How To Choose The Right Event Management Company
When you need to organize an event, you have two choices ahead of you: to do it alone or hire a company. If you have never been involved in event organization, take a heads up and prepare – this is a truly complex and demanding task. However, in case you decide that hiring a company is a good way to go, there are again things you should know. First of all, it is indisputable that the event management companies are saving your time and second of all, they make events more attractive, memorable, efficient, organized and overall - successful. It seems that there is no easier task than to google them and choose a company that will organize the event for you. But there is one small problem: Which one to choose in the sea of event management companies? How to choose the best of the best? We will try to help you with this (not easy) task.
Know your needs.
Firstly, make a wish list. Before contacting the company, make sure that it can offer exactly what you need. Do not indulge too much in describing, be concise and enumerate specifically what you want. It does not hurt to ask for an official offer from the event management company and inform yourself on the types of events they organize.
Do a background check of the company.
Due to legal and contractual obligations, as well as the quality of work, it is the safest to get to know with the company you opted for. If you have selected a small, new or never-heard-off company, it is very important to check the legality of their papers and the existence of the office. You do not want to make an advanced payment and never hear from them again.
Does experience matter?
Experience, along with the price, should play a decisive role in picking out the best company. Why is this so? Experience is best acquired through practice, while a number of successfully executed jobs are usually a vouch for quality. How to do it? Ask the company to deliver their references and if it is possible video presentation where you can see some of the events they have organized. Having a professional presentation can be one of the indicators of the seriousness of the firm itself. In addition, you can also contact their former and current customers and ask them for an opinion.
Go for the 3 A’s.
We go back for the umpteenth time on communication being an important part of the job of an event manager. Great event manager will be available, approachable and accessible. Good communicating does matter since working with a large number of people requires advanced social skills. This is why you should make the most out of the very first conversation with the representative of the company. Use this chance to ask everything you want to know about the organization of your event and to see if it is possible to have the manager available all the time, as of course, your ideas will change and they need to be open to meet your demands.
Company's associates model your event.
The company you hire organizes the event, but the staff, external partners and agencies create it. Therefore, it is important to find out as much as possible about them. Do this by asking for a list of suppliers, vendors and others and checking the quality of the goods and services they provide.
Find the budget flexibility.
Budget plays one of the vital roles when choosing a company; and although the price should not be crucial, sometimes it is the deal breaker. If you are on a tight budget, have in mind that hiring a cheap company does not necessarily mean low quality. But also, the more costly one can be considered an option as long as you cut down on some other expenses.
Ensure quality equipment
If organization of your event requires light and sound system, logistics, or some more specific equipment, ask if the company owns such equipment and if it provides the services. Otherwise you will have to do that part of the job by yourself.
What can be out of the question concluded is that you should never be directed and driven by just one factor when choosing the right event management company. They all have a lot to offer, but sometimes you will not need everything in their service list.