Building a cost-effective event should not come at a cost to the attendees and their experience. One of our challenges is to help the client save money and ensure the delegates have a WOW experience and often these are very conflicting challenges.

Here are some ideas to balance your budget with the desired event results.

Know What the You Want for your Event

Sometimes it is easy to get carried over by your vision for the event and have it done by keeping an eye on the costs involved – but before you start planning, do you know exactly what you need to achieve, and secondly, how are the attendees going to get value and enjoyment from the event?

One thing we have learned at HiSide is that if your staff or delegates enjoy the event, they are more likely to engage in it and remember the important issues raised.

Too often we hear that the staff want to have fun and have a new experience, however, when you are spending a considerable part of your marketing or sales budget on an event, you want to know that this event is going to transform and obtain the commitment from the stakeholders invited.

High Costs? Get Sponsorship

If budget is a serious concern to rise to the expectations and achieve your event goals, sponsors can help offset high production costs and enhance the event experience, especially if you gathered enough information about your delegates to aid your pitch efforts.

In most businesses, the outcomes of your company’s sales or marketing can impact positively on others such as your suppliers. Make sure they can see the benefit of their financial participation and get them engaged and committed. Often we will ensure they get such credits as “the AV and DJ are kindly sponsored by our long-time supplier ABC.”

Prepare to negotiate sponsorship opportunities, which can include additional branding and naming rights on site. Also, get creative with your sponsor activations and ensure a flawless experience if you have chosen this route.

Know what your Staff or Delegates want

You know what you want, but this is a collaborative relationship, so make sure you structure the program to actively engage all the participants. Include a fun and engaging teambuilding activity, an opportunity to engage management in a Q&A session, use social media and technology to give onsite feedback on speakers of sessions and allow time for delegates to let their hair down. None of these has to cost an arm or leg.

Remember to spend where you get the best returns

If your goal is to motivate clients or staff, make sure the speaker is the best and most memorable. If you want to thank people, ensure they get the spoils through special accommodation, food or entertainment. If it is about learning and change, then engage the best change consultants.

At HiSide Events we make it happen.