Event Planning: Here’s the worst advice we’ve ever heard!
Over the years, we’ve been involved in all kinds of event planning.
We’ve supplied all kinds of furniture to all types of events. From big, bold brash affairs to the more conservative. During this time we have heard a lot of advice when it comes to event planning. We love sharing good advice as it makes us all better at our jobs. What’s more, it keeps us in business.
Occasionally however, we do get to hear some pretty toe-curling stuff from people who think they are experts. However, the reality is, they don’t really know what it takes to put on a great event.
We thought it was time to share some of the worst advice we’ve ever received about event planning:
You don’t need to write everything down, you’ll remember it all
The first rule of event planning is to write everything down. The second rule of event planning is to write everything……, you get the picture? If you don’t write it down then we guarantee you won’t remember. Not only that but your team won’t have a clue what is going on either.
The client won’t care/find out/be bothered
First of all, the client always cares, they’ll definitely find out and they’ll most certainly be bothered. If this is your attitude going into event planning then perhaps you should consider that event management is not your speciality. Better to hand the job over to someone who has a passion for this kind of work.
Put on an amazing show and nothing else will matter
Whilst it is important to put on a great show, this doesn’t mean you can neglect any other details. If anything else goes wrong then that amazing show counts for nothing. You can bet the client won’t remember it, they’ll focus on what mistakes happened instead.
We don’t need any more volunteers, we have enough
No one has ever said they have too many volunteers. So, if you have willing participants, even if you have to let them take a back seat on this event, keep them involved. For example, why not have them on call for emergencies? There are always last minute tasks that your staff will need to attend to. This is an ideal situation to bring in a few volunteers to hold the fort whilst your main team are otherwise occupied.
Think that your audience won’t like social media
Whatever the age of your audience, don’t make the mistake of thinking they won’t be into social media. Everyone is these days. Most people, no matter how old they are, use some form of technology. Don’t be ageist.
You only use one form of communication
Some people like to always use emails to communicate, others prefer the telephone, and many more will text. You might have a favourite way of messaging but you will have to get used to using different media when talking to different clients. If they like emails then email them, if they are always texting then you’ll have to text too. The last thing you want is to miss an important message because you did not pick it up in time.
Event attendees know how to network
Finally, if you are hosting an event, keep your eyes open to make sure it is running smoothly. If it is obvious that things are not going well where networking is concerned it doesn’t hurt to push things along sometimes. Networking doesn’t just happen, and especially for first-timers. If you get people talking and moving amongst the group you’ll gain a great reputation. Even better, people will remember you and keep want to use you for future events.
