The Biggest Event Planning Mistakes | Infographic

The Biggest Mistakes Made by Event Planners

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The Biggest Event Planning Mistakes

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

2. Venue

3. Budgets

4. Legal Stuff

5. Your Event Page

6. Comms

7. Resolutions

01. in 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

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.

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).

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

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

04. The Legal Stuff

The top clauses or requirements often forgotten in contracts:

biggest event planning mistakes contracts

Pay Terms

View List

biggest event planning mistakes contracts

Event Specifics

View List

biggest event planning mistakes contracts

Adjustments

View List

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

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