Why event management?

An example

Imagine the following situation: You are a start-up and have benefited from a positive economic trend, i.e. you have grown quickly and exponentially. Now you want to thank your new customers and, in the meantime, also some business partners and organise an event for this purpose. (Now consider the initial situation: actually, not yet out of its infancy, but suddenly very big). The idea is quickly developed: it should be as sustainable as possible, in the morning there will be a few lectures, in the afternoon there will be sports games and chill-out lounges for family members, the whole thing should be as hip and urban as possible, and in the evening, there should be a concert with a few artists. Since you are young founders and have already been to many concerts and events, you think you can organise this in addition to your everyday business.

At first, everything goes well, the idea is quickly conceived, the artists have been requested, a friend is doing the catering and the invitations have been sent out. You go on with your work. But a few days before the event, your friend calls you and has to cancel the catering due to illness. You have lost track of how many guests are actually coming and, with a glance at your mailbox, you realise that numerous enquiries from guests on various topics have already arrived. And on top of that, you still have no confirmation from an artist for the planned concert. You now have only a few days left to organise the event and the deadline for the quarterly figures and the tax advisor are already knocking on the door.

What now? This is a classic case of previously underestimating the workload and effort of organising an event and then procrastinating or ignoring the tasks that still need to be done, followed by a stressful situation that is difficult to resolve.

Obviously, outsourcing the organisation of the planned customer event would have made more sense here.

Because unlike the two founders of the fictitious start-up, a professional event agency would have done things differently.

The advantages of professional event management

First of all, simply attending concerts and events is not enough to plan your own event – especially on a large scale. An event agency can usually draw on a wealth of experience in the planning and implementation of events. Moreover, with such an agency at your side, you run no risk of the event suffering a low mood in the meantime and the guests becoming bored or, on the contrary, even overwhelmed by what is on offer. Professional event managers know how to design the storytelling of an event and how to enrich it specifically with emotionalization and trends.

Participant management

Event management also includes participant management. Catering, for example, needs concrete figures on how many guests will come in order to provide the appropriate catering. But you as the host also need to know the exact number of guests. Therefore, a professional event agency also keeps an eye on the invitations and acceptances as well as cancellations and even creates anticipation for the event through various measures and thus prepares them in advance for what to expect.

Unanswered questions from their guests, as in the case of the two fictitious start-up founders, can also be avoided by outsourcing event management. Event agencies usually provide information in advance as part of the participant management – for example, on the timing, catering and transportation.

Planning reliability

Of course, it can happen to even the best of people that they fall ill and something has to be cancelled at short notice, but an event agency usually works with well-established partners and has an extensive network of service providers. In the best case, they have not only one but several substitutes at hand in the event of a cancellation.

This also increases the planning reliability of the entire event. The situation in which the two entrepreneurs found themselves shortly before the event would therefore not be repeated. Through well-structured and professional planning of the event, such last-minute cancellations can be avoided and the partners’ commitments are obtained well in advance, including the corresponding contracts.

If artists or speakers have been invited, the event agency also takes care of their management. After all, it must be remembered that they may need accommodation and often support beyond that. Maybe they even need to communicate and negotiate with another management. The event agency has all this under control. In addition, it is often desirable and helpful to network the individual participants or speakers and artists with each other. An event agency can also take care of this.

Individual support

All in all, the event agency now gives the event the individuality it needs – after all, they want to be remembered and, in the case of our fictitious start-up, mark a thunderous and professional start in business.

Accordingly, it is easy to answer today’s follow-up question:

What qualities should an event manager possess?

At the top of the list is stress resistance. Keeping a cool head with many events to organise at the same time, cancellations and last-minute changes is a very special gift. Flexibility is also a decisive factor that separates the wheat from the chaff. Event managers who insist exclusively on their tried and tested concept will not be successful. The motto here is to keep reinventing oneself and to give each event that individual something special. Of course, the necessary degree of creativity also plays a role in this process. If something doesn’t go according to plan, a professional event manager should always have a plan B and, if necessary, a plan C in their pocket. A talent for improvisation is often required. Being able to adapt to new situations is therefore not a bad quality in this context.

The next three qualities are also closely related: Leadership skills, conflict resolution skills and self-confidence. At an event, very different types of characters and professional groups work together, and they are used to different ways of working and dealing with each other. So, if things get louder and more hectic and the “please” and “thank you” fall by the wayside, don’t let it upset you. This is by no means a sign of a lack of appreciation or a bad mood. What is needed now is a professional event manager who keeps a cool head and coordinates everything with confidence and determination. This is the only way to guarantee a positive result. Your partners may also need a little motivation from time to time. A good event manager has this function too. And in the process, the service orientation must never be lost sight of. Because despite all the fun and hustle and bustle that goes into organising and setting up the event, the customer must ultimately be satisfied and with them the participants and guests.

We hope that this little guide to the event management industry has aroused your curiosity about our blog. Please let us know if you have any questions, comments or requests regarding our services or our blog. We look forward to hearing from you.

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