — of the following tools to make event planning and execution more manageable and better for everyone involved 1.

Whether you decide to use a collection of platforms, or an all-in-one event management system, make sure all the features align with your event goals and objectives. It is also wise to consider having event software integrations.

3. Losing sight of the main objective

Hands up who has got caught up in growing registration numbers, potential profits, or engagement on social media? Whilst watching these metrics is essential, don’t lose sight of the primary objective. Do not let these successes overshadow the ultimate goal of your event. By defining event goals and objectives that make an impact early in the planning process, this can prevent you from not promoting the core values of the event or brand to their full potential.

4. Underestimating your budget

You’ve decided on the event, so it’s time to allocate budgets to plan this event successfully. Various factors come into play when determining the budget, including company size, event goals and objectives, scope, size, location, labour, transportation, giveaways, and technology and software requirements. One vital rule to remember is to never start planning an event without establishing a solid budget. Failing to account for all expenses can easily lead to unexpected budget overruns, and decreased profitability of your event.

5. Post-communication breakdown

After an event concludes, it is essential for planners to evaluate its outcomes: the successes, the areas for improvement, and the overall impact. While event planners may possess ticket records and profit reports to gauge the event’s financial performance, neglecting to follow up with attendees afterwards can result in a missed opportunity to gather invaluable feedback. 82% of event attendees discuss their event insights with colleagues, so by engaging with attendees’ post-event, planners can gain valuable insights that can inform future planning and enhance the overall attendee experience.

Engage with attendees through post-event surveys, online polls, or via event-related social media platforms. Craft a comprehensive set of evaluation questions aimed at gathering valuable feedback. Inquire about attendees’ highlights, what resonated with them the most, their desires for future events, and areas of potential improvement for the current event.

By avoiding these common mistakes and implementing best practices, you can navigate the event planning process more effectively and achieve greater success in your future events. By partnering with Creative Hire, we can

At Creative Hire, we specialise in event planning and organising in Sydney. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you plan and execute your next event.

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