The Essentials for Designing an Impressive Event for Your Business

From selecting the right venue for your event, finding the best entertainment and lighting service, to choosing a catering company that will deliver scrumptious meals for your guests, there’s no doubt that a lot of time and effort goes into organizing a corporate event. It’s a challenging task, to say the least. Nevertheless, corporate events can be the perfect opportunity for team building, networking, as well as impressing your new customers. Not sure where to begin? Here’s a list of essentials to help you come up with a memorable corporate event and impress your guests.

Decide on the type, size, and theme of the event

Are you planning on celebrating your company’s anniversary? Is there a new collaboration that you’d like to mark with an event or you want to increase your brand visibility? Maybe you’ve reached your business goals or met an important milestone and simply want to honor your coworkers for their achievements. Before anything else, you must first determine the purpose of your corporate gathering. Ask yourself who will be attending the event and how many people you plan to invite to your corporate gathering. Are there any core objectives you will need to accomplish by the end of the gathering? Will the event be networking-oriented, will it be a conference, or maybe a party? All these are some of the most important questions you will need to ask yourself when determining the size, theme, and type of corporate event. Doing so will give you a clearer vision of what you’re trying to achieve with this event and it will also take much of the stress out of the equation.

Select the right venue and decoration for your corporate event

Once you’ve decided on the number of guests who will be attending, it is time to move on to the venue. Now, selecting the venue is an important aspect of event planning as it sets the base for everything else. The venue you choose has to be conveniently-located for everyone and large enough to accommodate all the attendees so they can feel comfortable. You should also think about whether or not you’ll need to provide Wi-Fi and if you can play live music there. Another thing to consider is the decoration for your event. This will depend on the nature of the event as well as the mood you’re trying to create. From impressive table decor and fabrics to decorative backdrops and creatively arranged food displays, there are many options available that are sure to wow the attendees.

Get good lighting

This element of your event is especially important if you have a speaker, a demonstration, or some sort of entertainment—in order for things to be visible for every attendee, you need proper lighting. Start by designing a lighting plan. Decide where you want your main lighting points to be and where you can use some task or atmosphere lighting. If you’re not very familiar with your venue, take a ride to see it or check their website for floor plans. Designing lighting for your event is not an easy task, so the best decision is to hire experienced event lighting consultants to come to your aid. Pros will create a fully coordinated lighting setup that will provide a perfect mood for your event, and you’ll have time to handle other issues. For instance, professional lighting service will make a seamless transition between day and night activities. Also, if you have educators, presentations, and speakers, you’ll need brighter lighting with spotlights, but if you want your guests to stay for drinks and networking, you’ll need something softer. 

Provide entertainment for your guests

This is an area of event planning that allows for flexibility and gives you an opportunity to be creative. You can hire a magician or a hypnotist to impress your guests, get a comedian to make them laugh, or hire an impersonator your guests can mingle and take pictures with. Set the mood with a great band that will amaze your guests with their musical talent, have a DJ perform and create the perfect atmosphere, or have a bit of both by hiring a DJ/band hybrid. Whichever you choose, you will ensure plenty of interaction with your guests and make your event fun and memorable.

Figure out how you’re going to invite the guests

Once you’ve decided on the guest list, the venue, catering option, and entertainment, you’ll have to figure out how you’re going to invite all your guests. Now, have in mind that this is no easy task. You want your guests to look at your event as an opportunity to further their careers and expand their contact lists. In a digital age, it pays to make use of technology, especially if you’re hosting a larger event. Consider making an event website a couple of months in advance or creating a Meetup group where you’ll connect with the guests. You can also send electronic invitations by using platforms such as Facebook and rely on different social media platforms to promote your event.

Every event requires a thorough, detailed, and solid plan. Although the list of tasks that need to be ticked off may seem lengthy, if you manage to focus on these five essentials, you’ll be one step closer to realizing your ideal corporate event.