Event planners arrange a variety of gatherings.
Event planners handle all activities related to hosting an event, including organizing, purchasing, sending invitations and managing transportation. A marketing plan is a thorough plan that describes what a company offers in the marketplace, who it targets for its products or services, how it gets its products into the hands of customers and how it communicates with potential and existing customers. Drafting a marketing plan for your event planning business can help you to gain an edge over less-prepared competitors.
Service Description
Begin your marketing plan by thoroughly describing all of the services that you offer, as well as the price of each service. Basic event planning services include finding and securing a location, catering, entertainment and travel for guests. Discuss whether all of these services are offered as a package, or whether individual services can be put together for custom pricing. Also discuss any additional features you offer to clients, such as photography services at events, post-event surveys for attendees or the option to staff the event with door hosts, servers, bartenders and any other specialized employees. Place emphasis on the elements of success your service has to offer.
Target Market
Define your target market and the specific type of customer that you will specialize in serving. Examples of target markets for event planners include businesses, families and government entities. Your target market will largely determine the types of events that you will find yourself planning. Corporate clients, for example, are likely to host large events with famous speakers, three-course meals and hotel accommodations. Individual and family clients are likely to host weddings and reunions that require much different set ups than corporate events.
Advertising
Create and define your strategy for sending advertising messages to clients. Word-of-mouth advertising is a large influence on the success of personal-service businesses such as event planners; if you create an unforgettable experience for a client -- and ask for referrals -- that client is likely to spread the word about your company. The opposite holds true as well, however, so service quality plays a large role in word-of-mouth advertising.
Consider running advertisements in publications your target market is likely to read. If you are targeting households, for example, place ads in wedding magazines or parenting magazines. Pay extra for premium ads in yellow pages and on search engines, as well, to catch customers who are researching their options.
Other Marketing Strategies
Draft strategies for other elements of the marketing mix, include promotions and public relations. Consider running loyalty programs for frequent customers, or offering lower prices for pre-purchasing several event planning services in advance.
Make public relations a regular part of your marketing strategy. As an event planner, your core competency can serve as a highly effective PR tool. Offer free event planning services to nonprofit organizations at least once per year; request the right to have a marketing presence at the event in return, and send press releases to a range of publications detailing the event and your sponsorship.
Marketing Budget
Calculate and add the expenses required for each of your marketing strategies, and create an itemized budget in your marketing plan detailing exactly how much money is required, and where the money is going to come from.
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