Whether your business is looking to host a dinner, seminar, conference or other event, it’s essential to do it well. An event is not only about sharing information and experiences; it’s an excellent marketing tool. A well-organised event will reflect well on your business, and has the potential to build and enhance business relationships. While venue and catering are important considerations, they are certainly not the only ones. Giving short shrift to invitations, promotional material and even name badges and lanyards, will reflect when it comes to the actual event.

Where to start

If you are new to event planning, the best advice is to do your research and be methodical. Create a checklist of everything that needs doing, give everything a time frame and completion date, and be sure to include even the most minor of details. Always determine a budget, and be sure to stick to it at all stages of the planning.

Help please?

There are plenty of online resources that can help take the hard work out of organising your event. The Brisbane Meeting Planners’ Guide 2011-13 for instance, is a free download full of ideas, information and tips for event organisers, no matter the location. Search for a convention bureau in your area, and there’s a good chance they’ll also have information, advice and publications on hand. The Melbourne Convention Bureau and Business Events Sydney are other examples.

Bigger is not always better

Don’t be daunted if your event is quite small. While organising a low-key seminar and international conference may seem like chalk and cheese, there are elements that overlap. In essence, it’s about finding the right ‘content’ and presenting it in the best available venue, and using the event to help your business shine.

You may not have the budget for instance to present your seminar in a five star hotel, but there are plenty of interesting, and even quirky venues available to rent for affordable prices. Remember too that the venue is just one aspect of any successful event.

Detail, detail, detail

Many successful conferences and seminars have been successful not because of where they were held, or the food that was served, but because of the engaging speakers, quality materials provided, and positive interaction that was had with the host company and other attendees. Hosting an event is an incredible opportunity to market your organisation and build engagement with your business.

One of the key ways to market your business, and engage attendees, is with name badges. Name badges can facilitate networking, and can be branded with your business colour scheme or logo.

If you don’t have a huge budget, it just means you need to start thinking creatively. Want to provide a show bag for attendees? Then perhaps look for local business sponsors who will provide free contents in exchange for logo placement on the official publications and/or banners.

Looking to get your business name out there? Then include it on all materials. Even the lanyards (www.signaladvantage.com/badge-lanyards.html) that hold the name badges can be imprinted with your company name or logo.

Make sure all employees who are working at the event are also wearing name badges. They are easy to put together with a lanyard, and ensure that attendees find it easy to locate staff members if they need help, or have questions. Branded name badges also have the added effect of marketing your business, and showing off how well you do customer service.

One of the key aims for any business is the minimisation of waste. Efficient waste reduction processes are an important part of a business’s overall strategy to maximise productivity and efficiency in the workplace. With that in mind, let’s talk about name badges, which are often under-used, and unnecessarily wasted.

For large companies with a large turnover of staff, you would expect to have to replace name badges on a regular basis. You may consider getting rid of name badges altogether, but this is not recommended, as name badges have several benefits, including:

• Fostering stronger relationships between employees and clients
• Encouraging more employee accountability
• Raising workplace morale with a sense of belonging and familiarity
• Public relations and marketing benefits

Reusable name badges are the solution. Reusable name badges, if designed well, can be an easy and effective way of having the benefits of a permanent name badge, without the hassle and waste of having to constantly order new ones as employees come and go.

Re-using materials, even things as small as name badges, is one of the best ways to reduce waste. The Victorian Government has a wealth of information about recycling and reusing in the workplace. Good quality reusable name badges can be used and re-used many times, meaning you don’t have to replace name badges when staff are replaced, when employees are moved to different departments, or lose them, of if your company’s details or logo changes.

You may be surprised how convenient it is to have reusable name badges in the workplace. It’s always handy to have spares that you can give to visitors who come to the office.

Reusable name badges are also ideal for conferences or expos. If your company regularly holds networking events, then top quality reusable name badges will significantly cut the costs of producing name badges.

Not only do they reduce waste and save you the cost of purchasing new badges, they also save you the time of ordering new ones. With the right software, replacing a name badge should be as easy as entering the information, such as name and title, into a specialised computer program, printing out a slip, and inserting it into the name badge holder.

No manager wants to see high levels of wastage, and we don’t just mean the disposal of surplus materials, but also inefficient processes where staff, time and financial investment are not used as productively as they can be. Using reusable badges will not solve all your business’ productivity issues, but it’s certainly a good start.

Some other hints for minimising waste in the workplace include:

Review waste management processes. This is something that should be done regularly, so you can determine whether your company’s waste management goals are being reached. If they are not, implement better processes to reduce wastage.

Don’t over-order. It can be extremely wasteful to buy in bulk and then have to dispose of a large portion of stock. Try not to order items that can spoil before you get to use them.

Training. All staff should be trained in effective waste management, and be assessed on their waste minimisation procedures regularly.

Go paperless. Electronic communication has reduced the need for paper. Only use paper when necessary.

Reducing waste not only lowers operating costs, and improves productivity, it can also make your business more sustainable, and eco-friendly. Visit this Australian government website for more waste reduction tips.