When planning an event, you should focus on creating a positive onsite experience for guests. If guests are dissatisfied with your event, it’s doubtful they’ll attend future events hosted by your company. Furthermore, some may share their negative experience with friends and family, which can prove disastrous for your brand. So, how do you create an amazing onsite event experience?
Set Up Early
It’s always a good idea to arrive early so you can set up and prepare for the event, before guests begin walking through the doors. Doing so allows you to make sure seating has been arranged, audio and video equipment is set up, and all of the vendors are ready to go, etc. Depending on just how much free time you have to spare, you could even conduct a dry run of your event.
Convenient Venue Location
Don’t underestimate the importance of booking your event at a venue in a convenient location. Think about who your target audience is, and choose a venue that’s easily accessible and within a reasonable driving distance. If you’re business owner or executive who’s hosting an event for your employees, for instance, choose a venue that’s near your office. A convenient venue location will lay the groundwork for an amazing onsite event experience.
Book Entertainment
Arguably, the most important ingredient for an amazing onsite event experience is entertainment. If your event consists of nothing more than linear keynote speeches and presentations, it’s not going to have a positive and lasting impression on attendees. Whether you book a live band, DJ or even a magician like Ben Silver, your event needs some type of entertainment to keep guests engaged.
Make it Interactive
Another ingredient for an amazing onsite event experience is interaction. In other words, you should encourage guests to interact throughout the event instead of just sitting in their seats. This may include speed networking sessions, presentations in which guests can participate, dancing and karaoke.
Plan a Secondary Internet Solution
Assuming your event relies on an active Internet connection, it’s a good idea to have a secondary connection ready just in case the primary one goes down.
Automate Check-in
Are you still checking guests’ tickets by hand? Automating this process will save you time while also increasing guest satisfaction. Because let’s face it, no one enjoys waiting in long lines just to enter the event venue. A simple solution is to use tickets with barcodes or Quick Read (QR) codes, which can be scanned to verify guests have purchased tickets for the event.