Simply defined, the word procurement means “the act of obtaining or buying goods and services”. So, if that’s the case, let me ask a quick question to all the corporate event suppliers in our industry – “Why wouldn’t we seek out more people who do this”?

Taking costs out of the system is a good thing. And so is choosing partners that add value. Collaboration works.

In the events space, let’s take a closer look at procurement and why it makes sense to engage the teams responsible for corporate procurement.

Traditional seminar spaces are a thing of the past. Replacing them are engaging, tech-enabled, bespoke spaces that are beautiful, functional and sharable. Events should feel tailored to each attendee and excite from start to finish. By rethinking what each attendee needs from your seminar space, utilizing tech-enabled furniture and understanding the need for collaboration, you can create a space that feels daring, yet completely practical.

Use these tips to create a fresh and engaging space that works for your client and your attendee:

New marketing-tech companies are popping up left and right, vying to help you capture, convert and close new leads. The 2018 Martech 5000 Technology Landscape Supergraphic grew 27 percent in the last year, to 6,829 solutions. Think about your marketing channels for a minute: advertising, social, video, email, SEO, retargeting – your team probably uses dozens of tools.

At Corporate Event News, we strive to bring you the latest news, information and tips to help you do your jobs better.  One common focus in the meetings and events industry is sustainability. Whether it’s through reducing food waste, recycling, sourcing locally or being more mindful about content or production practices, we believe that sustainability is key to the long-term success of events.

Ongoing content creation is arguably one of the most important aspects of a successful online marketing strategy. It is also key to promoting corporate events. Original and informative content helps build your website’s authority in the eyes of Google, provides value to your visitors and drives leads and product purchases. But it does take time.

What happens when you’ve exhausted everything you can say about a specific topic or product? What do you do when you want to promote the same event this year that you have promoted for the last three years?

Site inspections are a critical component of strategic planning. Without experiencing a property and city in person it’s impossible to accurately gauge if the destination and venue are the right fit for your group. That said, planning site visits can be daunting. Scheduling appointments with offsite venues, DMCs, the short list of hotels, figuring out how to schedule appointments in a logical order and taking the time to confirm all those appointments is a full day’s work. And last I checked, very few of us have entire days waiting to be filled.

It seems like a no-brainer that reducing waste from any source, including events, is the sustainable thing to do.

But do you know why reducing waste is sustainable?

In a country like the U.S. with robust waste management infrastructure, the issue isn’t rampant litter pollution or unsightly garbage piles. Most trash ends up in a landfill or incinerator, and these facilities are generally safely and professionally managed.

So why bother to reduce and divert event waste away from landfills and incinerators?

Corporate meeting planners are no stranger to pressure: coordinating innumerable details, managing massive budgets and dealing with the preferences, opinions and emotions of multiple stakeholders isn’t a job for the faint of heart. But after attending the recent IMEX America 2018 conference, it’s clear there’s a new challenge underway as the very notion of what it means to be a corporate meeting planner evolves to meet the demands of a changing world.

A few years ago I joined the admission team of a prestigious East Coast law school. Their processes were tight and their event menu was well-thought-out. My role was to execute and manage these events to their expected standards, but I knew these events could serve more than their target audiences by bringing in partners who wanted to extend their relationship with our students, faculty and administration.

There is a lot of work that goes into planning and executing an event. Because you and your team are so focused on getting every detail right, it can be easy to think that your job is done once the curtain comes down. Nothing could be further from the truth. The moment itself is only the beginning. You need to focus on sustaining the momentum well beyond when the last attendee leaves the venue. Unless you take the right steps with your sponsors, team and attendees, any progress your organization might have made will stall.