5 Major Event Planning Challenges And How to Overcome Them

A lot of time, dedication and money go into event planning. From curating a guest list to making sure all the catering and venue decor and a lot of small tasks at hand need to be streamlined and executed. While doing all this, event planners are bound to make mistakes and face a few event planning challenges.

If you are into event planning we have a few points that you need to keep in mind. These points will help you find out the things that could go wrong. But don’t worry, we have the solution for them too.

1. Data collection and analysing trends.

Data collection is the number one challenge that the events industry faces. Data collection is important there is no doubt in that. However, it’s a challenge to collect, read and understand the data. It will directly impact your event. To give you a basic idea about the issue that you might face when it comes to data-driven event management:

1. Streamlining data: You need to manage the data you collect and try to filter trash values so that you do not waste your time analysing useless fields.

2. Need more resources for Data analysis: Data analysis is a big task that can not be handled without proper tools. Instead of hiring a single person to look at your data, try to invest in online tools that can help to manage it.

3. Authentication: Most of the time the email address ends up being bogus, so you have no way to reach out to your potential clients. To segregate and get authenticated data, proper measures should be taken, e.g. email-verification, OTP on phone numbers etc.

Well, you are not a tech company, investing in more resources might be a bit over the top. We suggest you try online tools and event management app, like grupio, you will be able to manage, analyse and streamline all your data needs on a single platform from anywhere.

2. Time crunch

Apart from managing multiple teams and looking after smooth execution of all the tasks, event planning apps can help you streamline everything. With millions of tasks at hand, even the simplest of events can get crazy.

You should start by prioritising and assigning tasks after that just keep on checking them off as they get completed. It will help you ensure that your event is a success. Mostly B2B events take around 5-8weeks of planning. You have to plan everything while keeping logistics, operations and marketing in mind. All these aspects have the power to make or break your event. Draft a rough blueprint to get an idea about the timelines required by consulting your team.

But make sure you keep a window to recheck and reanalyse everything before you go live. It will give you the flexibility to deal with any future event planning challenges. Remember, prevention is better than cure.

3. Not Enough Attendees/ Sponsors

Marketing for events is a huge obstacle when it is time to reach out and engage with the right target audience. But in this age of technology, you can do anything if you know where to look. CRM systems and personalised email marketing can help you a lot.

Try Grupio Express, you can enlist your event on our conference app to mobilize your event. Your event gets featured, making it easy for your target audience to your event. If your event is for a limited audience only, you can hide it by adding a sign-in option. Only the authorised users will be able to access your event details.

With Grupio Custom, you will have your own app where you can upload and customise data, schedule your campaigns, automatically send reminders with pop-ups or push notifications and engage easily. This will ensure maximum turnout rate for your event.

4.Forget to create an attendee engagement plan 

One of the other challenges is when the event organizer doesn’t make a plan for attendee engagement. There are four main types of attendee engagement you need to touch on for any event you plan:

• Content involving exhibitions, speakers, and other event activities.
• Connections between attendees and sponsors in creative and authentic ways
• Engagement between attendees through online forums, in-person networking, and community management.

5. Last-minute cancellations!

Another major event planning challenge is last-minute cancellations are a hassle for which every event organizer should always have a backup plan. Booking a venue, getting speakers and sponsors are the first task at hand and essential elements for an event’s success. After finalising these things, event organisers often make the mistake of taking them for granted, a plan B should always be prepared as an option.

You should always have an answer for “what if this goes wrong?” e.g. staff not available to scan tickets at entry. Then self-check-in tablets should be available. If any speaker cancels right before the event, you should have one at hand to replace him/her.

You can enlist your event on grupio express, the best event apps to target interested speakers, once you shortlist the candidates you can keep 2 on your waiting list as backup. Do not rely on anyone blindly, team effort and trust is important but so is making the event a success.

5.Not the backup plan for bad weather 

Extreme weather (think hail storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes) has increased in both frequency and intensity this past decade. So, to make your event successful, always make sure : 

• To have a second venue in mind.
• To purchase event or weather insurance in case the event gets postponed or canceled. 

6. Registrations and Tickets

Traditional registration methods are the most dreadful thing. Not only does it frustrate the staff and the attendees because of the tedious task of filling everything out on a paper, but it can also postpone your event too.

The only way to streamline this messy process is by following the path of online registrations. Attendees should be able to register and book their tickets, online on your website or event application. It will help you get a headcount of how many people are actually going to attend your event. It will also give your staff a breathing space where they only need to handle pre-registered attendees.

To prevent unauthorised access, make sure you give your attendees a QR code or online ticket that they can show while entering your venue. You can even use CRM tools for this, instead of building your own app. You can have one staff member to scan the QR codes and welcome registered users. Self-serving tablets or self-check-in also in trend these days, as most guests prefer avoiding long check-in lines.

7.Not having an organized event management process 

Streamlined workflow, centralized communication, and a scalable event planning process is a must for event success. They’re the tools you need to maximize your productivity. Therefore, having the best event planning software and tool is also a challenge.

Summary:

Event planning is a team task and anything can go wrong at any time. Instead of hoping for the best, be prepared for the worst-case scenarios. Always have a backup when planning events. Try to invest in a good event planning app that meets your requirements, learn from your mistakes and take them into consideration while preparing for your next event.