At Display Group, we pride ourselves on helping business firms of all sizes. We have helped with large galas, multi-day conferences, and elaborate weddings. However, we also love helping small businesses execute effective events on a smaller budget.
Display Group Account Executive David Cross shares his event planning tips for small business owners. There are a few areas you can save while still giving your guests a fulfilling experience.
Choosing an Affordable Event Venue
“Venue consideration is huge when making your budget. Obviously, we are very biased towards the city of Detroit and the amazing venues we have here. However, there are still great venues in the metro area that are a bit more affordable that can still offer what you want at a comfortable price point. Also, most of the time those venues have cheaper parking!”
Budget-Friendly Experiential Event Ideas
For experiential events, there are many unique ways you can introduce one-of-a-kind ideas and experiences such as a competition, simulation, or a class. These ideas go beyond having catering and speeches. To promote healthy habits, your business can organize a yoga class or other movement classes such as self-defense or kickboxing. Obstacle courses and adventure courses are fun ways to encourage participants to step out of the norm.
Affordable Team Building Events
Possible activities for team bonding are yoga or other movement classes such as self-defense or kickboxing to promote healthy habits. You could help your team release stress by taking them to a Destruction Room or an Escape Room to bond and work together.
“You can be a good neighbor and organize a neighborhood clean-up for the team. Road rallies are also inexpensive and fun and can bring people together.”
Saving Money on Public/Ticketed Events
For events inviting the public or ticketed guests, there are still plenty of ways to give them an impactful experience while still being budget conscious. There are also sustainable and money-saving ways to invest in your event.
“Invest in generic branding, don’t time-stamp your graphics and signage so you can use them again in the future. One-time use items are wasteful and add up,” suggests Cross.
DG-3D, our in-house creative workshop, can help design and create custom builds of your company logo that can be reused for each and every one of your events.
When managing an event budget, we have mentioned items you can save on, but it is important to consider which areas we don’t recommend you skimp on.
“I always tell clients to invest in a/v. It’s so important to be seen and heard and guests will definitely remember if the microphones don’t work or if the presentation doesn’t load properly. AVL-Creative is great with working with any budget to provide a fantastic experience.”
