Conference Planning: Tips For Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Are you in the process of planning a corporate conference?

It’s understandable if you’re struggling to make any meaningful progress. In-person conferences disappeared soon after the COVID-19 pandemic reached our shores. After two long years, and as life returns to normalcy, conferences, conventions, trade affairs, and other business events are making a comeback.

Has conference planning changed in any way? The basics haven’t changed, but post-pandemic, there are now new trends that planners must consider.

To help you plan a successful conference, we’re sharing a couple of common mistakes and pitfalls you must strive to avoid.

Read on!

1. Keep Invitees at the Center of Your Planning

Without an audience, there’s no conference. Yet, some planners fail to keep the invitees at the heart of their plans. You can have an elaborate event planned out, but if only a few people show up, your efforts will go to waste.

A good conference planner aims to make it as convenient as possible for invitees to attend. This means picking a date that’s ideal for most invitees. It means settling on a venue that’s attractive to them.

If possible, try to collect feedback from the target audience and incorporate the feedback into your planning. For example, you can send them a poll via email, allowing them to vote on a pre-determined list of potential venue locations.

2. Start Planning in Good Time

In event planning, the rule of thumb is to get started ahead of time. Planners know this. But how early should you start?

There’s no standard timeframe for all conferences. A lot depends on the nature of the conference.

If it’s a large, international conference, it’s not uncommon for planners to start a couple of years earlier because of the many moving parts involved. However, for smaller, local conferences, you can start a couple of months before the scheduled date.

It’s important to have a good grasp of the kind of conference you’re planning, especially if you’ve been hired by an organization to provide the service. This way, you’ll be in a better position to exercise sound judgment as to when to start planning.

3. Lack of Venue Testing

Securing a conference venue is high up any planner’s checklist. Finding meeting rooms shouldn’t be difficult, especially now that most venue providers have online booking platforms. Linked here are some of the venues you can book online.

Unfortunately, some planners fail to visit the venue and check it out physically once the online booking is confirmed. Or, they leave this critical step until it’s too late, at which time it can be difficult to change venue without causing major disruption to the event.

Be sure to make a physical visit, ideally even before making a booking. Examine the venue’s facilities, including the size of the space and conferencing equipment, to ensure it meets your needs. Don’t sign any contracts until you’re satisfied with the venue.

Conference Planning: Do It Right

Corporate conferences, whether small or large, need intricate planning; otherwise, many things can go wrong when the day arrives. You don’t want this to happen. Use these conference planning tips to ensure to organize an event everyone will love.

While at it, explore our blog to find more helpful tips for planning business events.