The event industry is a busy one. If you’re putting on events, you know that the show must go on no matter what. This mantra of “no matter what” is probably familiar, and probably true for most any industry. But no one knows better than event planners that there can be quite a few curve balls thrown our way! We all have heard stories of events gone wrong, or we might even have experienced it ourselves. It really takes a lot of effort to make sure that nothing goes wrong at an event – but if you are in the business of putting on multiple events throughout the year, how do you ensure that everything goes smoothly?
Preventing problems before they happen
No matter how much planning you do, things will go wrong at some point. You can make your event run more smoothly by anticipating and planning for potential problems, as well as having a backup plan in place. The better prepared you are to deal with these issues when they arise, the less likely they are to disrupt your schedule.
A good example is traffic management: what if there's an accident on the highway? What if there's road construction? Your team needs to be able to quickly adapt their plans so that attendees aren't stuck waiting for hours in their cars or the bus line winds around forever because of unexpected delays.
If you're putting together an event where people will arrive from all over the world (like a trade show), then it pays off big time to have worked out logistics like airport transfers into town and local transportation access ahead of time—not just during setup but also during planning meetings with vendors and clients months beforehand!
Managing emergency situations
There are some things that you can't prepare for.
When you book your vendors, ask them to be on standby in case of emergency. You never know what will happen during an event, so it's best to be prepared.
You're going to want a backup plan for unexpected events as well as for when things go wrong and even better than expected!
How do you make sure nothing goes wrong?
Planning is critical. When it comes to logistics, planning is more than just knowing where your next shipment of tables will come from. It’s also about making sure that the movement and delivery of all your materials goes smoothly:
- Risk assessment – this includes an evaluation of the risks associated with your event, the people involved in running it and all the things that can go wrong
- Insurance – you need enough insurance for both yourself and any third parties involved (for example, if someone gets hurt at an event and you have public liability insurance)
- Backup plan – what happens if something goes wrong? Do you have a contingency plan?
- Supplier emergency plan – what happens if a supplier doesn’t deliver on time or as promised?
What are your options then? Have a plan in place so that if something like this happens again then at least everyone knows exactly what they should do next time around
Planning is critical.
Planning is critical. You might think this is obvious, but it's amazing how many people don't get around to planning until the last minute and then wonder why things don't go as smoothly as they'd hoped.
Planning is important because it shows that you take your event seriously, and also helps you anticipate problems that may arise by giving you time to come up with solutions. If something unexpected happens during the event itself, like an encounter with a crazy person or an unexpected rainstorm, you'll be prepared for them when they occur because of how much time and effort went into preparing beforehand.
Planning is necessary because otherwise there would be no way for us humans to survive in this world full of chaos and disorder. Without proper planning skills, we would all fall victim to our primitive instincts which drive us towards instant gratification instead of long-term goals such as financial security or personal fulfillment (or maybe even just getting through the day).
Conclusion
In the end, it all comes down to planning. Be prepared for things that can go wrong with your logistics, and make sure you have a plan in place if anything does happen. Do what you can to prevent problems from happening in the first place, but always have a backup plan just in case. Learn more about winning logistic strategies at The Event Planner Expo 2022!
