The Importance of Communication
When an event is organised and dates and times are confirmed, it’s up to the event management team to deliver the plan successfully. Communication with the team in the planning process is key as this allows everyone in the team to clearly understand their tasks and ensure expectations are outlined.
Time constraints and deadlines are important to adhere to and without effective communication at each step of the process, the event could ultimately fail. Event staff members are responsible for working as a team, as well as solo, to ensure that the tasks run as they should, the crowd is happy and the atmosphere is pleasant.
Make a Phone Call instead of Sending a Text
A more effective way to communicate is by phone, rather than by text or email. Despite living in a digital age, it is polite and more personal to call. A voice can add a friendly, welcoming touch that a text simply can’t.
A phone call is the quickest means of addressing last-minute problems. It’s good that the humble phone call can be a powerful method of communication and it helps to build a rapport with clients and those who have used the service long after the event is over.
Phoning also eliminates any confusion which may come about from long conversational threads in the inbox. This can lead to both missed and mixed messages.
A good, competent and responsive team is essential behind the scenes and this can be achieved through event staffing. If your event is time-sensitive, then a strong communication plan should be in place to allow for real-time updates.
Building Relationships
In many cases, the first contact, person to person, can be vital in building and securing a lasting relationship, and clients will testify to this as being one of the many benefits of the right event staffing. A strong team will interact professionally and they are able to build strong relationships and capitalise on them through understanding the needs of both the client and team.
Virtual Events can also Increase Engagement
Good communication skills are not just used for physical in-person events, but virtual experiences. They can enhance engagement levels by providing plenty of networking opportunities.
A virtual event planner will be adept at communicating with the audience, but this can be daunting for novice planners. It’s important to be well prepared while also having an enjoyable time at the event.
Those attending can pick up on any hesitation or concerns and they can tell when organisers are nervous, so if they’re not relaxed and having fun, the delegates will detect this.
Ultimately, good communication is essential to event success and anyone who does not communicate well with the others in the team or with delegates will not achieve the desired outcomes.
Tips for Good Communication
- Phone calls should be made and emails sent so that everyone is on the same page.
- Always follow up with clients to ensure that they were happy with the way the event was managed and run.
- Ensure interaction and engagement level is high to build lasting relationships. These relationships can be used to drive a follow-on event, which can be a bonus.
- It’s important to recognise the importance of behind-the-scenes teamwork. A single person cannot take on the challenge of the scale of an event.
- Tasks should be allocated appropriately among the team, and the important word to bear in mind is ‘we’ rather than ‘me’ as event planning is group-led.
- Event planning can be a challenging undertaking with many moving components that travel in tandem with each other, but effectively communicating to the team and clients can ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible.
How to Plan a Marketing Event
A campaign big enough to have an impact requires a considerable amount of effort. And then there’s that critical on-the-day element that you might not have considered: staffing. Without proper staffing, a marketing event might as well wither and die before it’s even started.
Some businesses try to staff events themselves, only to fall short because they haven’t allocated the resources or their staff aren’t trained to handle members of the public. Veterans of event staffing could host a campaign or a meet and greet in their sleep.
They can walk through the plans of any event and know exactly what will work and what won’t. They will work to ensure that everything will run smoothly and your clients will have the best experience possible.
They have access to suppliers, vendors, and staff that you couldn’t hope to know how to access. Event staffers will be able to source any item and any specialised staff to make any event go without a hitch.
There are so many variables that must be accounted for that it only makes sense to have professionals handle it for you, from planning through to execution. Success comes to a whole lot easier when you’ve got professionals taking care of it.
At Street PR, we specialise in event staffing which enabled us to build a reputable client base with consistent repeat business. Find out how we can help here.