New Year's Resolutions for Corporate Events

Here are a few resolutions to consider as you implement your corporate events strategy for 2018.
 
Start with objectives.
Identify key priorities and goals for the event. It’s a good idea to ask what you want to accomplish with the event. Even with annual events, objectives can change from year to year. One year, it could be promoting a new service offering. Another year, it could be raising the profile of a company leader. Even if stakeholders don’t want to be bothered with objectives, you can create your own objectives based on your understanding of the event. The answers should dictate how you proceed with planning and drive the event marketing plan. Clearly identifying objectives at the beginning of the planning process, makes life easier for everyone and keeps everyone on track.
 
Focus more on Value vs. ROI.
ROI is a term people love to use as they debrief after the event, often when team members are often focused on the next big project and there is little opportunity to change anything about the event. Focusing on ROI is a passive activity that looks backwards. Value is present moment - focused and enables you to find ways for achieving objectives at every phase of the event life cycle. Focusing on value ensures you get the most for your investment throughout the event by taking advantage of opportunities to realize benefits before, during and after your event.

Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Events are all about details, which are super important. However, it’s important to use common sense and prioritize attention and efforts. Don’t waste precious time on low value details. Sometimes planning groups can become so focused on a small detail, for example trying to choose chicken or salmon for dinner and in the process neglect more important details like finalizing program content. Make sure the important high value details are taken care of first and then turn attention and efforts to those details that have less impact on the overall event.
 
Make improvement a habit.
Look for different ways to improve your events. Some easy areas to start with are registration, collecting feedback, audience engagement, and developing new and strategic ways to follow up with attendees. Find ways to streamline the planning process. Think of ways to make your events more accessible. Whether it’s through sharing content or the onsite experience, how can you improve your attendees’ experience? Walk in your attendees shoes and explore ways to improve. Consider adding a chatbot to your website or incorporate video in your event marketing. Make time to participate in webinars covering event best practices or read a white paper on event trends.
 
Try something different.
Embrace the power of change. If you work with a risk-adverse group, build credibility by starting with small changes. While many people don’t like change, change holds the potential for significantly transforming your events for the better. Once you accumulate a few wins with small changes, move on to bigger ones. Possible ways to mix things up a bit include incorporating new event technology or modifying the event format. Go with a different speaker or try a new venue. Network with your counterparts at other organizations to learn about the cool things they’re doing that you can implement in your events.