Oliver Myles Events share eight ways that event companies can make your life easier, add value and save you money.
- Finding venues for you that meet the brief, saving you endless hours researching multiple options. And being, as one client puts it, “a filter” for the multiple emails that surround the process of enquiring, checking details, obtaining quotes, holding space and, when decisions are made, cancelling and confirming as necessary.
- Advising on date clashes with major sporting, social or entertainment occasions. If the event date you are exploring clashes with a major event which is going on either nationally (for example, football finals) or locally, an event company (especially one connected to the world of client hospitality events and ticketing) will know this. An informed decision can then be made regarding the date, assessing any impact on the event and guests’ attendance and logistics.
- Asking you the necessary questions to unearth the important factors for your event when these are not completely clear. As well as identifying key stakeholders and their priorities, questions such as: What do you want people to say after they have experienced this event? or How would you like guests to describe this event to their friends and colleagues? are the perfect start point for getting a clear picture of important factors and company culture/values that both underpin your business and that should be reflected in the event’s spirit, style, type, format and quality.
- Working in collaboration with venues to find solutions that meet your budget. Combining an understanding of a venue’s motivating factors with experience in negotiating, event companies work closely with venues to find the right solution, at the right price, for you. This can lead to major savings, often unearthing solutions to restrictions or out-of-budget options, for example working collaboratively to find the hidden flexibilities within exclusivity charges or minimum spends.
- Using the long-term, on-going business relationship between event companies and venues for the purchasing power they hold and to save you money. Event agencies build strong relationship with venues over the years. Unlike a one-time purchaser, event companies often use particularly good venues for multiple different events, experiences and clients. As a result, event companies are a highly attractive target market for venues who are keen to incentivise and strengthen these bonds. The benefits of these relationships often involve cost savings and ways around budget challenges that might not otherwise be available or offered, and which event companies pass on to clients to add value from the outset.
- Being the one-point-of-contact who you can update with changes and needs, without you actually needing to be responsible for ensuring these are actioned and implemented. With your time being already pressured, event companies look after the workload involved in getting the details of the event planned. This means you don’t have to: liaise between the different parties and suppliers; have briefing conversations; arrange the logistics; create the schedules; research and order materials/supplies; deal with multiple purchase orders/contracts and contracts; firm-up menus and beverage options; action the numerous changes and requirements that inevitably emerge as the event planning gets underway and different stakeholders get involved.
- Providing you with everything you need to communicate the event details to guests, and letting you know any deadlines for information well in advance. From location maps, menu choices, venue details, event timings, dress code and what to bring/prepare, event companies provide you with the information you need to share with guests. Having an event manager collate key details and provide these to you when you need them enables you to do your job better and easier, and for guests to have enough notice prior to the date in order that they can make the necessary plans and arrangements their end. Event companies appreciate that everyone is extremely busy and that their role is to make things easy for you and your attendees, negating any possible stresses, concerns or reasons not to come.
- With the plans in place, getting the little details that make the difference just right. Creating a great event is about more than skills and the know-how to execute plans on time and on budget. These are the givens. An event company will draw on their experience and sensitivity to carefully consider the combined impact of all the ingredients being considered or booked for the event, gauge the overall impact, atmosphere and effect they will have for guests, and marry this with your objectives for the event. Event agencies know how important it is, for example, to make the right first impression. To set the tone. They will have the necessary discussions with you about the different personalities attending the event and consider factors such as guests existing connection as a group. Taking into account how well people know each other, as well as age-ranges and job roles, they will use their experience to assess whether the event would benefit from further interventions/elements or, for example, from specific event staff taking on particular roles or tasks that meet particular or possible guest needs, elevating the event and experience for everyone.
If you like the sound of a partner event company with this approach, skill and experience, please do get in touch with us.
Fran Montague
Oliver Myles Events
01442 768110
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