Successful events don’t just happen. Experienced event planners know certain things will predictably doom an event to failure. Obviously, the inverse is more likely to produce success. Most events are neither smashing successes nor horrible failures, but we want to skew toward success.
Management will push volunteer leaders to make decisions quickly and move forward with planning. Why? Executive Directors know that delays can cause an event to fall well short of the mark.
- Start planning too late. This is the biggest reason events fail. There is a domino effect. The best venues are not available at short notice. The best speakers are already committed. Potential attendees have made other plans.
- Date conflict with another event (including major sports events)
It is critical to know the meeting dates already set by other organizations that your members belong to. - Conflict with a religious or other holiday. Depending on the composition of your group, scheduling on top of a religious holiday (any religion) can be perceived as disrespectful.
- Picking an unsuitable venue. Venue choice can make a huge difference. If the venue has a bad reputation, costs too much to rent, has parking challenges, or is in a bad or remote location, it will impact attendance negatively.
- Delay in finalizing the program. Members want to know what the program/speaker will be. The closer to the event this is announced, the more negative the impact.
- Choosing an unappealing topic or speaker. If the speaker or program is not appealing, members will simply not show up.
- Marketing that is inadequate. Marketing that gives short notice, doesn’t reach the target audience or lacks a compelling message will hurt attendance.
- Overpriced in terms of perceived value. Most members compare the cost vs the perceived value and will not register if they think the event is overpriced.
- Delayed or cumbersome registration. If there is a long delay between the announcement and registration, people will lose interest. If it is hard to register, they may give up.
- Lack of board support and participation. If board members don’t personally support events and encourage their friends to attend, it will diminish attendance. If board members don’t show up for the events, it sends a powerful negative message to the attendees.
