Figuring out how to put together a solid guest list is stressful. You're wondering who should you invite, who will say yes, who will actually come?
We've come up with some helpful tips to help make putting together guest lists a much less stressful process.
GOALS
Before you think about locations, caterers, DJs, security, before you send out invitations, in short, before you start planning you need to know WHY you are planning the event in the first place. You need to define your objectives for both the short term, on the day of the event, and long term, after the event.
- Information: Will this event provide new product information?
- Emotive Action: Will this event increase brand awareness?
- Motivation: Will this event boost company or team morale and motivation?
- Concrete Action: Will this event drive sales?
Ideally these tasks should not stand alone and the success of any event can be achieved by effectively combining any and all of the four goals.You have to be aware of what information you want to impart, what emotions you want to evoke, what motivation you want to achieve and what actions need to follow. Once you’ve set your goals and you know what you have to look out for, your guest list planning will be much easier.
AUDIENCE
After defining your event goals you should start thinking about your target audience. In order to create an outstanding event, you must first know your crowd.First you need to understand who will be attending your event. Are you launching a new product to the general masses? Are you organizing an educational seminar for your company’s sales managers? Some possible target audiences might be:
- B2C clients
- B2B clients
- Journalists
- Distribution partners
- Your employees
Begin considering your audience. Who is it that you would, ideally, like to attend? Will this be an event open to the general public? So, alongside your target group’s specifications, in terms of marketing goals, you should keep in mind the following questions:
- Who is attending your event?
- How many people will there be?
- Where are they coming from?
- What do they want to gain from the experience?
- What languages to they speak?
Not every group has the same needs; a multinational medical congress in Pasadena is completely unlike a fashion brand launch in New York City’s Meatpacking District. It’s crucial to understand and know these differences!Remember, only when you know your audience, can you truly blow them away, “and only when you know who they are, can you give them what they want!
GUEST LIST SET-UP
Create 3 different guest lists: A, B, and C. A for the guests you’d ideally have attend, B as the backup list, for the A Listers who don’t RSVP and C as the reserve list of event filler, or friends or ‘scenesters’ who can take up space.Finally once you’ve sent out your invitations and begin receiving responses. This is the time to fine tune your guest list. If you’ve received a low response rate, you may want to consider canceling or postponing your event. Hopefully, though, all will go well and these steps will guide you to event guest list set-up success!
Related: How to Maximize Guest List Check-in
