Putting together a conference is often seen as an easy job to take on. However, and we speak from experience here, it can be a harrowing ordeal. There are so many individual parts involved in planning a conference event – it can make even the most organised PA or venue owner throw their hands in the air. This is why we have put together this guide for conference event planning. However, if time or resources really aren’t on your side – why not use us as your conference event planners?
Firstly, you need to consider the delegate journey and how you want delegates to feel. This will help you set on your theme as you envision the journey that delegates will take and what they will experience. As conference event planners we can work with you to ensure that your delegates have a comfortable, efficient, memorable and enjoyable experience at your conference.
There are a lot of touchpoints involved in conference planning. These are all things that can make, or even break your event. For example, the first point of contact and how delegates feel on arrival. You need to consider transport, parking and signage too. It needs to be easy to get to the conference venue or people will arrive stressed. The food served on the day needs to be carefully considered too. Is there accommodation nearby that you can recommend for that night or the night before?
The best way to consider all points of the delegate journey, is to pretend to be a delegate yourself. How can you find the venue and where can you park? If it’s timed parking, is that long enough to cover the event? What welcome would you expect? Is coffee served or do you need to serve yourself? What about access to the internet or other technology?
Think about what you would want to see and what areas would make the biggest impression on you. How can you make those areas work for your delegates?
It’s important that throughout the planning of your conference you consider the overall goal and desired outcome of the event. Each touchpoint needs to reinforce the theme of your event and the desired outcomes.
Don’t forget to think about after the event too. Just because the conference is over, it doesn’t mean the conference planning is over too!