Hosting a business event is a great way to help attract new customers, but it also provides the perfect opportunity to thank your existing clients. Whether you’re looking to organise a small, intimate gathering or have visions of a large-scale party, these tips should help to ensure your event runs smoothly and efficiently.

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Get your theme and timing just right

First and foremost, you should think about the nature of the event you intend to throw. To do so, you should initially determine your purpose: to attract a media frenzy, to create awareness of your business in the local area or to give something back to the community. With your goal in mind, you can now select a theme and run with it. Key dates could drive ticket sales whereas a longer planning period could help you to get the finer details just right, so make sure you choose your date wisely.

Set your budget and work within it

Now you’ve settled on a date, a theme and have determined your primary goal, the next step is to decide on a budget and stay within these limits no matter what. Choose a team who can help you to stay on track by figuring out what refreshments, entertainment and other activities can be hired. For help on building an event budget, take a look at The Balance’s guide – https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-build-a-basic-event-budget-1223749.

Target your audience

Allow plenty of time to spread the word about your event. You might like to consider adopting some membership management software (like https://www.satori-membership-management.co.uk/) to help you to work out who should be invited along. Your marketing plan might include emails, mail and/or radio, TV or newspaper advertising but, no matter how you reach out, you should create a buzz by using all possible social networking channels to keep the energy and interest high.

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Follow-up

Though you may think that the hard work is done after you close the door on your last guest, it doesn’t end there. Successful business events will have a planned follow-up process to help to cement those new relationships. Not only should your follow-up include some kind of incentive to use your business, it should also factor in an element of analysis relating to the event, which will help you to make better plans for future occasions.