The global coronavirus pandemic decimated the event industry. With people in various states of lockdown and events almost entirely cancelled over the past year, people in this industry have largely joined the growing ranks of the unemployed. Many event planning businesses have had to close up shop completely, while others just barely managed to scrape by through these tough times.
For event planners who have managed to keep the lights on, the light at the beginning of the tunnel is beginning to hint at its existence. It is pretty reasonable to assume that once live events start up again, they will do so with a vengeance. In order to rebuild your event planning business, it is important to start preparing now for the upcoming return of live events.
Begin Contacting Old Clients
While we are still a little way out from any sort of real resurgence of live events, you should start contacting your old clients now to see how they have faired through these troubling times. Getting in touch with your old clients is not only a good way to check who is likely to still bring in business, but it can also help re-establish the relationships that you had built and assure loyalty from the clients who remain.
Check-in With the Competition
Contacting other event planning companies in the area to see who is still in business and who has gone under can help to give you leads on potential clients to replace those you have lost. Start with any other event planners with whom you were on friendly terms.
If you had a good relationship with another event planner, who is now out of the business, they might be willing to share their client list with you. They may even go as far as to refer all their old clients to you if any get in touch, looking for event planning services.
Getting in touch with a competitor might also be a good option if you are not sure you will have the resources to continue. You could propose a merger of your two companies. If you both lost half your clients and half your staff, a merger could put you back at full strength.
Learn From the Pandemic
If you ever put together an event in the past without purchasing event cancellation insurance, one of the best lessons that the pandemic could have possibly had for you was the necessity of making sure you are properly insured. A global pandemic is not the only disaster that could lead to your having to cancel an event, and the cost of doing so can be quite high.
Be Ready for the Boom
In the months following the return of live events, there is likely to be a big boom in the event planning industry. Even people who were largely homebodies have missed the opportunity to go out to a live event. Many people haven’t seen friends and family in quite some time, and people are going to want to get together to do things.
Event spaces are going to be fully booked up, and the demand for event planners will be far higher than the supply after many closed their doors for good. Many new event planning businesses will start up to try and meet the demand. Unfortunately, many will not survive long once the bubble passes.
You will want to make sure you are fully staffed when the boom hits and that you have been in contact with all of your preferred venues and vendors. That way, you can hopefully ensure you have priority for their services and that they won’t book others in before checking with you.
You will want to snatch up as much of this booming business as possible to help make up for a small portion of the money that you have lost over the last year-plus. However, you need to be aware of the fact that most of these new clients will not bring in sustainable business. Be sure to prioritize your old clients over any potential new clients.
It is important to work on identifying the new clients who could have the potential to be repeat customers over those who will just be looking for your services as a one-time thing.
Stay Smart
If you were able to keep your business from folding during the pandemic, you likely have the skills you need to build back to full strength now that the pandemic has ended. Just be smart with your decision-making, and before you know it, you should be fully recovered.