If you are thinking of planning an event, your mind might be stuck between a hundred things right about now. Many aspects go into executing a successful event, so it’s natural to feel overwhelmed at the thought of the process.

However, running an event does not have to be this complicated. All you need is a detailed game plan to guide you through organizing an event and ensure no important tasks are missed.

We have been helping organizers run successful events for many years, and we are here to share our steps for planning an event along with tips on hassle-free planning. By following these steps, you can plan and execute a successful event and create an unforgettable experience for your audience.

Thinking of organizing an event? Let us help you out! Contact us to learn more about Platinumlist’s event management and ticketing solutions. 

How To Plan An Event

Set Your Event Goals and Objectives

The first step towards planning a successful event is determining your event goals and objectives, as they will impact every decision you make during this process.

An event can have various goals and objectives, like –

• Creating awareness for your brand
• Bringing together industry leaders to establish thought leadership in the field
• Raising money for a charity or a cause
• Gaining profits and revenue.

Understanding what objectives you want to achieve through this event is the only way to ensure that your plan and decisions align with your final goal. For instance, if your event’s goal is to establish thought leadership in your industry, you will likely choose a business conference style of event with a professional panel rather than a casual dinner event. Similarly, if your main goal is to gain profits, you will want to aim for the highest profit events like concerts or music festivals.

Without a proper understanding of what you aim to do with your event, there will be a lack of direction in your planning process, leading to a poorly organized event.

Identify Your Target Audience

No matter what objectives you set for your event, one of the main goals of any event is to reach the right target audience. Whether you want to increase brand awareness, support a cause, or earn profits. Unless your event is targeted specifically towards the right audience to help you achieve your final goals, all your effort towards organizing a great event will be in vain.

The only way to ensure that you are reaching the right target audience is by identifying and describing your ideal client so that you can better understand the kind of event and marketing that benefits them.

If you are having trouble determining your target audience, here is an exercise to help you.

Think of your ideal client and try to picture them. Give them a name, imagine them as real people, and answer these questions.

• How old are they?
• What is their gender?
• Where do they live? (city, country, area)
• What is their profession?
• What are their hobbies?
• What do they like to do during their free time?
• What social media platforms do they use?

Ultimately, you should have a clear picture of the target customer you want to target with demographic and other details, and you can start planning your event accordingly.

Determine Your Event Budget

Your event’s budget will impact important decisions in the planning process, including the venue, the performers or participants, the marketing budget and plan, event ticket price, event partners and vendors, and much more. This is why it’s crucial to determine the budget early in the planning process.

Before setting the budget, conduct a thorough analysis of the financial resources that are available to you so that you do not over or under-inflate the budget. This is also a good time to start thinking about sponsorships and researching and reaching out to the right brands to partner with to help sponsor your events.

An easy way to decide on the right budget for your event is to break down all the activities and spending included in the event organizing process and determine an estimated amount (based on experience and research) for each one. This way, you can make a more informed decision about the money required to plan this event instead of just eyeballing it.

Establish Your Team

Your event management team is the backbone of your success. A good team can take you to new heights, while a lousy one can cost you immensely. It’s important to plan out your team per the tasks and responsibilities that will be part of your event management process so that you know exactly how many people are required, how many people are already available, and how many need to be hired.

This way, you can ensure that you don’t under or overstaff your team because both situations lead to a drop in the efficiency and effectiveness of your operations.

Once the team has been hired, each person must be provided with a dedicated list of tasks and responsibilities so that every task has been assigned and taken care of and nothing important is missed. This also increases the accountability towards achieving those tasks for each team member.

Here are some people you may require on your event management team

• Event Manager.
• Ticketing Manager.
• Marketing Manager.
• Social Media Marketing Manager.
• Venue Manager.
• On-site Ushers and Ticketing Staff.

Instead of hiring specialists for each task, you can partner with Platinumlist to help you with your event management tasks. We have a large, in-house team of event management, marketing, and ticketing specialists who can help you make your event successful.

Interested in finding out more? Get in touch with us now. 

Select And Hire Your Event Performers

Choosing the right artists or speakers for your event is the most important step in your event-organizing process. No matter how good of an event you run, you won’t be able to sell tickets if the artist is not a good fit for the target audience.

Before selecting your event’s performers, conduct thorough market research to understand the kind of artists your target customers prefer so that you can hire a relevant performer. For instance, if your target audience majorly comprises the Gen Z population, you will not be able to gain much traction by hiring old-school artists like Backstreet Boys. Find what your audience likes and pick the artist accordingly.

Once you narrow down the choice of talent based on customer preferences, it’s also a good idea to research their popularity and past performances. How many concerts have they played in the last year, and what were the reviews from them? How many awards do they hold? How popular are they among your target audience? These questions will help you determine which artist has the highest success rate.

If you plan to hire more than one performer, ensure that each gets along and has no problem playing together.

Find Suppliers For The Event

An event has many moving parts, and not everything can be managed by your team, which is why you will require suppliers and vendors to cater to your event needs. This can include food and beverage vendors, ushers, photographers and videographers, event planners, audio/video techs, and ticketing partners.

When choosing a vendor, ensure you pick someone reliable and trustworthy. Ideally, they should have been a supplier for an event before and must be experienced in the field to ensure everything goes smoothly.

If you are looking for a reliable ticketing partner, our experienced team at Platinumlist can help you. Being one of the most recognized and trustworthy event partners in the region, Platinumlist provides an all-in-one event management and ticketing solution with an online ticketing platform with secure online payment and on-site ticketing staff and system. With years of experience in the field, our team can also help you register and streamline relevant government event permits and fulfill all your event ticketing needs, including ushers, ticketing staff with entry scanners, customer support at entry points, and cash desks. No matter what your event ticketing needs, Platinumlist can help you with it.