What Does “Total Event Solutions” Mean Exactly? Design. Storage. Logistics. Software.
When it’s time to hire a meeting and event planner, what should you look for? You want a seasoned professional who focuses on total solutions. They should know how to navigate long-term projects and embrace every challenge as an opportunity. They need to know all the right people and have the best vendors on speed dial. Think of it this way: If it takes a village to put on an event, you want your event planner to be the mayor. So what exactly is a total-solutions approach to event management? It focuses on four main elements: booth design, storage solutions, logistics, and software.
Design
Designing and building a trade show booth entails thousands of decisions, from choosing the right visual theme to factoring in a hiding place for the extra promotional materials. Booths have to not only look beautiful; they have to function efficiently, which is where a total-solutions event expert comes into play. The right agency will ensure that your vision is realized in the most efficient and effective ways. “Whether it’s choosing the right kind of flooring, securing utilities, or confirming that your booth adheres exactly to the organizers’ specifications, we have seen and done it all,” says Clare Louise Southcombe, owner of GloCliff Event Management. “We know the perfect vendors for every task, and we have relationships in place to make things happen.” But savvy planners do so much more than oversee booth construction; they are expert collaborators. “We work with GloCliff Events from start to finish, from concept design to execution to debriefing,” says Sarah Terrelonge, chief marketing officer of? Clearspeed. “Clare is a part of our process from start to finish.” Although to hear Clare tell it, “Our clients are the ones pulling the punches. We’re behind the scenes doing it all.”
Storage Solutions
So what do you do with that gorgeous booth after the last customer has walked off the expo floor? You need someone you can trust to break it all down and store it properly. Your trade show materials should be accessible when you need them and kept in tip-top shape when you don’t. A total-solutions meeting planner will also arrange shipping to get everything to the right spot for the next show. When the next event rolls around, you shouldn’t have to worry about getting your materials where they need to go. “We have relationships all over the world,” says Clare. When it’s time to move your show to the next location, we will get it there.”
Logistics
The executive who oversees a large company’s event department shouldn’t have to worry about getting everyone where they need to be or making sure the sales materials arrive on time. They have bigger-picture ideas to worry about. “Hiring GloCliff Event Management to run the 2023 Global Insurance Fraud Summit was instrumental to our success,” says Dennis Toomey, director of risk and compliance analytics at Protiviti. “GloCliff’s ability to seamlessly coordinate multiple moving parts, from venue selection and speaker logistics to multimedia and networking events, allowed us to focus on the content and strategic aspects of the summit.” A great event meeting planner isn’t intimidated when a client tosses out a big, potentially complicated idea. As a client, you want to hire a confident expert who responds, I’ve got someone for that! If they haven’t done it before, then they should be excited to take on the challenge. “Clare was the difference-maker for us,” says Sarah of working with GloCliff Event Management. “We started working with her when we were launching in the UK, and she helped us take the major step out into the global market.”
Software
Technology has elevated and automated so many facets of event planning. What used to take days can now take hours if you have the right applications — most notably Cvent, the industry standard. This software platform is capable of making it simple to send invitations, organize registration, source venues, collect post-event feedback, and so much more. But access doesn’t come cheap! In fact, it’s extremely cost-prohibitive, especially if you’re not in the full-time business of meeting planning. That’s why it’s so important to choose a meeting planner that holds a Cvent license. That way, you as a client can take advantage of all of the benefits of the product. “Working with GloCliff actually frees up our budget,” says Matthew J. Smith, Esq., executive director of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. The license includes access to tens of thousands of resources, contacts, planning tools, and tracking software. “My favorite things about Cvent are the insights and reporting,” says Clare. “It’s full of data we wouldn’t have otherwise, like attendance rates, registration rates, email bouncebacks, and more.” If an invitee declines an event, they can write in a reason, which can help immensely with future planning.”