Organizer
8 cost-cutting tips for your next event
May 10, 2023 / 4 min read
By: Elena Kovacevic, Chief Business Development Officer
With event costs on the rise and inflation striking all aspects of the global economy, organizing events becomes a challenging task. However, the booming need for in-person contact affects the event industry returning in full force. Demand for on-site events thrives continuously, making event organizers figure out ways to deliver engaging experiences to the next event while holding firm on the bottom line.
Organizing an event is costly, so take our eight cost-cutting tips for your next event to deliver without impacting success.
One of the most effective ways to save money for your next event is to start planning early. In that sense, you can secure venues and vendors at lower rates. At the same time, you can carefully plan the right mix of event ticket types that will have a major effect on the event outcome. Additionally, planning early can help you avoid rush fees and last-minute expenses that could compromise your budget.
Venue selection is one of the biggest expenses and a valuable field where our cost-cutting tips for your next event will have an effect. You can save money on choosing a budget-friendly venue and think more creatively considering community centers or your office space for smaller events. These venues are usually more willing to negotiate lower rates. Therefore, allocate some time to go directly to event venues, scout, and speak to the venue team. As always, seeing is believing!
Consider various event facilities included in the hire cost when looking for an event venue. Some venues will have everything you need, while some will demand to use third-party providers. Those offering in-house equipment will contribute to cost-cutting efforts for your next event. Also, make sure that the venue is close to city airports or major train stations, as it additionally lowers the traveling costs of your speakers or performers.
Flexibility is one of the greatest cost-cutting tips for your next event that we can offer. If you can be flexible on dates, you can negotiate with venues and unlock lower rates. Asking venues about their low season or when they imply off-peak rates is a nice approach that should help you understand what would be ideal for placing your next event.
Of course, you can't completely focus your marketing strategy on social media, so try to use it as a powerful marketing weapon and a cost-cutting tip for your next event. When used strategically, it can help you engage with attendees throughout the lifecycle of your event. Social media is the perfect platform for quick, impactful announcements. Also, one of the most important benefits when using social media is to be one step ahead of your competition, knowing who is considering or coming to your conference.
When nothing else contributes to cost-cutting efforts for your next event, reducing the number of attendees is one of the easiest ways to cut costs. However, it will simultaneously reduce the overall aura around your event or conference. Event planners must be very careful when considering this action, and it should be used as a last resort. Consider inviting only those essential for your event, minimum audience, minimal staff, stakeholders, and key customers.
Automation has become an important part of conferences and aligns well with conference badges. Badge printouts can be done on-site or remotely, which strongly affects processing speed and contributes to cost-cutting efforts for your next event. Platforms like run.events use high-speed, industry-leading technology to print branding and attendee information onto a blank badge in seconds. Using this technology can save up to 10% by permitting attendees to self-enter data or preload registrants.
Reducing the waste of unused badges and other materials that need to be taken and deposited from the event venue is one of the best cost-cutting tips for your next event. Not only does it make organizing events easier for you, but it also eliminates the manual effort associated with entering leads into CRM. Professional management platforms with variable pricing methods offer enterprise-grade event management features to those who would otherwise not be able to afford them, allowing complete compatibility with the most reputable CRMs available.
Using our cost-cutting tips will help you maintain event plans throughout seemingly turbulent years ahead. By implementing our eight cost-cutting tips, you can reduce expenses without compromising the quality of your event, otherwise, it shouldn't come at the expense of your guest experience or event quality.
