Upsize Primer: Meetings & events

UPSIZE PRIMER :: MEETINGS & EVENTS

Showing off

Well-planned events can boost image for small businesses
by Carla Solberg

WHEN JOE DUBORD saw the bill for his company?s event, there was a bit of sticker shock. But he thought then what he knows now. ?It was worth it,? he says about the $6,000 price tag. ?It will pay for itself tenfold.?

DuBord is owner and president of Meditech Communications, a full-service media production company, which moved to a new location in St. Paul at the end of May. To celebrate and to show off its new studio space, the company hosted a catered open house for 125 guests.

For four hours on a Thursday night, clients sipped wine and beer and sampled Scandinavian fare as they toured the studio space and viewed samples of Meditech?s work, which were displayed on the company?s three 42-inch plasma-screen televisions.

Some of them said: ?Oh, I didn?t know you could do this!?  DuBord says.

He got a lot of positive feedback after the event because of the smart choices he made before it. He used e-vites to cut down on paper and get a good handle on how many people were coming. He used a caterer he knew. He chose a weeknight when he thought people would likely be available and in good moods.

He kept the goal of the event in mind and showcased the company?s work in an interesting way. One thing he will do differently next time is give the undecided invitees a call to say: ?I hope you can come.? But overall he?s happy with how things turned out.

A successful event can raise a company?s profile and polish its image. A successful meeting can boost productivity and morale. But what is it, exactly, that separates the good meetings from the bad and the ugly? And can it be done on a budget? The answers, say the experts, are careful planning and yes.

Build relationships
The Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce hosts 158 events a year for groups ranging in size from 10 to 700 people, and Becky Boland plans them all.

When planning an event, consider who you know, Boland says. Vendors are more likely to work with you on cost if you have an established relationship with them, she says. The chamber has long-term relationships with a group of vendors that Boland has worked hard to develop over the years.

Even if your company has not actively cultivated them, these relationships may exist under the radar. For example, is there a restaurant near the office where everyone goes for lunch?

The standard no-show rate is 20 percent; planning for that can really keep costs down, says Boland. ?It?s always a little hairy to plan for people not to come.? But the truth is, things come up. There are always people who can?t make it, even if they want to, she says. ?People pay to attend our events and then don?t come.?

Choose the time carefully. Food costs for an event are directly related to the time of day. To save money, skip lunch and dinner, says Boland.

?Breakfast is obviously much less expensive than dinner or lunch,? she says. Keeping the morning food light has been the consensus from chamber event-goers and it?s a way to save money, too. ?No one seems to eat the greasy eggs and bacon,? Boland says. Keep it simple with bagels, muffins or yogurt parfaits.

Another popular option is hors d?ouevres at happy hour. ?We do a lot of those,? says Boland. Pick the spot and provide appetizers and soda, she says. ?A cash bar is OK. Don?t feel like you have to provide alcohol.?

Going green
Going green can boost your company?s image and save money, says Boland. So why not cash in on a trend? Don?t worry about trying to make every aspect of the event eco-friendly; start with a few things you can tackle and work from there.

For example, cut costs by cutting down on the amount of paper used to pull your event together, says Boland. Try e-mailing invitations. Eliminate what?s not necessary. If a regular meeting always has the same structure, are agendas necessary? If so, can they be printed on recycled paper?

On the printed materials that are necessary, try soy ink, which is cheaper and more environmentally friendly, she says. Remember to promote your green efforts.

When it comes to speakers, again consider who you know. ?We almost never pay for speakers,? says Boland. If you don?t know someone, you probably know someone who does.

?PR firms are a great source. They know everybody and it?s their job to promote them so it?s really a win-win,? says Boland. ?It sounds so simple but it saves a lot of time, effort and money.?

After the meeting or event, be sure to get feedback from those who attended, says Boland. It?s a good way to see if the information presented made sense to everyone or if clarification is needed. It will also help you plan better events in the future.

?We always send out a post-event survey,? says Boland. There are several free or inexpensive online survey resources that are great for gathering this type of information. On www.surveymonkey.com, for example, you can design your own survey, e-mail the completed ones back and receive a report, she says. ?It?s the handiest thing in the world.?

Surveys are also a great way to gather input before a meeting, says Sonia Cairns, co-founder and principal with Moss Cairns Inc., a Minneapolis-based meetings and events planning service.

It doesn?t have to be extensive, she says: ?It could be as simple as three questions.? But knowing the priorities, insights and concerns of your audience before you plan your meeting is one of the best ways to ensure that it will be a success.

Sometimes the information gathered from the pre-meeting surveys provides a good starting point. You can begin by saying, ?Here?s what we?re hearing,? says Cairns. ?It?s a way to open the discussion.?

Remember that discussion is the way to make progress and build in an interaction with the audience between every presentation, says Cairns. Whether it?s a basic Q-and-A session, or breaking into smaller groups with assigned topics, or inviting audience members to be part of a panel discussion, interaction is key, she says. ?It doesn?t work to stand up in front of a group and tell them how smart you are. People want to ask questions.?

Audience response systems, which put a keypad in the hand of every audience member, are another way to gauge response and engage the audience. Providing a way for everyone to feel like they are being heard is a best practice for companies of any size, says Mike Vinup, vice president, IML North America, in Minneapolis. IML works with clients to create custom audiovisual packages for meetings and events.

Rental of an audience response system, which includes the onsite services of a trained technician, set up and reports from data gathered, starts at about $3,500 a day, says Vinup.

Using wireless keypads, audience members can anonymously ask or respond to questions that are built into the presentation. They can also be polled immediately after a speech. Tabulations are available instantly and can be displayed back to the audience. Anonymity helps to create a comfort level that encourages participation and honesty. But the system can also be used to certify learning, says Vinup.

?If you have a group of sales reps and you?re trying to make sure they understand a product, we can make a smart card for each of the devices and track their responses.? This provides a snapshot of each rep?s technical knowledge, he says. For example, John Doe got 86 percent of the answers correct; here are the areas where he?s a little fuzzy.

Vinup emphasizes two features of IML?s system, called the Communicator. Each wireless handheld unit allows participants to text message questions which can be put up on the screen or stored for later review and each has a built-in microphone.

These features make the best use of meeting time, he says. ?Instead of waiting for a microphone to be passed, you can just talk right into the device.? Everyone can hear the questions; no one has to wait for them to be repeated.

A small group of people who are leading the event should build time into the schedule to discuss progress, says Cairns. If something unexpected has come up, this can be the time to decide if a change in the schedule should be made.

Audience response systems can provide leadership with instant and thorough feedback, but a low-tech approach can work, too. ?It doesn?t have to be a big deal,? says Cairns. A quick chat or a note is fine, but plan to check in at certain times to catch up on how things are going.

Stuff happens
If something unexpected does come up, stay calm, says Cairns. ?Don?t panic if something doesn?t go as planned. Pause and think, ?Should we maybe go another way?? Be flexible.? Being organized ahead of time allows more flexibility, she says. If you?ve prepared for everything else, you?ll be prepared for Plan B.

That lesson resonates with Deb Cochran, director of marketing for the Minneapolis-based law firm Winthrop & Weinstine, who had to decide what to do about a bad weather forecast ahead of her law firm?s event in late winter 2007.

?Our first women-client event was planned for the day of a huge blizzard,? says Cochran, who had previously worked in meteorology. She looked at the radar a few days before the event was to take place and said: ?We have to reschedule, no one will be able to come.? She immediately sent out an e-mail to all respondents to change the event date.

The blizzard came right on schedule and the rescheduled event went off without a hitch several days later. ?It saved us thousands of dollars,? says Cochran. ?It could have ended up costing us twice as much.?

Winthrop & Weinstine hosts networking events for its clients every year, says Cochran. Any time you are trying to bring several groups together, the planning is going to take longer than you think, she says. Build time for delays into your planning calendar.

To catch more of the details, try thinking about the event on a spectrum of before, during and after, rather than as an isolated incident. For example, call guests before the event to touch base and after to set up meetings or follow up with something, says Cochran.

Have a pre-meeting meeting to talk about best practices for networking, such as how to approach someone, how to bring someone into a conversation, how to introduce yourself and others, or how to break into conversation clusters.

While you?re planning keep your objectives in mind, says Cochran. Make sure your event provides an atmosphere that is conducive to achieving that goal.

No matter if the purpose of the meeting is to educate, to build relationships or to network, she insists, ?one objective is that it should be fun.?

Becky Boland, Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce: 612.870.9117; bb*****@****************er.org; www.minneapolischamber.org. Sonia Cairns, Moss Cairns Inc.: 612.819.0678; sc*****@********ns.com;
www.mosscairns.com. Deb Cochran, Winthrop & Weinstine: 612.604.6688; dc******@******op.com; www.winthrop.com. Joe DuBord, Meditech Communications Inc.: 651.636.7350; jo*@********ks.com; www.thisclicks.com. Mike Vinup, IML North America: 612.371.4428; in*****@**********de.com;
www.imlaudienceresponse.com