Life itself is a bouquet of surprises, notwithstanding, it does not stop us from innovating. Not every event will experience a near-perfect execution. Sometimes In spite of the hard work and the effort put in to ensure that there is a successful outing, some problems still rear their ugly selves.
If there is anyone worth sharing this kind of experience, DOXA DIGITAL stands a better chance of telling the stories and how we solved the issues that appeared unannounced. Furthermore, the lessons shared in these instances are not just for one party alone, it’s a must-learn for all stakeholders of any event. So, find below the trusted and tested ways of solving these problems
Having more event guests than planned
This kind of problem is mostly encountered in events like weddings, birthday parties and the like, where you shared just a hundred invitations but on the real day, you discovered your guests are already more than two hundred and you are wondering how the others got into the event venue.
In this instance avoid trying to blame everyone, an attempt to please everyone is an attest to please no one. The major areas of contention are always the food and drinks which may have been budgeted for a certain number of guests.
What to do
Quickly Identify and segment your priority guest list using relevant tags. These ones could be sponsors, the aged, children or people living with disabilities. These help you to engage with your guest wisely and well thought out. This will now determine those who would be given priority in terms of food, drinks, souvenirs etc.
Access to the event venue or location less than 24 hours before the event starts
Another challenge event managers and event organizers always grapple with, is the problem of not getting access to the venue of the event at the proper time. Most times it is caused by overbooking of the hall, late bookings by organizers or event managers as well as inadequate booking days and schedules.
Some events such as music concerts, stage plays etc. depending on the magnitude will need about 3 to 5 days for proper set-up in order to test and dry run lighting, sounds, multimedia etc. These are sensitive gears that will need to be at certain precision to deliver certain expectations and naturally need many hours to run checks and balances before the real day. Enough time will be needed to run these gears in various simulated circumstances to be sure which works.
What to do.
When this occurs, organizers and event managers must come to a compromise instead of throwing blames. At this time organizers cannot expect the vendor and or event managers to perform magic. Certain adjustments should be sought and made based on mutual agreement. Artists and or performers must be made to understand the situation and also be made to adjust their script in order to get the best show or performance. Interestingly, the audiences may not even be aware of this development, all they want is a lively show, a value for their time and money.
Inadequate budgeting / Over budgeting
Budget is one of the very critical aspects in event planning and execution, if not the most critical aspect. The whole events depend on what the organisation is willing to spend. However, the common problem is either under or over budgeting as a result of not underestimating or overestimating a certain cost head.
Furthermore, if vendors are pre-financing the event project, a certain cost projection should have been submitted and approved with all necessary documentation.
What to do
All cost areas must be considered optimally without any form of underestimating any. The organisation must decide how much they are willing to spend and the specific areas it is meant to cover. A tracking process must be put in place to ascertain how or when certain costs are being spent. Alternative plans have to be made in terms of buffer measures in order to supplement when it is needed. Overall, Organisations should have flexible financial policies when it comes to event financing. It is better to have a successful event than to have it fail because no alternative plan was made.
