When times get tough, it is more important than ever to continue organising events, as events are the perfect tool to grow and strengthen your business. You can increase your lead generation, build stronger customer relationships and boost the company culture with the help of events.
But what do you do when the company reduces the event budget and resources? We have produced a guide that tells you how you can do more with less.
Set up a clear event process
You can save a lot of time, money and energy if you have a clear process to organise your events. Although no event is the same, event creation will most likely be the same or similar for all of your events. Regardless of whether the event is big or small, live, online or hybrid. Create a framework that can be used by everyone who arranges events in your organisation.
We recommend you spend time on this, because as soon as you have a framework in place, organising events will go more smoothly. It also means that you can quickly scale up and down your events, based on changes in budget and resources.
Want help getting there? Take a look at our blogs, guides and templates below to get started faster and get inspiration for your event process. Click on the heading to get to the material you want.
- Read our blog series on participant experience, creating an event strategy and maintaining an event portfolio. Or dive into The Ultimate Guide to Succesful Events.
These insights and practical examples on event management will help you organise your events efficiently. - Choose the right event format
Live, online or hybrid? Make a template for which format to use for which event. We have produced a guide to help you choose the right one. - Create an event communication timeline
Get more participants and reduce no-shows with the right communication. In our event communication timeline, you'll see when and how to communicate to create the best event experience. - Market your events
If you are not visible, it is difficult, if not impossible, to attract participants to your event. Make sure to create well-thought-out event marketing using our template. - Make sure your events are GDPR-safe
Make sure you don't miss out on data security at your events. Use our GDPR guide to ensure your attendees' data is in safe hands before, during and after the event. - Measure and compare each event
The biggest cost of an event is the time the attendee invests in your event. Therefore, make sure the event is worth your participants' time. Measure and compare all your events, to see which events are worth investing in and which you should ignore. Read our EVS (Experience Value Score) guide to see how you can work with the follow-up of your events. - Evaluate your events with a retrospective
Use our template for retrospectives, where you evaluate your events yourself. This allows you to take what was good to the next event and skip what went less well.
Get help from AI
As soon as you have your event process in place, it's time to start planning your next event. Using AI (Artificial Intelligence) for your event planning can help you streamline and optimise various processes, from choosing the right place and time to planning marketing strategies and creating event communications. Here are some tips on how you can use AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Jasper, for your event management:
Event Ideas: Ask the AI tool to brainstorm ideas for your event, whether it's a location, speaker suggestions, or theme for the event.
Budget: Plan your budget and optimise your expenses. Use AI to see how you can maximise your budget and identify areas you can save on - without compromising on quality.
Audience analysis: Use AI tools to analyse your audience, their interests and behaviour. This can give you insights into what sparks interest in them, which in turn can help you create an event your attendees really don't want to miss. Give as much information as possible to the tool to get the best possible results, for example age, interests, titles, what industry they work in, where they live and so on. Do you have several target groups at your event?
Location planning: Maximise participation by choosing the right time and place for your event. Use the AI tool to analyse data from previous events and other events taking place at the same time as your event. You can then get help choosing the right time so that your event does not clash with other events. If you are going to have a physical event or meeting, you can also get help in finding the best possible place based on factors such as demographics, availability and price.
Marketing strategy: Create a marketing strategy that is cost-effective yet maximises engagement using AI. The tools can give you suggestions on how you can use social media, email marketing and other digital tools to promote your event and attract participants.
Event marketing: Creating content and marketing for your event can be time-consuming and sometimes frustrating. Luckily, there's a lot of help you can get from AI tools:
Content production: Get help creating blog posts, content for social media, event marketing and other material that will help you attract more participants. Optimise your content strategy by asking the tool to analyse data on what works and what doesn't. For example, it can be used to analyse how your social media posts and emails are performing, as well as give you suggestions on how to improve your communications and increase engagement levels.
Always review the material you produce with an AI tool. Although it may seem tempting to just copy and paste, but it is important that everything you communicate, post on social media or post on your website, matches your brand.
Partner to boost your event
Doing events together with others, for example sponsors or partners, is smart from several perspectives. Either to get more budget and resources for your event or to get more participants.
Think about which companies could benefit from being seen at your event, but above all - which companies would benefit your business? A joint event is a perfect opportunity to be introduced to each other's customers. Simply a win-win for both parties!
It can also be easier to get the invitees to accept the event, if the invitation comes from a person or company they already have a relationship with.
Do not forget that the company or companies must match your event's theme and it is also important that you agree on the ultimate participant, the so-called ICP (Ideal Customer Profile).
Automate your event process using event tools
Arranging events is time-consuming. Don't let the administrative work take up your precious time. 7 out of 10 say that the quality of their event has increased with the help of Lyyti's event tool.
With the right solution, you can:
- Streamline the event process by being able to quickly create event pages, facilitate registration, automate event communication and follow-up. You won’t miss anything important.
- Save time by using only one tool that simplifies the entire event process from start to finish.
- Make data-driven decisions using the data you collect from your events. 93% say they were able to improve the collection of feedback by using Lyyti's event tool. Thanks to this, event organisers are able to develop and create better events.
- Save money by using one solution for everything. Using several different tools for the event can end up being expensive, but above all messy.
- Create safer events by using a tool that is GDPR-compliant and enables you to, for example, share data with third parties securely or automatically anonymize sensitive data after your events.
- Increase engagement with a tool that simplifies event communication before, during and after the event. Tip! Use SMS to increase participation and create more engagement. For example, you can remind participants that the event will start soon or why not offer a tip?
- Create personalised communication. With the right event tools, you can personalise your messages, helping you create even stronger relationships with your attendees. Are you stuck with the content? Ask ChatGPT 😉
By using an event tool, you can simply get more out of your events but spend less time and resources on event creation!
Work smarter, not harder
Don't cut back on your events or skimp on quality, instead find new ways to do more with less. We hope our tips help you on your way to creating even more meaningful meetings and events!
Hero photo by Tim Mossholder
