conference

The success of your business event depends on several factors. Read on for our tips for planning your business event by the book.

Establish the objective of your conference

Why do you want to organise a conference in London? What are your objectives? Do you want to present results, share your expertise, raise problems and look for solutions together, or get your sales teams working with a new business strategy?

Answering this initial question will help you to establish the format the conference will take, i.e.:

  • Duration: a conference generally takes place over one or two days
  • Location: a stately home, a meeting room in a business centre, etc.
  • Number of attendees: this will have a direct impact on the guests’ level of participation — the more attendees there are, the more difficult it is to discuss and exchange ideas.

Set a date

When you organise a conference (or any other event), choose a date that is quite a long way off. Not only is there a chance that people will turn down your invitation for the simple and valid reason that their diaries are already full, but also, you will almost certainly have trouble finding a room if you don’t have much time. Conference rooms are generally booked several months in advance.

 

Choose a conference room

Select the location best suited to the format and duration of your company event.

Don’t forget to book the room and confirm your booking at the agreed time.

Draw up a list of attendees

It might be useful to send some information to your guests so that they can familiarise themselves with it in advance to help them find their feet. This will allow you to use the time set aside for the conference more efficiently. Finally, it means you won’t forget to send reminders a few days before the event.

Contact service providers

Including the caterer, greeters and translators if required, as well as audiovisual equipment hire companies if the meeting room you have found is not already equipped.

The day itself

Head to the location early for a general look around. You can also take the opportunity to:

  • Brief all service providers
  • Give greeters their final instructions
  • Remind contributors of timings
  • Check that the audiovisual equipment is working properly

Finally, you can open the conference and welcome the guests.

After the business event

Don’t forget to:

  • send thank-you notes to the contributors and attendees;
  • post a report about the event on your website;
  • share photos and videos on social media.

And finally, you can also ask attendees to fill in a satisfaction survey.