What are the best steps for organizing exhibitions and conferences?

When we talk about organizing exhibitions and conferences, we are proud to be a leading Saudi company with a developmental perspective in the field of event industry, management and organization. We specialize in providing all services for implementing, organizing and managing events of various types, such as exhibitions and conferences within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. So, before we start this comprehensive guide on the basic details to determine the best steps for organizing exhibitions, conferences, and events in general. Get ready to dive into a set of basics to help you reach satisfactory results in the end.

What are the best steps for organizing exhibitions and conferences?

When you start thinking about organizing exhibitions or conferences. You have to start thinking about every simple detail that you might encounter on the way to organizing a pioneering event. If you do not want to delve into the details, consider hiring a company specialized in organizing exhibitions and conferences.

You must keep in mind each step and the skills and resources it requires to complete it perfectly. Specialized administrative academic courses such as leading exhibition and conference organizing courses are one of the appropriate solutions that can help you excel in this task.

Don’t forget to allocate enough time and effort to complete various tasks. Taking into account that some situations require flexibility for any update that may occur at the last minute.

Determine the primary purpose and goal:

Any plan without a concrete goal remains just an illusion, so the first thing you need to do is ask yourself some general questions to determine the ideas and goals you want to achieve from that conference or exhibition. Including who am I organizing this event for, why am I doing it, what do I want to get out of it and what are the metrics that determine the success or failure of the event.

When you answer these questions, you will have a broad idea of ​​the requirements needed to manage this event. You will also have sufficient information that gives you the opportunity to improve any part of your plan and suggest innovative solutions at any time to achieve success.

Prepare the right team:

Organizing and managing a successful conference and exhibition is a team effort. That requires the combined efforts of everyone to reach the main goal. So work to hire highly experienced event workshops that will tackle your multi-tasking list. Your team should include specialists in each department, such as event planning staff, venue management specialists, volunteer coordinators, marketing staff, and others.

Appointing the right person in the right place provides management with the ability to implement an accountability system and ensures the implementation of various tasks.

Recruitment and training of volunteers:

Volunteers are the key to planning any successful event, but before you start working with them, you must understand the types of volunteers, their roles, how you can employ them, and how to develop their expertise. They can work in initial registration, hospitality, parking, coat pick-up, and other simple tasks.

To search for volunteers, start with your contact lists and post on social media and volunteer sites. After you have hired them, identify the leaders responsible for managing them and who will train them.

Set a budget:

The budget is one of the most important stages of organizing and managing successful exhibitions, conferences, and events. A solid financial plan helps you and your team generate realistic ideas. This means that the highlights of your exhibition or conference remain on your priority list and you can adjust them according to your budget.

In addition, the budget must include many expenses, such as the expenses of the place where the event will be held and its insurance. The costs of decoration, sound systems, photography, lighting, food, and drinks that can be provided according to the number of people expected to attend, the expenses of the employees working in the place, advertising expenses, and whether any entertainment services can be provided to the attendees. And other costs.

Choose date:

Recurring exhibitions and conferences often have fixed dates, but if you are working on organizing and managing recent conferences and exhibitions, you must select a suitable date. Select the date that gives you sufficient time to plan the event, considering religious and national holidays, and holidays. Their suitability to the attendance schedules of speakers, presenters, and prominent guests.

Make an event plan:

Now it’s time to prepare a master plan that covers all aspects of the event, including managing relationships with stakeholders (suppliers, investors, employees, customers, shareholders, marketing and public relations agencies, procurement committees), organizing the venue, managing logistics (permits, contracts, insurances), food services, and ensuring… Attendance of speakers, guests, activities, advertising and marketing campaigns, registration, subscription and other aspects.

It is essential to write down every detail so nothing is forgotten and ensure everything moves smoothly while preparing and planning a detailed schedule of events that includes coordinating. Each task will be carried out and who is responsible for it.

Book your place:

Once you have determined the date of your exhibition or conference, start searching for a place that meets the requirements of the event as soon as possible. The date and location are an essential basis for starting the marketing campaign. When choosing a place, you must take into account several factors, including the size of the meeting and exhibition halls, their capacity, accessibility, security, and the lighting equipment available in them. Sound, wifi networks, outside parking, costs, and evaluation of each element and its suitability for conferences and exhibitions.

Design the visual identity:

Everything must be your own and distinguish you from others. As it is an important element in highlighting the extent of your interest in organizing and managing your exhibition and conference. So work on designing a distinctive and special commercial visual identity. That expresses a summary of what you want to convey from this trade exhibition and conference and apply it to all elements of your event.

Emphasis on guests and speakers:

The presence of important speakers and guests enhances the status of your conference or exhibition. So work hard to invite as many experts, leaders, managers, and influencers as possible and make sure they are truly present at the event. This will play a major role in increasing the number of visitors or participants in the event.

Contact sponsoring companies:

Sponsoring entities and companies provide partial or full funding for events in which they find an interest in increasing their popularity. In return, they bear the large costs of such events and increase the chances of participation in them. Therefore, look for sponsoring companies to partially or completely fund your event, or contact local institutions and the community to get some assistance. Moral or financial, they can help secure the place or support the organization’s strategy.

He started promoting the event:

The presence of important guests and speakers supports conferences and exhibitions. But it is not enough to promote them, so work on preparing a strong marketing and advertising campaign. That will attract everyone you want to attend. The campaign can be launched via social media posts, emails, or advertising campaigns on road billboards and digital and print newspapers. Or through local and regional television and radio stations.

Task scheduling:

After completing all the previous technical and logistical tasks, all that remains for you is to schedule and organize the tasks and ceremonies. So that there is no delay or major problem that was not taken into account. Start by determining the number of days during which the conference or exhibition will last. Will it extend over one day or more? Then, a schedule of tasks for each day, from the moment the doors are opened until the moment they are closed and the cleaning done afterward.