VerticalResponse Email Marketing Blog for Small Business

5 Biggest Event Planning Fears and How to Face Them

This article by VerticalResponse CEO and founder Janine Popick originally appeared on Inc.com.

 Throwing a company event is a fantastic way to meet new people, spread the word about your business and have some good old-fashioned fun. But if you’re the organizer, it can be quite intimidating. How do you get the word out? Will anyone show up? Will people get bored? Here are a few ideas to combat some of the biggest event planning fears, so you and your guests can focus on having a great time. 

1) No one will come.
The key here is to promote the event like crazy in your store (if you have one), as well as on your website, blog and social media networks. Local media often have calendar or community events sections that you can submit your soiree to. Setting up an online event marketing page that you can direct people to is an easy and inexpensive way to gauge interest and manage RSVPs; there are plenty of online event marketing tools out there. Creating a Twitter #hashtag and encouraging people to tweet about it also helps drum up anticipation and excitement.

 

Don’t forget email marketing campaigns, which you can use to communicate event details, send out updates and offer special promotions or discounts. Consider adding a sense of urgency (“Only 150 seats left!”) as the event nears. With email campaigns, make sure you’re sending out plenty of reminders. It’s a good rule of thumb that only about 50 percent of people who RSVP to a free event will ultimately attend.

2) People aren’t mingling.
While name tags aren’t exactly fun (especially if you’re caught wearing one several hours after an event), they’re incredibly helpful in getting people to mingle with one another. Try including an unexpected bit of information on them to get people talking. Also place food, beverages and seating in different areas, which will encourage people to move about the room.

3) People take off early, or won’t leave.
Organization is key for any event. Everything should be set up and ready to go before the “early birds” arrive. If you’ve got scheduled things going on during the event, hand out printed programs so people know the timeline. In the same vein, create a “soft” end time for your event. As the hour approaches, gently and politely remind people that the event is winding down, but don’t be too strict on exactly what time they leave. Most people won’t linger.

4) Uninvited party crashers show up.
Inevitably you’re going to have a couple of unwanted guests. Disgruntled former employees, your competition, maybe even your ex. You’ve heard the saying: If you can’t beat them, join them. The same applies here. Surprise them by being the first to say hello. Hopefully any grievances they have will be discussed with you privately, and not with the rest of your guests.

5) Someone’s knocked back one too many cocktails.
It’s bound to happen. But how do you deal with it? Start with the bartender(s) and instruct them to limit the amount of drinks given out to any one person and to offer water, coffee or juice as a substitute. Should someone be over served, find him/her a cab or a ride home.

Try as you might to plan for everything, rarely does an event happen without a single hitch. If something unexpected happens, keep your cool. Get your employees to pitch in. Know that you did your best, and everyone else will, too!

 

Posted by Janine Popick.

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter at@janinepopick, and check out more of her Inc.com columns.

 

 

Related Posts:

Step By Step Guide: How to Pack the House at Your Next Event

30 Easy Events for Your Business

Inc.com: Anyone In Your Company Can Have a Great Idea – Harness It!

 

 

 

When was the last time an employee of yours suggested an awesome business-building idea? If you can't remember, it might be time to inspire some creative thinking from all corners of your company. Here's an excerpt from my latest Inc.com Girl Power: Female CEOs blog post:

"It’s crazy to think that all great ideas need to come from you or from your top managers. Chances are, your employees who are your “feet on the street” know more about your customers than you might. If they know so much, why not tap into that knowledge and ask them for ideas?"

 

 

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter.

Inc.com: Do Your Employees Follow You on Social Media?

 

 

 

There are no firm rules when it comes to when – and how – to react to employees' social media posts. Check out my suggestions on my latest Inc.com Girl Power: Female CEOs blog post. Here's an excerpt:

"I won’t say that I’m ‘Big Brother,’ but if people who friend me post, I see it in my newsfeeds and in my Twitter stream. It can be a great way to get to know your employees (to the extent they let you) and find out a bit more about their lives outside the company, which can be a positive. 

Of course, you might also uncover how they are feeling about their jobs and your company ... "

 

 

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter.

Inc.com: How a Revamped Office Environment Can Boost Company Morale

 

 

 

I just published a new post on my Inc. com Girl Power: Female CEOs blog. Here's an excerpt:

"We've been around for 10 years, seven of them in the same building (which I loved). But as a result of our growth, we ended up on two different floors. Divided. It's tough to keep a culture together when a company is split in two. We tried group lunches, but it's hard to get 90 people together at once when space is limited. We also have an offsite company-wide event every quarter and have a great time. But, it still isn't enough on a day-to-day basis. 

Recently we moved to a new office so we could have the next few years all together on one floor. ... "

 

 

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter.

Inc.com: Areas of Your Business You Should Be Testing

 

 

 

I just published a new post on my Inc. com Girl Power: Female CEOs blog. Here's an excerpt:

"You go into a dressing room with 10 pairs of jeans to try on, even though you just need one. You take off the ones you're wearing – your beloved pair that fits so well. You try all 10 pairs and luckily one of them fits as well, if not better, than the pair you thought you could never replace. You feel that after pulling on all those jeans, you know what works for you. You have a winner.

It's the same in business. You should be constantly trying new things in all parts of your business to get better results and, in the long run, grow. Here are a few ideas you might try to test ... "

 

 

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter.

Inc.com: Two Tough Questions from Women in Technology

 

 

 

Check out the latest installment on my Inc. com Girl Power: Female CEOs blog:

VerticalResponse recently partnered with Startup Weekend, an amazing event where entrepreneurs get a little over two days to come up with an idea, pitch it to a crowd and work on one of about 20 ideas selected by their peers. Participants choose whether or not they want to participate on any of the 20 teams and they start to solidify the idea of a product. Most of the products are technology based and many are online solutions for businesses or consumers. At the end of the weekend, the teams present their new products to three judges, who select an event winner.

I was lucky enough to be on the judging panel for the Startup Weekend here in Palo Alto, Calif., where about 150 designers, developers and marketers participated. It was an amazing experience.

 

 

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter.

Inc.com: Thanks for Coming Clean Domino's; Comcast Should Take Notes!

 

 

 

The following post is the latest installment by Janine Popick for the Inc. com Girl Power: Female CEOs blog.

I don’t know about you, but lately I’ve seen a crazy barrage of TV commercials for Xfinity; you know, the new name for Comcast? So instead of addressing that they have given customers a poor experience, they went ahead and changed their name, as if we’re slightly fooled. Then they've said things in their TV commercials like, “If we screw up, within 30 days we’ll give you a courtesy credit.” How about, “We’re sorry we screwed up and you get a month free?” What is "courtesy credit" anyway?

 

 

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter.

How Much is TMI on Your Website?

The following post is the latest installment by Janine Popick for the Inc. com Girl Power: Female CEOs blog.

Yep, I did the unthinkable. I put my e-mail address on my company's website. Most people say I'm crazy, I know it. But I thought it was important. At first I thought I would get a flood of e-mails from vendors, customers, random people, but frankly, the e-mails that I get are pretty relevant and nine times out of 10 it's a customer commenting on something or asking a legitimate question. 

So why did I put my own e-mail address on the site?

• It's transparent. I'm not "one of those" who hide behind his or her people or company. I try to answer all e-mails as quickly as possible so that people know we're a real company, not just a robotic e-mail marketing website.
• It has helped build business. I've had people e-mail me with partnership ideas as well as prospects reaching out to ask me questions.
• It has helped get new employees. Someone that our HR department might not have thought would work well with current positions might be good for a future one.
  
• It has helped with potential financing. I've had numerous people requesting meetings to help with financing the company.

I do put a slightly different e-mail address as a link on the website, so that I can see where people are seeing it and e-mailing me from. If you're skittish about including a link because of spiders or spam, you can use an image that links to your e-mail. Either way, it's something you can do to put a personal "face" - and an e-mail address - behind your business.

Posted by Janine Popick.

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter.

Inc.com: Cause Marketing: Do a Good Deed to Get a Good Deed

I have a new article up on Inc.com for my column Girl Power: Female CEOs. It's called, Cause Marketing: Do a Good Deed to Get a Good Deed.

  

Here's an excerpt: Everybody loves to do good. Here are four steps - and a few creative ideas - to kick-start a cause marketing campaign for your business.

If your company is giving back in one form or another, then good for you! Our communities need our help above and beyond the fact that we're creating jobs. And one easy way to give back is through cause marketing. Cause marketing, simply put, is when you entice people to do something and when they do, you'll donate to a cause. A few things happen as a result of this; people like to patron a business if they know that it gives back to worthy causes and the community, and it could be a great generator of "buzz" for you, hopefully increasing overall sales.

Read More on Inc.com.

Posted by Janine Popick.

Janine is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse, a leading provider of self-service email marketing, online surveys, and direct mail services empowering small businesses to create, manage, and analyze their own direct marketing campaigns. Connect with her on Twitter.

Inc.com: Internal Communications to Employees - How Much Is Enough?

I have a new article up on Inc.com for my column Girl Power: Female CEOs. It's called, Internal Communications to Employees - How Much Is Enough?

Here's an excerpt: When you get to a certain size of company, controlling communications can be tough. Even if you’ve got 20 people, they’re probably broken up in different departments and focusing on their own job at hand. But, they probably want to know what’s going on in the company and what other departments are doing. And you shouldn’t assume that everyone talks to each other. Keeping the message of what’s going on in the company should be under your control so you know exactly how it’s translated.

Read More on Inc.com.