Did you know that events represent nearly a quarter of a company's marketing budget? With such significant amounts at stake, event organizers have the right to expect optimal return on investment. But how can you ensure that your event will meet its objectives and maximize your ROI? Look no further! In this article, discover the essential steps to make your event a success and exceed your expectations.
Aligning All Stakeholders to Ensure Event Success
Ensuring Goal Consistency
At Eventdrive, we firmly believe that consistency is the essential ingredient for a successful event. That's why we've implemented a simple yet effective method: defining a clear goal so that all stakeholders work towards the same direction. By following this method, you avoid surprises and errors, allowing you to spend less money and time correcting them. Thus, you achieve optimal return on investment for your event.
It's crucial to take the time to remind all stakeholders of your event's objectives: speakers, team, managers, vendors, and venue. To do this, consider important questions such as “Why are we organizing this event?”, “What benefits will it bring to the company in the long, medium, and short term?”, and “What ROI do we hope to achieve?”. By keeping these questions in mind, you can develop a solid and consistent strategy to ensure the success of your event.
By defining clear goals, you also ensure that all stakeholders are aligned on the same priorities and understand the importance of their role in achieving the event's objective. This also allows you to identify any gaps in your plan and correct them before the event begins.
Moreover, goals allow you to measure the effectiveness of your event and determine if you have achieved the expected results. This enables you to make more informed decisions for future events and continuously improve the quality of your events.
Surround Yourself with the Right Partners
If you're organizing an event bringing together fifty buyers, some suppliers might be interested in offering their services for free in exchange for visibility and speaking time at the event's introduction.
To maximize your chances of success, it's advisable to look for companies that could be interested in your guests. These companies will have a vested interest in offering you a discount or a free service.
Three Tips to Optimize Your Event Budget
Optimizing the Duration of Your Seminars to Maximize Your ROI
If you typically organize two-day seminars, consider shortening them to a single day. This option will allow you to save on accommodation and catering costs. Additionally, if your participants are your employees, this will prevent them from being tied up for an extra day, a step towards optimizing your return on investment.
However, be sure not to compromise the experience of your participants and keep the objective of your event in mind. If you're torn between hosting your seminar in the city or the countryside, the ROI objective of your event could help you make a wise decision. According to the meeting room rental site Kactus, the average cost of a seminar is €90 in Paris, €70 in Lyon, and €55 in the countryside.
Choosing Your Venue Wisely to Avoid Additional Costs
To avoid hidden costs and unpleasant surprises when organizing your event, be mindful of evaluating the costs associated with the venue. For this, we recommend asking the right questions during your search. We've compiled an exhaustive list of these questions to help you anticipate expenses. Don't let a simple overhead projector cost you an extra €400; follow our advice and stay in control of your budget! 😉
Intermediaries: Eliminate Them or Use Them Wisely for Your Event?
Using an intermediary to organize an event can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, intermediaries can increase costs by adding their own fees or commissions, which can reduce the event's return on investment. On the other hand, an intermediary can provide valuable expertise in negotiating rates and selecting venues, using their in-depth market knowledge to secure advantageous deals.
Therefore, it's important to weigh the pros and cons before deciding to use an intermediary for your event. If you have strong knowledge in event planning, you may be able to save money by negotiating directly with suppliers. However, if you lack time or experience, or if you're seeking a higher level of quality, an intermediary may be the best option for you.
It's also worth noting that not all intermediaries are equal in terms of quality or added value. Before choosing an intermediary, be sure to conduct thorough research and read reviews and testimonials from other clients to determine their experience and expertise in organizing similar events. Whatever decision you make, it's important to keep the objective of your event in mind and work with suppliers who can help you achieve it efficiently and cost-effectively.
Eventdrive offers you a fully customizable budget template tailored to all your types of events.
Utilize the Right Communication Channels
Implementing a Multichannel Communication Strategy
Today, to promote an event effectively, it's essential to consider the interaction between various communication channels available. Indeed, the synergy between these channels can enhance the impact of your event while optimizing your return on investment.
To succeed in your promotion, it's crucial to involve all stakeholders. For example, if they are participating in the event, stakeholders will be delighted to communicate about it.
Moreover, you can use tools such as email marketing, invitation cards, and LinkedIn posts to redirect your prospects to your registration website. This not only facilitates their registration but also introduces them to an introductory video that you have also shared on social media platforms.
Once registered, guests can be encouraged to download the event's mobile application. This app will allow them to regularly receive quotes from influential speakers and stay updated on all event-related news.
In summary, by connecting different communication channels, you can optimize the promotion of your event and increase its impact while minimizing costs. Therefore, it's important to involve all stakeholders and consider the user experience to facilitate their registration and participation in the event.
Utilizing Social Media
Social media is an effective and cost-effective way to boost the ROI of your event. As we've mentioned in numerous articles, consider creating and promoting a dedicated hashtag for your event. Remind attendees of it at the beginning of the plenary, on signage, and through notifications on the mobile app: be creative in on-site communication!
To maximize the ROI of your event, it's important not to overlook any detail, collaborate with all stakeholders who can be free advocates, and combine communication channels! Ultimately, it requires creativity and asking how to do things differently. Indeed, creativity is one of the major assets of an event organizer.
