Success will arrive at your doorstep when you work on a plan step by step. Although it sounds a bit poetic, organizing a business conference requires a few proper planned steps to taste the sweet of success.
What do you think are the steps involved in organizing a business conference? Each part is a short step towards success, from selecting the venue to promoting the event, reaching the target audience, budgeting for the entire program, and proper time management.
Engage intellectuals in your planning. Use their brainstorming power to generate the best ways to deal with any issues regarding the program. Take as much time as you need to plan because proper planning can help the event reach the best possible height of success.
Throughout the article, we’ll guide you what are the steps involved in organizing a business conference.
How to Prepare for A Business Conference?
Organizing a business conference requires time and proper planning. As an organizer, you must prepare well to work to achieve the goal of making a successful event.
Three steps will help an organizer to prepare for the event rightfully.
- Having a management team of intellectuals
- Deciding the event goal
- Knowing who the target audiences are.
Having an Organizing Committee of Intellectuals
Successful business conference planning involves the selection of the venue, running promotions, reaching the keynote speakers, maintaining a seamless registration process, uninterrupted technical support, and so on.
Now ask yourself, can you do all these tasks including the unmentioned ones alone? The answer will be a big no any day. That is why a management team of intellectuals is highly required.
All the team members work from day one, from deciding the event goal to ensuring a seamless event. But first, choose a team leader who will guide the other members toward their personal goals.
Here, personal goals mean the completion of duties handed over to specific members. For example, a member or two will work on finding the most suitable event venue.
Another group of members will be given the task of ensuring uninterrupted technical support during the program. Distributing the responsibilities among members makes the giant task more convenient.
However, members are accountable for their responsibilities. Therefore, one can’t ignore or pay less attention to their duties that ensure quality.
So, an organizing committee will consist of
- Administration team
- Planning and executive team
- Sponsorship management team
- Marketing and promotion team.
This particular committee will work heart and soul to successfully plan a conference and give it a concrete shape.
Deciding the Event Goal
It’s not a wise decision to get on the playground without knowing your role. The same thing applies to organizing a conference.
Deciding the goal means deciding the event’s motif and deciding on which particular theme you intend to organize the event. Business, medical, academic, etc. are a few conference types.
Finalizing the goal also impacts the workflow of the management team. Even the promotion depends on the event theme because you must run every promotive program.
Knowing Who the Target Audiences Are
The next most important part of the preparation process is knowing the intended audience. You can not even move one step forward without being aware of your targeted attendees.
Promotion, event agenda, speaker selection, and length of the interactive sessions, everything depends on the target audience.
Without the inclusion of the intended attendees, it’s impossible to accomplish the real motif of the event.
What Are the Steps Involved in Organizing a Business Conference?
The first thing that goes through any organizer’s mind is that from where I can start planning for a conference. Well, among the steps to organizing a successful business conference, the first one is to take time, more and more time to think about the theme, and then assemble a team for the best output.
You can go through the following 14 steps to plan a successful business conference.
Planning for A Long Period
Proper planning is an integral part of any conference arrangement. However, your execution demands having a proper plan to ensure everything works out accordingly.
How grand your conference will be, working as the decider here to let you plan early. Planning early also ensures you have ample time to think about your event. Meanwhile, experts suggest working on arranging a successful conference for a year.
However, why is early planning beneficial?
- Easy to pick the best venue according to the conference theme
- Book influential speakers before any other book them
- Enough time to reach the target audience
- Promotion for a better reach of your event
The first positive step for any conference is choosing the most suitable venue. Early planning opens up the opportunity to examine a few venues and then choose the most suitable one.
Purpose of Organizing a Business Conference
Which is the best platform to explore new business opportunities and share new ideas? You can’t find a better one than a business conference. A business conference must have a theme depending on which the rest of the event will go on.
But the purpose of the event doesn’t merely refer to deciding the theme, rather it’s deeply connected to issues like:
- Deciding the target audience
- Motif of the event
- Expected amount of revenue
- Messages the attendees will get
- The duration of the event, etc.
No matter what the theme of your program is, without going through these particular matters, the purpose of your event never gets clear. Moreover, the organizer must share these particular things with the organizer team.
Select the Target Audience
We always believe that the audience is the life of any conference, and they solely can make an event successful or unsuccessful.
The selection of the target audience relies mainly on two facts.
- The theme of the event
- Location of the program.
Every business conference might not work on a similar theme and before you run any promotion program make sure the theme is decided. However, without having the intended audience presence, it is impossible to plan a successful business conference regardless of what the theme is.
Whoever will benefit from the event, sharing of ideas, and interaction with experts are gladly welcomed. On the other hand, audiences residing near the event location get the most priority because of their better accommodation and convenient transportation.
However, participants from a distance should attend the program provided that they have a proper parking area and accommodation.
Lucrative Promotive Program to Attract More Attendees
Traditional advertising or social media marketing, which promotional way seems to work better for your conference reach? I would say both along with personalized emails.
The following promotional steps can take your promotion to the next level.
- Social media promotions through Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
- Partnership or sponsorship with any top-tier company.
- Personalized emails to the target attendees.
- Through the conference website.
The idea of including the conference website here is interesting because the site will consist of photos and videos from previous conferences. It ultimately tells the attendees about the success stories, which eases participation.
Moreover, collaboration or partnership with top-tier companies or sponsors is another smart way to attract participants.
A Hassle-Free Registration Process
A seamless registration process is what the expected attendees will expect from any organizer. The registration process should be online and will be done through a specific conference website.
The registration can be somewhat like this:
- Go to the dedicated conference website
- Find out the flexible ticket price
- Availability of discounts for early birds
- Complete the registration, providing the necessary info
- A confirmation mail should be sent informing you about your participation.
Moreover, a reminder mail is mandatory here because a few of your attendees might forget the event date. So, make sure no registered participant misses out on your arrangement.
The conference website should also provide information regarding the registration process, which allows the participants to get everything they require for registration in a single place.
Last but not least, the ticket price must not be sky-high because it’s not the only way to earn revenue from the conference. What you can do is search for sponsors who are interested in investing in your event.
Select the Most Suitable Venue and Date
A location that is easily accessible by the target audiences is always appreciated for a conference. Selection of a suitable location is among the most important parts of organizing a business conference. Some other issues, which are worth looking out before selecting the location are.
- Keeping in mind the format and theme of the event
- Number of expected attendees
- Enough car parking area
- Distance from the airport for foreign participants
- Proper lighting and ventilation
- All technical support including audio, video devices, and Wi-Fi.
Whether you need a spacious room or not depends on how many participants you are expecting in the program. Regardless of the number of participants, having proper ventilation and lighting is a must.
Also, without a parking slot for vehicles, it just provides a huge bad impression to the attendees first up.
Meanwhile, keep the following things in mind while selecting the event date.
- No other program is scheduled nearby on that particular day
- It shouldn’t be any festival or national holiday
- Consider fixing the last day of the conference on the weekend.
Thus, selecting the most suitable venue and date is a huge step forward to the program’s success.
Finalize the Budget
Defining the entire budget for the successful arrangement of the conference is a real deal. A realistic estimation of the event’s budget makes the entire arrangement much more convenient.
Budgeting for the event starts with the venue cost. However, you need to have a clear concept regarding the other costs.
- Venue cost without any hidden charge
- Extra charges for parking area
- Cost for snacks and beverages
- Speakers will charge a certain amount
- Cost for accessories provided to the attendees
- Cost for running promotions.
The venue covers most of the total expenditure while you’re set to define the budget. So, the organizer should make sure that the venue covers no hidden charges later on.
Influential and Knowledgeable Speakers Are Key to Success
The engagement of top-class speakers can arouse plenty of interest among the attendees. But the most difficult task here is to choose the right speaker and book them for your event.
As an organizer, you need to do a few things before confirming any speaker.
- Inform about the theme of the program
- Discuss the budget and expectations of the speakers
- Reach the speaker to get an idea regarding their schedule.
Hiring great speakers in a particular field means you are doing two things at the same time, promoting the conference and attracting more participants. Beginners always seek opportunities to network and share ideas with experts like them.
Utilization of Technology
Properly using technology is an advanced step to achieving the cherished goal of the conference. Technical support is necessary from registering for the conference to sharing thoughts at the end.
The entire registration process should be online-based, which must be a seamless procedure.
To conduct the event conveniently, the venue must provide a sound system, and visualization for presentation if necessary. Also, make sure the Wi-Fi works perfectly so that it doesn’t hamper the program’s proceedings.
The promotion requires online support, which is also a result of technological brilliance. From free promotion to sending personalized emails, every moment is technology-based.
Moreover, the website and social media platforms connected to the conference are another technological aspect. Attendees will share their thoughts and stay connected with you for future updates through the website.
Time Maintenance with A Program Outline
Disclosing the program’s outline is key to achieving your conference goal. The program outline includes how it will start, what will be included in the event, who are the speakers and keynote speakers, ways of sharing ideas, showcasing innovations, etc.
The agenda ensures the program schedule, list of speakers, number of attendees, and everything.
But the challenge is to stick to the plan and work accordingly. Inform the attendees about the proceedings of the event so that they can sit back relax and enjoy every bit of the program.
Arrangement of Catering
A break with snacks and beverages will work as a refreshment for the participants. Depending on the duration of the program, you should plan the break. It can either be a lunch break or a snack break.
It is possible to make this little break a bit more enjoyable by bringing on a slight variety in the catering.
For example, not everyone will be a big fan of what you are serving. If there is an option for choosing between a few items, the attendees will surely like your arrangement more.
Proper Use of Social Media Platforms
Social media platforms can come in handy while planning for a conference and after the conference ends. Except for these two situations, you can also arrange a live telecast of the event to reach more like-minded participants virtually.
First of all, social platforms are one of the most convenient and easily accessible ways to reach your intended audiences and invite them to join your conference. It allows you to reach the audience through both paid and free promotions.
Secondly, to collect and share the memories and great presentations from an event, social platforms have no competition. It also engages your attendees in the next events.
Virtual interaction and sharing of ideas are possible through platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Experts from various fields can answer the queries of like-minded people.
Volunteers Can Be an Integral Part
Who will assist you in ensuring the perfect execution of your planning? Volunteers are regarded as an integral part of such events, as they ensure a smooth proceeding throughout the entire event.
Volunteers carry out a few crucial tasks throughout the program.
- Confirming entries of the registered attendees
- Handing over the accessories to all the participants before the program starts
- Distributing catering during the break
- Encouraging the participants to share their thoughts on the conference at the end
- Keep a close eye on the security issues throughout the entire event.
Without managing these tasks properly, it turns out impossible to conduct a huge program peacefully. Therefore, the responsibility of the volunteers turns out very crucial here.
Post-Event Rewards
One of the most interesting segments of the conference is the rewards segment. The participants with innovative ideas and excellent presentations will receive rewards. It’s a way to boost their willpower to work more and more.
This also helps the organizers reach these selective participants for the upcoming programs.
Participants with the best presentations receive a certificate and an award in recognition of their contribution. You can think in the same way to encourage your participants to keep an attachment to your upcoming events.
Challenges You Might Face in Organizing Business Conference
Following the steps discussed above, one can arrange a business conference with ease and convenience. However, the entire process remains easy until you make some noticeable mistakes.
Wrong Person with The Wrong Responsibility
When selecting the team to manage the program, it’s mandatory to select the ones having vast knowledge of the conference theme. Also, you should know who is better in which management field.
For instance, if one has better knowledge on the technical side or can manage social media, if you ask them to look after the security issues, it will be a mess.
Therefore, knowing the strong and weak sides of the team members is essential for assigning them particular responsibilities. Having a clear idea of these dynamics is one of the key ways to manage a conference project effectively.
Lack of Communication
The team members or the management team must cooperate and discuss any issues to get to the solution. In case, someone appears dominating and not responding to other suggestions, the management will suffer later on.
Communicating on any sudden issue is the best way to find out the best solution. Face-to-face interaction and virtual communication, will work out on such needy occasions.
Late Planning
As you are already aware, the fact that arranging a massive business conference needs time for planning. Where experts suggest approximately 1-year for the planning and final execution, you can’t do the same task properly within two or three months.
Giving less importance to the planning period is the biggest mistake you can make as an organizer. Gathering a proper team, fixing the venue, and reaching the targeted speakers along with the audience takes time.
Lack of Clarity
Lack of communication is directly connected to lack of clarity. But how? When you don’t know what your team members are planning regarding the conference or what’s going through their minds regarding any sudden arrival issue, you can’t express your opinion.
Moreover, without clarification on any particular matter, indecisiveness remains among the management team. This indecisiveness may lead to the failure of the entire event.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have any other queries related to the steps involved in a conference organization? If yes, this section will definitely help you out.
How to Prepare for a Conference?
The preparation for a conference starts very much from the planning, and the planning involves the determination of the goal on the first page.
Create a team of intellectual members who’ll work to assist you throughout the entire event. Finalizing the budget, identifying the target audience, running promotions, hiring quality speakers, etc. everything is part of the preparation.
What is the Structure of a Conference?
A well-structured conference can bring success to your organization. However, structuring the event can sometimes be a daunting task if you’re a newbie in this field.
Structuring the event includes selecting an appropriate venue, deciding the event theme, contacting the keynote speakers, planning the presentation, arrangement of catering for the attendees during the break, etc.
What Factors Must Be Considered to Organise a Successful Conference?
There are some crucial factors, which you may not put enough emphasis on while organizing a successful business conference. For instance, the event venue must have a parking area and should be easily accessible from the airport for foreign attendees.
Also, the event date must not clash with any other events on the same date. The organizers must target the right audience and reach quality keynote speakers who can connect the attendees to the event.
What Are the Components of a Great Conference?
A great conference is an event where the attendees will get whatever they came here for. At the same time, the organizers must achieve their pre-determined goals from that event.
However, to be more specific, the key components of a great conference are keynote speakers, engaging sessions, attendees’ active participation, ample networking opportunities, and a seamless continuity of the event.
Final Thoughts
So, What are the steps involved in organizing a business conference is a common question asked by the organizers. Most probably, we’ve dealt with the answer properly.
The steps include proper and strategic planning. Strategic planning means the sharing of ideas of the intellectuals in this particular field and planning to execute these ideas accordingly.
What an organizer needs here are the proper guidelines to move step by step forward and get near to reaching the success line.
The entire event including promotion, selection of speakers, and post-event rewards everything is a single short step to achieve cherished success.
