How to Plan a Business Party

Giving your team some time to relax and blow off steam, as well as showing your partners, customers and investors what your company is really about are two things that you can achieve by throwing a great business party. This kind of an event strengthens bonds within the company, enables and fosters interpersonal relationship, rewards achievements and recognizes success. It’s also a great opportunity to drive some attention your way, which is particularly important when you’re planning on a change in your company’s course or the launch of a new product. With so many benefits on your side, here are some business party planning tips and tricks that might help you get there in no time.

1. The type of event

The first thing you need to understand is the fact that the type of the party may determine its theme, the guest list and much more. The choice of whether you’re throwing an evening party or a luncheon is a massive factor in your overall planning efforts, which is why it’s the first choice that you have to make. Second, you need to understand that the type of the party also determines your alcohol policy, the transportation and the duration of the party, all of which need to be taken into consideration. For now, nonetheless, the choice of the type of the event decides on its form, which is pivotal to the organization.

2. A reasonable budget

When you know the type of the event, you’ll probably be able to roughly outline event planning expenses. Nevertheless, in order to get a holistic approach to this scenario as possible, you should talk to your clients, build a basic event budget and ask for a second opinion. Keep in mind that trimming expenses, wherever you can, is also a smart move, seeing as how this is a business move and, as such, it’s effectiveness is determined by its ROI. If you manage to achieve the same or a similar effect with a smaller investment, you’ll have a much better ROI. It really is that simple. Nonetheless, a networking factor in event-organizing is not as easy to predict and quantify. This makes things slightly more difficult.

3. The time and date

The next thing you need to understand that, unless it’s a holiday party (like, for instance, a Christmas party) you won’t have a set date. This means that you have to pick it on your own. In general, Fridays and Saturdays are the most popular day for office parties with Thursday lagging slightly behind. Also, try to avoid overlapping with another corporate event, especially if you intend to invite outsiders, who might get invited to other events, as well. This could minimize your total attendance and, even if you end up getting the biggest part of the audience, it will still not be worth it.

4. Compose a guest list

Previously, we’ve talked about inviting outsiders in the form of potential investors, clients and partners but what about your own team. Sure, they’re already invited but do they have a plus-one or are they to come alone? Can they just bring people in or do they have to report this beforehand? If they do have to report it, for how long in advance? Needless to say, these are just some of the questions you need to be answered when composing a guest list. Keep in mind that the more information you have, the better, so try to gather actionable info not just about the number of guests but their preferences, as well. Having vegan attendees will make you slightly alter your menu and this is just one example of many similar ones.

5. Pick the venue

The next thing you need to do is find a suitable venue. This is why knowing the number of attendees, the type of the party and having the date beforehand was so important. The proximity of various suppliers, services and agencies will play a part in it, as well. For instance, once you start planning a business event for your NSW enterprise, you could look into venues that offer whiskey tasting in Sydney like Archie Rose Bar. Like with any other event, your main objective is creating an overwhelmingly positive attendee experience, which is where something as unique might be of immense help. Needless to say, this is both more unique and impressive alternative to just displaying punch bowl.

6. Send out the invites

Once you have the time, the date, the location and the guest list, you’ll be able to send out all the invites. Nowadays, this is most frequently done via an email, which is why it’s important that you learn how to do it effectively. A good subject line and a great opening are the most important part of it all and you need to be direct and stick to the point. Just remember that you also have to stay polite due to the fact that these professional interactions still require a certain amount of formality.

7. Know your objectives

For a regular party, socializing with others is more than a satisfactory objective; yet, when it comes to business party planning, things are somewhat different. In order to align company event ideas with business objectives, you would first have to define your goals. Are you planning to cultivate the company culture, celebrate a milestone or merely announce something new? Depending on this, you’ll be able to take a series of subsequent moves in order to ensure that things are always on track.

8. Choose entertainment

Even though you have something new to offer, even something that will offer a great amount of value to your audience, it’s still important that you make the event as attendee-centric as possible. This means choosing the right entertainment. Off the top of the head, immersive experiences are incredibly important but they are seldom cheap and you have the budget to stick to. Nonetheless, in order to make the right choice, you need to know your audience, which is why a demographic survey beforehand is more than advised.

Aside from all of these abstract boosts and perks (that we’ve previously discussed), well-executed business events are known to boost sales and raise business awareness, both of which are pivotal to your future growth and expansion. In other words, even though this is a lot of work and a potentially hefty investment, it’s definitely something worth your while.

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