The Biggest Mistakes Made by Event Planners

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 presents

The Biggest Event Planning Mistakes

The Biggest Mistakes Made by Event Planners

No one's perfect. But we're event planners – and the only way we become great event planners is by learning from our past mistakes.

 

That's why we asked our audience: What were your biggest mistakes in 2018? And what do you promise to do better in 2019?

 

Our survey results were surprising – and they revealed just how diverse, varied, and detail-oriented the event planning role truly is.


Dig in below.

Sections

1. IN GENERAL
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2. Venue
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3. Budgets
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4. Legal Stuff
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5. Your Event Page
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6. Comms
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7. Resolutions
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01. in GENERAL

On average, event planners have been in this business for 4 to 8 years.

6%

Less than a year

23%

1 - 3 years

48%

4 - 8 years

19%

9 - 12 years

3%

13 - 25 years

0%

25+ years

The Basics

The #1 most supported event type for event planners is marketing events.

23%

Marketing Events

20%

Sales Events

20%

Customer Events

16%

 Community 

12%

Internal Events

9%

Recruiting


General

The #1 worry for event planners is getting registrations and selling tickets.

biggest event planning mistakes tickets

19%

Registrations / Ticket Sales

14%

Proving ROI / Success

12%

AV / Sound / Lighting

11%

Budget

9%

Reg System + Check-In Process

9%

Internal Team Communications

7%

Speakers

6%

Content / Programming

6%

Décor / Scenic

4%

Catering (Food/Beverage)

4%

External Communications

The Venue


The Venue


02. The Venue

Event planners most often forget to ask about these venue details:

biggest event planning mistakes venue

Set up.

➧ Dates and times for set-up.

➧ Room layout limitations.

➧ Restrictions on deliveries and pick-ups.

biggest event planning mistakes a/v

A/V.

➧ Sound, light, built-ins, electrical outlets.

➧ Wifi and cell service capabilities and strength.

biggest event planning mistakes details

The little big things.

➧ Bathrooms, garbage, parking, water fountains, transportation, and HVAC and heat.

➧ Venue/room capacities

➧ Option to use own vendors or tied to unions

➧ COI requirements.

Misc.

Parking and transportation options, availability and location of water fountains, events happening the same day or before and after event.

The Venue

Based on production mistakes in the past, event planners often remember to:

biggest event planning mistakes organize

All decks on hand.

Obtaining presentations as early as possible.

biggest event planning mistakes tools

Check, 1, 2.

Have both headset and handheld mics available with fresh batteries.

biggest event planning mistakes technical difficulties

No technical difficulties.

Have connection cords/dongles, Mac and PC laptops, and extra power sources.

biggest event planning mistakes staff

Staff up.

Full run-through of production pre-event (including A/V).

05.

Misc.

Get everything in writing, over-communicate, make speakers aware of mic type.

03. Budgets

Event planners often forget to include costs for gratuity, taxes, and printing.

01.

Gratuity

02.

Taxes

03.

Printing

04.

Travel

05.

Swag


06.

Catering

07.

A/V

08.

Overages

09.

Speakers

05.

Swag

Budgets

The most underestimated event costs are catering and A/V.

01.

Catering

02.

A/V

03.

Taxes

04.

Gratuity

05.

Travel


06.

Printing

07.

Venue

08.

Swag

09.

Wifi

10.

Extensions

05.

Swag

04. The Legal Stuff

The top clauses or requirements often forgotten in contracts:

biggest event planning mistakes contracts

Pay Terms

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biggest event planning mistakes contracts

Event Specifics

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biggest event planning mistakes contracts

Adjustments

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05. Your Event Page

This is what's important to planners when it comes to event pages: 

event pages mistakes

Accuracy.

Depicting the real-life experience and clearly stating the purpose of the event.

event pages mistakes

Design.

Simple, intuitive, and on-brand. 

event pages mistakes

User experience.

Clear CTAs, good UX, and mobile-friendly. 

06. Comms

32% say their biggest email flub was including the wrong details.

22%

Sent to the wrong email address



32%

Incorrect event information (date, time, venue, etc.)

22%

Correspondence was never delivered



14%

Correspondence was sent on the wrong date/at the wrong time


5%

We do not use email as a form of correspondence



5%

Other (bounced emails, typos)




07. Resolutions

Planners made these biggest-event related mistakes last year:

biggest event planning mistakes

In 2019, event planners resolve to:

event planning goals

22%

Sent to the wrong email address



32%

Incorrect event information (date, time, venue, etc.)

22%

Correspondence was never delivered



14%

Correspondence was sent on the wrong date/at the wrong time


5%

We do not use email as a form of correspondence



5%

Other (bounced emails, typos)




Avoid the event headaches. Make 2019 your year.

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Who did we survey? Event planners who have been in the business for 4 to 8 years and focus primarily on marketing, sales, and customer events.

For more information on how to take your events to the next level visit splashthat.com

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Compensation + Payment

Pre and post payment terms

Compensation for inaccurate execution/setup

Cancellation clauses

Event Specifics

Requiring setup accuracy
Documentation of arrival/setup times
Necessary COI requirements
Timeliness of submission for materials
Overtime fees and details
Speaker replacement
Required headcount
Transportation/valet services
Overtime fees and details
Number of staff working event
Important deadlines and milestones

Adjustments

Ability to adjust the guarantee minimum
Option to resell unused hotel rooms
Any change in services
Option to reschedule (based on attendee #s)

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