Event management strategies align every aspect of your event toward its intended objectives. To begin crafting your own event management strategy, you must first define your campaign's primary goals.
Once you do that, you must also tie those targets in with your brand goals. This will allow your company to review insights and set key performance indicators that will show whether those goals have been met. You cannot move forward with the look and feel of the event — or even focus on the consumer experience — until these elements are in place.
But what type of goals do you need to get started? And how do you know you’re focusing on the right ones? Here are three must-haves for your event management strategy — and some insight on why you need to address them before anything else:
1. Approach
Another word for strategy, your approach boils down to the steps you plan to take to achieve your goals. The strategy should encompass what type of event your company is planning to create and how it will attract clients, prospects, or employees.
Let's pretend you're putting together a professional conference. Who is likely to attend? How will you attract them? Most professional conferences invite accomplished industry members to help achieve the organizing company's goal. On the other hand, a charity 5K race is meant to attract enough attendees to reach the stated fundraising target. Ask yourself what type of event your company wants to create and how it will appeal to your target audience.
2. Objectives
These are the smaller, measurable goals that you must hit to make your strategy a reality. The best way to ensure you achieve these objectives is to use the SMART framework — these objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
When you create SMART objectives, a clear plan of action for you and your company comes into focus. These metrics help you predict the results of your event and give you insights into what’s progressing as well as what isn’t. These objectives will define your event’s final results and how you move forward in the future.
3. Tactics
Think of tactics as the “how” behind the "why" of your objectives. These are the steps you’re going to take to reach your goals. Your first tactic should be to research your target audience and determine what they want to see or do at your event. You can then create a vision for your event outcomes: What do you want to see at your event, and how do you want people to feel as a result?
Once you know where you want your event to go, you can assemble a team to make that vision a reality. Collaborate with them on ideas related to the look and feel of the event, and ensure these concepts align with your SMART objectives. Lastly, use automated event management tools and partnerships; they can help you achieve your strategy and goals by taking some of the work out of your hands.
An event management strategy is one of the only things that will help maintain your event's forward momentum and keep your team above water. By keeping the approach, objectives, and tactics in mind, you’ll ensure whatever event you plan is a success for your brand.
