The small yet mighty marketing team at Atomic is always looking for new ways to build the Atomic brand. This summer, I was given the project of building a framework for hosting events at our offices. Considering that many software consultancies operate remotely, it made sense to use our physical offices in a way that builds brand through hosting events like panels, educational events, networking events, and more.
My task was thinking through event planning from start to finish. From deciding on the right audience to market our event to, to sending the perfect follow up email, I had to research best practices and ensure that all our offices had a playbook to host events that would impress our guests. Of course, event planning isn’t a simple thing – I really don’t envy wedding planners. A lot goes into both planning and executing the “big day” to make it feel seamless. In attempting to organize the best events I could for the four Atomic office communities this year, here are four of the biggest lessons I learned.
Lesson 1: Business Value Should Drive Your Decisions
Everyone enjoys a fun, memorable event, but Atomic can’t host a bubble-blowing contest and expect to find someone who wants to build a new software product. Event hosting is an investment, and evaluating your ROI is essential.
When we began to decide what events to host, we asked important questions like:
What is the purpose of the event? To foster relationships with former clients, to build relationships with people in a certain industry, or something else?
What’s the event about, and who specifically would benefit from attending? Why would the content of this event resonate with our target audience?
Beyond asking the right questions that help you define the right event for your audience, you’ll need data. That data will help you evaluate the success of your events and see where the business value lies. We looked at metrics like the registration vs. attendance rate, post-event email engagement, number of new business contacts made, and survey satisfaction scores. This way, you’re able to concretely describe the success of the event – not just the feeling of the event.
Further, I found it especially important to determine what truly adds value. In planning, it made sense to hire an expensive, highly-skilled photographer to take polished photos of the event. In hindsight, the business value of those photos was not what we paid, and an amateur photographer would have sufficed for our marketing purposes. Identifying where it makes the most sense to channel your investment proved to be very important. For instance, it might make sense to put more money toward catering, where high-end food and drink can leave a positive impression on your guests.
Lesson 2: Clear Ownership Prevents Confusion
One thing was certain: planning even a small event required more tasks than I thought. Even an intimate gathering necessitated making dozens of decisions and completing many tasks.
The real challenge was managing the responsibilities across stakeholders. It became immediately clear that a centralized task organizer in a Google Sheet would be the source of truth for all involved. This document, and especially the “owner” column of that document, were some of the most important things in planning our events overall!
Reflecting on the process, I saw how easily overlapping responsibilities could lead to confusion if roles were not well-defined from the start. Having that roadmap with assigned tasks was critical to keeping everyone accountable and the event planning transparent and on track. Without it, diffused responsibility would have quickly derailed our progress.
Lesson 3: Stay on Track with Deadlines
Some deadlines are externally driven when event planning, but most aren’t. Because the deadlines we set for tasks felt arbitrary, it felt as though they could be pushed back. It wouldn’t be a problem to wait to find a larger guest list or wait a few weeks for our event-organizing partners to get back to us, right? Wrong! We found that pushing things off even a week, when the schedule seemed calm, had a cascading effect. It made all the following deadlines much more intense. I learned that adhering to deadlines at every stage of the process helps make the process enjoyable instead of frenetic.
This is where our assigned-task tracker proved its worth again. By laying out clear due dates for each step and holding the designated owner accountable, we kept the project moving forward on schedule.
Lesson 4: Make the Event Special
What would you want your guest to remember about your event, and more importantly, your brand? Whether it be the content, food, ambiance, or something else – make your event stick out to your guest. It doesn’t have to be just another networking event or presentation. There are so many small touches that make your guest feel valued and help them remember the event, whether that is figuring out how to make the event interactive, a fun emcee, being thoughtful about impressive food that accommodates dietary restrictions, or sending them home with some thoughtful swag.
For example, at our recent Pixel Playoffs event during Tech Week Grand Rapids, our attendees actively participated throughout the evening, from submitting prompt words for our battling artists to draw to voting for the winner of the art contest at the end. Those unique, interactive experiences make an event feel special rather than ordinary.
The Formula for a Lasting Impression
Bringing people together, whether for learning or networking, is a powerful way to build affinity for your brand. But, as I learned firsthand, a lot of behind-the-scenes strategy and organization goes into making those events not just fun but impactful.
Keeping sight of your key business objectives, assigning clear ownership of tasks, staying on schedule, and going the extra mile to delight guests – these are the ingredients to a standout event. For anyone looking to dip their toes into event planning, I’d recommend starting with those foundational principles. Map out your metrics for success, build a detailed tracker to keep your team aligned, and always strive to make the experience meaningful for your guests. With the right approach, you can host events that don’t just get people in the room but get them truly excited about your brand and create lasting connections.