Launching a new event can be so risky that many won’t even attempt it. After all, who wants to lose money and possibly look foolish? But if you are courageous or want to take advantage of an untapped market opportunity, how can you proceed in a sensible manner, given the potential risks?
Here are the ten key steps necessary to successfully launch a profitable, long term event. Note that this post is inspired by Stone Fort Media’s Sean Guerre, who gave a great presentation earlier this month on the subject at NicheEventFest:
1) Get a good idea – either from an expert or on your own
Make sure you keep up with both general innovations in business, as well as specific trends in your target markets. See if you can find a gap in the market that is not served – or served well – by others. If you are REALLY smart, you will be in regular contact with a variety of content experts in different areas. Sean recommends that you speak with 10 of these contacts (as part of his ‘Rule of 30’) to help develop new event ideas. From these sources, your event ideas will flow.
2) Do some independent research
Once you’ve identified an idea, research the viability of the market segment. Make a few calls and compare notes with other experts who are likely to know something about the subject. Get a sense of the market size, whether it’s trending (up or down), the speed of innovation, the presence of competition; all these represent factors that will give you an idea as to whether an event can make money.
3) Draft an event résumé that describes the event and who it will serve
Now that you have the idea, you’ll need to flesh it out with a one page summary that explains what the event is about, who will it serve, and why it’s important. This will become your primary sales tool (as will be explained later.) As you refine the idea with further input, the event résumé should evolve to meet both your needs and those of the market.
4) Talk to 10 companies in the market
In the course of your research, you will uncover a number of companies who are in the market and who could provide the event with financial support as sponsors/exhibitors. Since you have already crafted an event résumé, you can use it in support of phone calls and face-to-face meetings with your potential customers. Would they support the event if you launch it?
5) Do a SWOT analysis
Assuming that you still believe you have a viable idea, start to detail the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your event. Consider how will you enter the market? When is the right time for the event and when should you get started? How hard will it likely be?
6) Avoid making any rash decisions
When embarking upon new business ideas, there usually is an initial ‘thrill’ of getting started. At this point, you should review the financial projections for the first three years, and run those numbers by other executives in your organization. Given that scrutiny, does the idea still make sense, given your resources and other available opportunities?
7) Do some test marketing
Your research will have identified the target market. Hopefully, you own a list of names matching your target or you can easily get them from partners, etc. Send a lead generation test, again leveraging the content within the event résumé, measuring the results after two weeks. Sean would also recommend that you SPEAK with at least 10 contacts, as part of his Rule of 30.
8) Learn how to build momentum
Now you must identify the key players in the target market (reflecting both attendees and sponsors) and persuade them of the merits of joining in your efforts. If you do it right, you will have an instant advisory board!
9) Set up Go/No GO Milestones
This one I took directly from Sean. Make sure you put your feet to the fire and establish tough revenue, speaker, and attendance goals by which to measure progress. If you don’t hit those targets, you can cancel the event and avoid losing money, if you do it early enough in the process.
10) Launch – and cross your fingers!
In my 11 years with DCI, we only canceled two events after launch, which tells me that the above formula is one that will bring you success. Good luck. And let me know if I can help!