Deciding to hold a corporate event is just the beginning and to most companies a very time consuming and daunting task. The three most important questions faced by any company are Where, When and How your event will happen. Firstly you need to define your objectives and requirements. All too often we find that these two aspects get overlooked. As with most things in life, if you know what you want and what you need to achieve, you stand a much better chance of success.

Where to Stage Your Event – The Venue

One of the most important factors in determining the success of your event is the venue – this factor alone can literally make or break the whole event.

Conference venues get the major part of their business from total event management companies, rather than directly from clients - that's how it works. Most event management companies and conference organisers offer a free venue finding service, whereby they are able to negotiate effective rates for clients because they book volume and repeat business. Tell them what you need and they should be able to come back to you with some ideas on their corporate events and incentive packages which should be tailor-made and designed to suit your requirements and your budget.

As with any industry, there are companies servicing all sectors of the marketplace and as a general rule, price and quality are closely linked. When comparing prices you will see that there are a considerable variety from one company to another and in our experience the reason for this is quite simple: There are no global brand names in the event entertainment industry and so it is not possible to instantly sort out the good from the bad. In order to do this we would strongly recommend you look around at different companies, study any literature they produce, speak to them, establish their track record, take client testimonials and see what's being offered (i.e is it on a like for like basis) and from there base your decision on the impressions formed.

Another big question to bear in mind when seeking a corporate event organiser is “Are there likely to be hidden extras?” This will vary from company to company. Some will automatically include travel, accommodation etc (these are the most common 'extras') while others may not mention it until quizzed. As ever, make sure you are comparing like for like. The more information you can provide to the events organiser, the easier it is for their event management team to prepare a quote. We at Knights Templar Events try very hard to avoid surprise 'extras' as we appreciate how annoying they can be. However, if your requirements change then it is perfectly reasonable for your event management company to revise the price and the event proposal / package.

The key to managing any successful corporate event is by simply Planning and Organizing, nothing more. Of course it does help if you have a bit of experience in both these departments as well!