How much thought have you given to how the marketing plan for your business, including events, can help your business grow? First, we must consider what an event actually is. It shouldn’t be something that simply happens. It should be a noteworthy happening!

Planning for an event, as part of your marketing and promotion plan, requires forethought and great attention to detail to get the results you want. From a company perspective, an event may either be internal or external in nature. Both require the same planning, be it simple or elaborate. One may focus on your employees and company business; the other will focus on your clients and prospects for business, and possibly even vendors with whom you work.

For any event to be a smashing success, planning is required. Whether it is a company meeting, a product launch, a kick-off party, an open house, a conference or a seminar, or simply a celebration, some basics are necessary. The first phase of planning should include a designated person who will be responsible for overall coordination and tasked with being the key contact person. They in turn can assign responsibility for the myriad of tasks that will need to be accomplished to insure a successful event.

Before determining specific promotional strategies for an event, you need to research and think about what the goals are for having the event. Who will attend? Why do they want to come? What are their interests? How will holding the event help your business to grow? Taking time to do research will help prevent wasting your money and time on something that will be unproductive and not in the best interests of your business.

From an event planning standpoint, things to be considered are numerous. Timelines, locations, participants and budget are just the beginning of the list. Other things to be considered will be size and scope, sponsorships if appropriate and “give-aways.” If the event will be external in nature and one for which the audience is broader, marketing materials such as newsletters, brochures, fliers, and the like will need to be coordinated. Invitations will need to be planned and sent; responses will need to be handled. Menus, decorations, entertainment, media promotion and publicity for the event will need to be considered. As you can see, the list can seem endless.

The event itself might require creating a series of activities to draw attention to it. It may require public relations efforts or pulling together other groups to participate. There are many factors to be considered for it to be successful in getting the results you want. You may want to consider using an outside resource as your coordinator as they can bring an experience level that not may be available within your organization. A professional can often save you money and alleviate many of the “headaches” that planning an event can cause.

Regardless of what your actual event may be, make certain that it is newsworthy and that it will generate excitement and create goodwill. Use it to grow your business and as an opportunity to strengthen your relationships with your employees, your clients and your prospects. Make it something that will be remembered for its uniqueness and for how special it is. Make your event the talk of the town!

(Editor’s Note: Judith Rammel is president of Gold Medal Marketing Ltd. She may be reached at (360) 337-7314, jprammel@telebyte.com or www.goldmedalgroup.com.)

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