Corporate events are a great way to improve the feeling of community within your company, promote a certain product, or simply unwind after a busy week. However, planning it can sometimes take weeks, even months if you don’t have much experience. In this case, organisation is the key to success. So, if you want everything to go smoothly, here are a few tips that should help you plan a perfect corporate event.

Decide on the objective

First things first, you need to figure out the objective of your event. Take into consideration the purpose, the guests, and their expectations. By putting your guests and their expectations first, it’ll be easier for you to decide on everything else, like the best type of food to serve or the choice of colours for the décor. Also, secure the speakers in advance – not just to be safe but also to give them enough time to prepare a good speech.

Set the budget

After you finish with the basic ideas and the objective, you need to plan your budget. Now, many companies overestimate how much they can spend when planning such events, simply because it’s safer to spend more and cover everything than forget about something important. You shouldn’t do this though, simply because there are many ways to save on the budget. For example, you can always negotiate the price for the venue. However, you shouldn’t haggle or skimp. Set a reasonable budget, save where you can, and your company’s budget is more likely to stay in good shape.

Think about the date

Before you actually set the date, check your calendar. Are there any other important conferences planned around that date? Are there any religious holidays during that time, or some other significant events like sports games or movie premieres? All of those things can affect attendance, which is why it’s important to plan your event well in advance. Send the invitations at least six weeks before the event, and send the reminders about two weeks in advance. Of course, this also depends on the event. If you’re organising a more laid back type of a party, you can plan everything in less than a month.

Order food and drinks

You can’t have a successful corporate event without good food and drinks. So, make sure to find a good corporate catering company on time, and look for one that offers more than one type of food. This way, nobody will go home hungry. Also, take into consideration allergies and special diets – you can ask your guests to respond to the invitation with food requests, if they have any. The same goes for drinks. You should offer both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, so nobody ends up drinking just water (unless they actually want to).

Focus on marketing and advertising

If the event in question is a promotion of a certain product or service, make sure to spend some time and budget on advertising it properly. Use social media to promote your event and keep your guests informed. Also, think about the type of audience you’re expecting. For instance, platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, are great if your audience includes the millennial generation. As for the older generation, email updates are not a bad option, as long as your advertising doesn’t become spamming. Marketing your event early and frequently will keep your guests excited, and, of course, it’ll prevent them from forgetting about it.

Don’t forget to follow up

While enjoying the success of your event after it’s finished, don’t forget to follow up. Be sure to thank your guests for attending, and ask them for feedback. Ask what they liked the most and what they think could have made the event even better. This way, your next event is more likely to be an even bigger success.

Organising a corporate event requires a lot of planning and a lot of money, which is why you want it to pay off. Luckily, if you organise everything in time and pay attention to the little details, you’ll have nothing to worry about. So, keep the listed tips in mind, and most importantly, don’t forget to have fun as well.