Common Pitfalls in Event Management

Events management involves meticulous planning and skilled management. But no matter how well we plan and how skilfully we manage, errors appear time and again. In such scenarios how an event professional performs depends on how well or poorly they respond to and learn from their mistakes. Undoubtedly, organizing an event with so many moving pieces can be challenging, as event production firms are aware. While the worst-case situations are possible (and do happen), careful planning and preparation will lessen the likelihood of an epic event tragedy.

Here are common pitfalls in event management you should avoid to make sure your next event is a success, whether it’s a networking event or a product activation. Look through this list of the most common mistakes event planners make and, best of all, how to correct them if you want your event to be flawless.

1. Doing all on your own:

It takes a team to organise an event. To finish the task, there must be individual assignees working together with a coordinator. If you are knee-deep into the trenches and digging them yourself, you will miss on a lot of the high-level and necessary coordination. Hire team members that understand it and hang on to them tightly. To ensure economies of scale, it is essential to have important team members nearby. Efficiency instantly increases when you delegate the tasks that can be outsourced and don’t need your constant attention.

2. Housing more guests or attendees than you planned for:

It’s time to rejoice when your event is fully seated! But not until you choose how you’re going to set up, feed, and seat everyone. Even in the best-case scenario, nobody plans for it (apart from you right now), yet it does happen. There are several methods to predict this significant event planning issue, according to experts, whether or not you sell out of tickets or have a waiting list of registrants. You just need to know what to look for.Watch out for activity on your event app, social media mentions, and discussion boards about the event. Be careful to modify your plans if more people are participating in the conversation about your event on these platforms than you had anticipated.

3. Choosing a Small Place:

We agree that large spaces will make your event appear less effective if they are not full, but you may at least play with the flow to fill the space. But having too many people in a small area is uncomfortable. If you have more guests than you anticipated, ask your venue what spaces they have for overflow or how the room may be changed. Select the larger room if you’re nearing the limit. If you’re utilising a larger space for a smaller gathering, try grouping tables together and establishing a larger supplementary lounge or entertainment area.

4. Unstructured Event Management Process:

It’s not only a fad to use terms like “scalable event planning process,” “centralised communication,” and “streamlined workflow.” You need these tools to be as productive as possible so that your event will be a success in the end. The good news is that there are many resources and tools available for free event planning.

5. Promoting an Event just Before the Event:

Between events, a lot happens in the lives of your attendees. Nowadays, it’s crucial to promote to your audience year-round and maintain contact with them. You remain in touch, you provide them with useful information, and if you get started soon after your event, you can keep the buzz going rather than letting it die and then having to rekindle it just before your next event. Once your event is over, look for ways to expand on it. As illustrations, consider sharing links to polls, infographic-styled information, or photographs. To encourage people to follow you on social media and be the first to know, you may even save your “big reveal”—a crucial detail about the event you’re hosting the next year—for a marketing/social media campaign.

6. Not Having any Attendee Engagement Strategy:

Alright! So, you’ve planned a flawless event. That is fantastic! But what about your attendees? What’s the purpose if they’re not engaged enough?

For each event you organise, you should consider the following 4 basic categories of attendee engagement:

Content relating to speakers, exhibitors, and other event activities.
meaningful connections between attendees and sponsors.
Communication with the planning of the event and any issues or remarks that may arise.
Participant interaction through community management, networking in person, and online forums.

7. Having Ques are no longer a good idea:

This old notion has been abandoned even by theme parks. No longer must we suffer through lines. Fast-passes, early check-ins, entertainment and games during sign-in, check-in kiosks, facial recognition, refreshments and food while waiting, social media walls, and interactive LED walls are just a few of the innovative ways that event planners are doing away with or at least making bearable lines. Plan for methods to enhance the experience of guests checking in. Keep an eye on the line, and have your caterer ready to send out freshly made cookies if things start to snarl.

8. Leaving little to no time for setup or take it down.

Attendees will enjoy coming to an event that is prepared for them, so as the event planner, it is crucial that you give your partners plenty of time – or as much time as the venue will allow – to get everything done. You can even learn that the location has another event before or after yours that will affect the hard ins and hard outs. Thoughtful planning and open communication with everyone involved in the event—from the venue relationship manager to your catering service to your signage team—will really help ensure that the event starts and ends on a positive note. Details like these can easily get missed during any difficult event planning process.

9. Getting into Unnecessary Competition:

Trying to keep up with other events and event planners may be a big distraction, especially because most of them share ideas and it’s advised to research your competition. But it ought to always be done for the better. Do not allow envy or pointless rivalry arise from inspiration. While working in the event management industry, it becomes necessary to adjust your point of view of others’ work. Pick out the most effective elements or abilities from a variety of planners, then copy them while using your own unique talents to produce something entirely new.

10. Fail to research any nearby event that might affect your gathering:

The sensation of attending an outdoor performance on a museum’s lawns is incredible. Unless, of course, they get themselves on the path of a parade with no place to park or, if they make it there, any way to peacefully hear the music. The idea is that while you can’t stop outside factors affecting your event, you can plan for them. This is an inflated example that hopefully makes the concept clear.

Here are some methods for learning about noteworthy local events:

If there are any zoning regulations you need to follow, ask the venue managers.
Google’s event calendars for the neighbourhood, city, and regional events.
Ask local event organisers via social media if they have any horror stories they’d want to share regarding specific locations or event spaces.

11. Not Maintaining an Email list:

Keeping in contact requires having an email list. When done properly, effective marketing is a year-round endeavour, and to achieve that, you need an email list. To ensure that you do not break any GDPR or SPAM regulations, make sure you ask guests to opt-in. How to Inspire People to Sign Up? In return for an email, provide a piece of content, a coupon, or access to a VIP list or early registration notice. Encourage people to opt into your list when they sign up for your event.

12. Missing the purpose of the event

What will be the purpose of the event? What do you aspire to achieve, and how do you measure success? These are crucial considerations while creating your event. Every choice you make puts you either closer or farther away from realising it. Post the goal somewhere they are easily visible so that they may be considered while making decisions. Ensure that your team is familiar with them. Share them with the rest of your team using a whiteboard, and keep them there so that everyone can see them throughout the whole planning process.

13. Not involving experienced event managers:

This is not a nasty remark at inexperienced event planners. But really a problem may arise from a lack of real-world experience. In fact, preparing oneself with knowledge now can end up saving you trouble later. Because let’s face it, you won’t always know what to do. However, here are several methods you may use to find it out while working: Have a go-to source for event planning information that you can easily search through for guidance when necessary.

Give yourself one or two informal mentors. Anyone who has expertise with event planning or is adept at coming up with creative solutions to issues may be quite useful when things go wrong. Keep their phone number (or email) handy and make sure to get their permission in advance. In order to be as prepared as possible for the start of your next project, spend the time between events earning or updating your event planning credentials.

14. Failure to record important event data.

One of the most significant, useful, and efficient methods to measure an event’s performance is by looking at its return on investment. In the absence of out, it is still possible to piece together other important event KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to determine what went successfully or poorly. To examine all of that information, though, you need data. And it’s not only crucial for your group, but these figures will also be required by previous and potential sponsors. A precise record of how successful each event was is also necessary since without it, it is impossible to know what you can do better in the future.

15. Over-planned schedule of the event:

Regardless of how awesome your schedule may be, everyone needs a little downtime now and then. Make sure the following are prominently featured in your event schedule:

There are designated times when there are no events, activities, or keynotes.
Program lunch breaks should be explicitly indicated or requested.
Your more reserved guests can relax during downtime that is entirely separate from networking activities.
In order to prevent attendance from becoming fatigued, multi-day events should stop early.

Conclusion:

Event Planning mistakes are inevitable and this is why there are lots of learning opportunities in event management. The best way to mitigate them is a little more work along with good preparation. We hope that this list of common pitfalls in event management made you aware of crucial things and you learnt how to avoid them as well.

QnAs:

Q.1- What are the common pitfalls/challenges in event management?

Ans- Here are some common pitfalls or challenges in event management:

Doing all on your own
Housing more guests or attendees than you planned for
Choosing a Small Place
Unstructured Event Management Process
Promoting an Event just Before the Event
Not Having any Attendee Engagement Strategy
Having Ques are no longer a good idea
Leaving little to no time for setup or take it down.
Getting into Unnecessary Competition
Fail to research any nearby event that might affect your gathering
Not Maintaining an E-mail list
Missing the purpose of the event

13. Not involving experienced event managers

Failure to record important event data
Over planned schedule of the event

Q.2- What are the trends in event management?

Ans-

Events are crucial PR tools.
Hybrid events
Transformational event experience
Physical and virtual safety
Data collection
Latest event technology

Q.3- What are the major threats of an event?

Ans-

Missing the purpose of the event
Unstructured Event Management Process
Not involving experienced event managers
Getting into unnecessary competition

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July 25, 2022

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Common Pitfalls in Event Management