We speak to Stacey-Rebekka Karlsson, Founder of event planning business GoHo, about how planning ahead can alleviate the challenge of shrinking budgets.
The ever-present refrain on event profs’ lips when we get together – that client budgets just seem to be getting smaller and smaller – is just one of the major challenges facing our industry. It’s time to face facts: clients are demanding more for less, and it can be hard to meet expectations without overreaching your budget.
Stacey-Rebekka Karlsson has been producing stand-out events since 2019, when she founded GoHo. She pointed out that even if you’re not facing shrinking budgets, clients are still looking for more value:
“The clients that we’re working with don’t necessarily have smaller budgets, but they do seem to want more for their money.”
The question then, is how to provide extra value without incurring extra cost: “One of the things that we do – which was really hard after COVID – is planning things far in advance. If you can plan in advance then you can negotiate better deals for everything from room hire, to bands, to caterers, because you’re securing it so far ahead. You can do this with merchandise as well. The further in advance you can do that, the better. You can get cheaper deals and you’re also not paying for quick turnaround and fast delivery.”
Staying organised and planning for things to not quite go to plan can also save your budget in the long run: “It’s really like that old adage: ‘Prior proper planning prevents poor performance.’ The more intricate you are with your planning, it really does help you keep costs down. I always try to plan for every eventuality and then plan risk management around that. That way you can avoid any unforeseen costs or things going wrong. Which tends to be things getting stuck in customs or not being delivered on time. It’s a bit doom and gloom, but it works.”
“Generally, people are more comfortable booking in advance, especially if you can show how much more you can get for the money.“
Since the pandemic, lead times have been much shorter, making it difficult to plan ahead but thankfully, Stacey is seeing a turnaround in this trend: “The last few years, lead times have been ridiculous. Like have a couple of weeks to do a company off-site for 300 people! This year people have relaxed a lot more. Generally, people are a lot more comfortable booking in advance, especially if you can show them how much more you can get for the money.”
Trying to cut down costs is all well and good, but there are some aspects of an event which Stacey thinks are worth splurging on to maintain quality: “Don’t cut costs on entertainment. If your entertainment is poor, it turns your event into a bit of a farce. When organising what you want, if you need to reduce the budget, think about the things that are most important to you and ensure these are not compromised.”