Event planning is not rocket science but that doesn’t mean that it’s a stroll in the park either. Here, we take a look at 5 event management lessons that you do not want to learn the hard way.
Oh no! I can’t check in attendees – Internet is down!
If you are powering your event venue with an Internet infrastructure with no back-up, there is a chance that Murphy’s Law will happen, and if you are using an online check-in app, that means that you can’t check-in attendees!
It is always useful to have alternative means to check-in attendees in offline mode. For example, our Gevme Access (Mobile check-in app) is able to check-in attendees in offline mode, and sync the data back to the cloud upon next availability of the Internet. Alternatively, you can use the most primitive printed attendee sheet to check-in your attendees, as an alternative, rather than not having an alternative at all!
Sorry! We can’t start the conference! The Keynote Speaker is not here yet!
Keynote speakers is probably the most important group of people that you should apply your TLC (Tender Loving Care) so make sure that you have Speakers Chaperone to accompany them to the event venue, or give them the gentle reminder to be there on time. If resources permit, having somebody at their hotel lobby (if they are from overseas) to accompany them to event venue would help with the gentle push for the Speakers to be on time.
Rely on Data, not your instinct on Marketing Spend
If you are marketing a repeated event (whether annual, quarterly, monthly), chances are that you have spent some marketing dollars on electronic direct mailers, online ads or partner placements to generate that extra buzz and awareness of your event. This also means that you can track them effectively as campaigns to see which marketing channel result in actual registration conversion, using tools such as Google Analytics. This will help you make strategic decisions about your future marketing investment using data-driven analysis, and not just on gut instinct to drive your event registration effectiveness.
Vendor Confirmation and Affirmation
Most of the time, event planners rely on email communication with event vendors. It is always important to receive a confirmation reply from those vendors who needs to be present on-site, or are involved in actual day event proceedings, to make sure that all of them are aware of their roles and responsibilities, and timing of their respective involvement. For those whom you did not receive any physical email reply, it is always good to call them at least 48-hours before the actual event to make sure that they are up-to-date and committed to the event proceedings. The last thing you want is for a vendor not to show up, or wrongly informed of the timing which they are supporting the specific segment of your event.
Collecting credit card details via email
If you are wondering why you are not receiving any email registration with accompanying credit card details, you need to be aware that we are in 2014, not the 1990s! Credit card fraud is rampant and the last thing a potential event attendee wants is to provide via an unsecured means such as email. Ensure that you are at least collecting credit details via a secured payment gateway. You would rather pay the payment gateway fees than losing tons of potential attendees like myself who frowns on providing credit card details via email!
