Creating amazing eventsLAURENE REHMA N, PH. D.

SCHOOL OF HEA LTH A N D HUM A N PER FOR M AN CE

DA LHOUSIE UN I VERS I TY

LR EHM A N@DAL.CA

Event Planning is both a highly creative and structured process……

Event Planning – The Structure

© Guide to Business Planning

Stakeholder Analysis

Vision, Mission and Goals

Analysis of the organization/event

Environmental Analysis

Industry & Competitor Analysis

Market & Customer Analysis

Strengths Opportunities

Weaknesses Threats

Generate Strategic Options

Market Planning Market Forecasting

Operational Plan

Financial Plan

Evaluation Strategy

Risk Analysis

Identify the relative power and influence of key stakeholders

This may be an input into or an output of the business planning process

The organization and the environment in which it operates are analysed

The industry value chain is defined and the competitors identified and analysed

The events or services are considered

The analytical phases populate the classic SWOT matrix

A range of strategy formulation models can be deployed to highlight options

The options are translated into a provisional marketing plan and forecast

To generate financial plans the operational plan is also developed

The marketing and operational plans are combined in a financial model

Evaluation criteria are applied to each option

The preferred options are subject to risk analysis – and risk management plan developed

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Service or Event Analysis

The event planning process outlined here is suitable for small and large events. What varies is the level of detail. For example with a small single event, you would not carry out a portfolio analysis because there is only one product – the single event.

The Event PlanIdentifies elements of your event plan: mission, services, and where you fit in the industry – and where you want to be (vision, goals).

Where to start? - A mission and vision statement

A mission statement that defines the present state or purpose of the organization and the event(s):◦ Why the association/organization exists ◦ How it does what it does ◦ Type of customers to be served

Mission Statement:Lead, develop and promote excellence and spirit in Canadian Ultimate.

Standards for Vision Statements

Optimal desired future state; provides guidance and inspiration for 5-10 years in the future

Is it concise and uncomplicated?

Is it sufficiently inspiring to serve as an integral part of the business plan?

Will it appeal to your employees and those you contract for services?

Does it make a commitment to quality and provide direction?

Is it timeless, and can it endure the life span of the business?

But how do mission and vision statements relate to events?

Why is it important to consider these for events?

Event goal setting – what should you consider?

Challenges to maintaining quality in an event...the creativity part Think of ways to ensure you maintain quality...important to consider from start of the event

How can you maintain quality for product, service, experience?

What might be different in each case?

Think of an event you have been involved with – how was quality maintained – what would you have done similarly/differently in reflection?

Your Management Team

Your management team are the key to your success!

Who are these key people?

What are they being paid?

Who has overall authority?

Who is responsible for the various areas of the event (e.g., sales/registration, marketing, operations, etc.)?

What is their education, qualifications, and past achievements?

Eight Managerial Duties – which are you good at?

Picking the date of the event – The day or not the day…that is the question! The one most important thing about a special event is THE DATE!

Once you select the date – that cannot change – or at least not easily!

What do you need to consider when selecting the date?

Next, most important factor is selecting the venue.

But how do you get to the date? Building a critical path or build out schedule –(4-6 months before event or earlier)A sequence of steps and time lines that help you and your team monitor all activities and ensure deadlines are met – leading up to the event

Event breakdown◦ What will the entire event include? ◦ List all of the components

Work breakdown – tasks◦ Once the event has been defined then it is possible to break down all of the tasks

into various groups/committees ◦ Consider earliest start/finish, latest start/finish

Develop an event master plan – or schedule of events (for the event)“Transforms the empty site venue into a participant friendly special event”

What should you consider?◦ Times for infrastructure set up◦ Vendor access times◦ Date and times for activities to start and end◦ Entertainment schedules (with time for each act)◦ Tear down dates and times◦ Equipment return dates and times◦ Any special issues or notes

Scheduling apps may help (e.g., https://sched.org/)

But don’t forget to develop a contingency planIdentify circumstances that may require an alternate plan◦Ask “what if?”

◦Especially important for undesirable weather and emergency situations

Outline area of responsibility of staff members and courses of action to be taken

And also remember – the creativity part…An important aspect of making your event stand out is…serviceConsumers are no longer satisfied with just OK.◦ They demand services that provide more value.

Before your guests arrive, they expect you to know what they will likely need and want.

Most customers/participants will not complain to you or your staff—but they will never come back and will give a negative report about your event to their friends.

10 Service Principles1. View your service quality through the customer’s eyes.

2. Consider full cycle of service (from first contact – such as registration - to experience after the event).

3. Little things mean a great deal.

4. Underpromise and overimplement.

5. Human involvement is powerful.

6. Treat customers as an appreciating asset.

7. Customers’ expectations are always advancing or increasing.

8. Show enthusiasm toward the customer.

9. Keep establishment clean and employees within company dress and grooming codes.

10. Service should be convenient for the customer.

Moments of TruthAn emotionally charged contact with a client is where a timely and appropriate response can make a big difference in customer satisfaction ◦ (e.g., client is very upset over a problem with service received).

High-quality service organization identifies in advance where these will occur and develops plans to deal with them when they arise.

Key element in managing moments of truth is empowering frontline staff to handle situations without having to automatically call a manager or supervisor.

Think of a bad service experience you’ve recently had…what was the moment of truth? How was it handled?

Service RecoveryPeople make mistakes.

Even the best service providers have customer service breakdowns.

If done promptly and correctly, recovery can actually increase customer loyalty.

View most client complaints as a gift from guest. They are going out of their way to identify problem and potential solution.

The wrong staff response is becoming upset with client and blaming guest.

Service Recovery ProceduresApply HEAT

1. Hear the person out

2. Empathize with the person

3. Acknowledge the problem

4. Take immediate action

Role play – service recovery experience

1) You are at the registration table for an ultimate event. One of the teams who shows up to check in is not listed in the tournament info you have.

2) You are the tournament organizer and for your first game the referees do not show up.

3) Your food and beverage suppliers run out on the second day of your tournament. It is a hot sunny day.

4) You have a team check in and the t-shirt sizes they indicated through registration are not the same as what you have at the registration desk.

More about the creativity part – or ways events stand out – considering sustainability?What is Sustainability?◦ Living and working in ways that meet and integrate existing

environmental, economic, and social needs without compromising the well-being of future generations

Frequent disagreement about what constitutes sustainability

A variety of ways in which it can be accomplished

Building Customer Service and Sustainability into Events

Customer service and sustainability often not considered in event plan design.

Need to integrate these from the “get go”.

Where service and sustainability should be considered:

In description of your event, show you are aware of their importance.

Include key standards in event description.

◦ Identify and compare service and sustainability features (or lack thereof) among competitors.

Identify a customer service manager in organizational chart.

Show customer service experience of key managers.

Identify critical opportunities to reflect on “green” initiatives.

Consider how to support and train staff to respond to moments of truth.

Develop a promotional plan – tips to consider

Attitude is the most important determinant of behaviour

Need time to reflect on message

Repeated exposure has greater impact

Each message has a “shelf-life”

Greater impact with personally relevant messages

Reaction is based on quality and tone of message

Credible information greater accepted

Promotion and CommunicationPromotion is often considered a form of communication with your target market

To ensure your message is received, there are 3 conditions to consider:Does your message GRAB your target markets attention?

Is your message addressed to the needs/wants of your target market?

Have you correctly positioned your message?

Who is your target market?How does my event differ?

What are my customers needs? Know your customers….know I mean really know them! ◦Think of geographic, psychographic, demographic...

How does what I offer differ from my competitors?

How much of the market share can I capture?

Elements of a Promotional Mix

Publicity

Consider attracting and obtaining sponsorship - Sponsorship CriteriaRelevance—the cause must be relevant to the company's products or service.

Branding Fit—there must be a good fit with the overall company brand.

Mission Alignment—the partnership must align with a company's mission.

Business Result—the company must believe it can achieve some measurable business result through the partnership

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Writing your sponsorship proposalResearch the company’s philanthropic history

Explore what the company is interested in trying to achieve

Decide what you want to highlight in your proposal

Target an amount that is sufficient to meet your needs but competitive with what other organizations of your type and size request.

Write a rough draft that lays out your organization's mission and history, biographies of key management, financial information, current programs, goals and strategies.

◦ You want to give the company a concise but accurate picture of what your organization is about and why they should trust you to use their money wisely.

Focus most of your proposal on the benefits to the corporation. Emphasize marketing and customer relations benefits. Be specific about where their logo and name will appear and the sort of people your event or campaign will reach.

Set the corporate sponsorship proposal aside for at least a week and then have several others reviewit for major and minor errors.

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Keeping track of all the details - the operations manual – can be stored onlineWhat should be included?◦ Policies

◦ Volunteer job descriptions

◦ To-do lists

◦ Event timeline

◦ Build out schedule

◦ Descriptions of activities

◦ Sponsorship contracts

◦ Emergency contact numbers

◦ Site maps

Last thoughts on event planning…considering the importance of research or evaluation

To ensure you are working well towards achieving your event goals – it is important to build opportunities for research into the planning

What are examples of research or evaluation you can collect?

How do you know if you have achieved the goals you set for the event?

Thanks for your time – questions? If you have any questions when doing event planning

lrehman@dal.ca (Laurene Rehman)