When is it appropriate to cancel an event? (i.e. one that is no longer attracting/producing the desired results, or has grown stale.)
If your event style is no longer producing the highest possible return on your – and your guests, suppliers who donate goods and services, and sponsors – investment of time, energy and money and meeting all of your collective objectives, it is time to look at your event alternatives.
If you fail to meet and exceed your attendees’ expectations, your numbers will fall and then your attraction to sponsors and suppliers will diminish. For you, your focus is on raising funds and public awareness. You are educating and enlightening the public through business entertaining. For your suppliers, who are donating their goods or services in part or in full, and your sponsors, your event is a marketing and sales business tool. No matter how wonderful your cause, it is a business decision to support you as opposed to another charity. So, if your event does not work to deliver what they need to meet their company’s objectives they will most likely be forced to champion another cause.
Your guests are looking to be entertained and to feel good about helping to raise funds for an organization they believe in. If your event is not strategically designed to create desire to attend and give guests the life experience they are looking for, it will be hard to woo them back next year. You are competing for your guests’, suppliers’ and sponsors’ attention, and it is a buyer’s market. With only so many dollars to go around, those you are seeking to partner with have a host of other options.
It is important not only to track your event results, but also to keep your finger on the pulse of what else is taking place in your industry. You need to be aware of who is doing what, what kind of numbers they achieve, and the type of PR buzz their event produces.
You also have to tailor your event to your demographics. You need to know who is in the room and be aware of any changes (e.g. are regulars no longer attending?). Is your age group staying the same or is it changing? Many organizations spend an incredible amount of time researching, developing, selling and executing their events but stop short of conducting a thorough audit of their event and assessing how their event fared from everyone’s perspective. Taking the time to do a post mortem on your event, while all the players are still in place, is critical. It helps you determine when and where to pull events, and how to create an event design that evolves as you and those taking part in your event grow and change.
Judy Allen is the author several bestselling books about event planning: Event Planning, The Business of Event Planning, Event Planning Ethics and Etiquette, Marketing Your Event Planning Business, and Time Management for Event Planners. For paid professional event planning consulting – event design, site selection critique, venue and supplier contract review, budget analysis, strategic planning, event logistical and timing requirements, and on-site orchestration – contact Judy directly at Judy Allen Productions.
