Organisers are Dying to Get More Corporate Event Ideas for Squeezed Budgets

Welcome to the club if you're an event planner and all-round miracle worker tasked to come up with corporate event ideas - with fewer people, less time, and a much tighter budget. You’re not alone. And you’re not imagining things, because it’s tougher out there. But it’s not all doom and gloom.

You can still deliver impressive events without maxing out your sanity or your company card.

But you need to build on clear corporate event ideas and stick to them like glue.

So, how do you make magic happen when the purse strings are tight and your team’s running on empty?

Drill Down into What Your Event Needs to Achieve

You know how author and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek bangs on about how powerful it is to start with your why? Forbes Magazine’s Amy Blaschka cites how Sinek defines this as “The compelling higher purpose that inspires us and acts as the source of all we do” in her 3 Reasons Why Finding Your ‘Why’ Is The Key To Career Happiness article.

Well, it’s no different with corporate event ideas. In fact, it’s even more important when your spending power is curtailed and you’re short on bodies.

Gone are the days of planning events just because “we always do one in Q3.” Instead, you need to justify ROI, from lead generation to brand awareness to measurable sales.

The question is, how do you plan in the value factor, and then use it as your north star to inform and dictate relevant corporate event ideas?

·        Be more Simon Sinek and start with your why - What’s the business goal? Sales? Recruitment? PR? Make it clear from the outset.

·        Track, measure, tweak - Capture data, review feedback, and build a solid case for your next event.

·        Take an attendee-first approach - Make every moment valuable for your guests and they’ll keep showing up and doing what you hope they will.

 Tap Into Practical Corporate Event Ideas When Your Budget is Tighter Than a Waistband at an Eat-All-You-Can Buffet

The cost of running events has shot up as hotels and venues fight their own battles with running costs and supply chains. Suddenly ROI has become the whole game, rather than just a nice to have.

As a result, your initial corporate event ideas need to focus on squeezing every drop of value from your event budget:

·        Be strategic with spend - Prioritise venue, food, and content over frills. Flash is fab, but substance seals the deal.

·        Use free venue finding services (Hi, that’s us!) - One brief, dozens of options, no cost for the privilege.

·        Negotiate like a specialist (or better still, let us do it for you) - We’ve got the relationships and the bargaining power.

·        Opt for venues with built-in perks - AV kit, on-site tech support, free first drink at the bar, flexible cancellation terms, you know the ones.

·        Get creative with content - A great speaker trumps a fancy goody bag any day (even though we all love a good freebie).

Wearing Too Many Hats?

It’s the norm these days for team members with little or no events experience to be asked to pitch in. So, how do you juggle sorting speakers and comparing canapé packages when expertise – and hand on deck in general - are thin on the ground?

·        Work smarter, not harder - Use planning tools, automations, and templates to claw back hours. Need recommendations? Just ask.

·        Call in the cavalry – Credible outsourced event profs can act as an extension of your team for everything from supplier sourcing to registration to delegate badging.

·        Be realistic with resourcing - Planning a high-end event? Stand your ground if your budget doesn’t match your brief. A tactful and quantified case to your senior team can work miracles, because they won’t want to like penny pinchers in front of key stakeholders!

 Sharing is Caring

There’s much to mull over when looking for corporate event ideas to deliver more with less. But one thing’s for sure…

 You don’t need to juggle quotes from 15 venues, haggle over hidden costs, or panic-Google “affordable venues near [insert location here]” at 10 o’clock at night.

That’s what the Venue Hunters are here for.

Our venue finding service costs £0, and we handle the legwork so you don’t have to. As a result, you save time, reduce stress, and get the best value, thanks to our bulk buying power, insider know-how, and genuine care about your event’s success.

Let’s chat about your next event. No pressure. Just helpful humans and inspiring venue finds.