UK corporate event planners are busy hiring for private events across the UK. From London’s square mile in the heart of the financial district to Manchester’s thriving Spinningfield, businesses are all looking for venues for their next event. With teams working a mix of in-office and from home, the need to bring teams together has never been so great. Whether this be a team lunch to keep engagement high, an all-company offsite, an awards dinner, or with Christmas just around the corner, Christmas team events – there are many needs your venue can capitalise on.
We’ve compiled a list of quick wins your venue can implement to target those UK corporate event planners and stay ahead of the competition. Follow these five simple steps and grow your event or private dining business.
1. Define the Spaces in your Venue
Strategise about the space or spaces you have and define the purpose of each. Think about what types of events can be hosted in each space. From smaller rooms for team lunches to larger rooms that could host workshops alongside food, even outdoor spaces for summer parties are all wonderful uses of space! Also, make sure to consider which spaces need which tech. AV equipment can be super beneficial and is often required for corporate get-togethers. Clearly defining the intended purpose of each space for your corporate audience is key. Make sure you understand the needs of the corporate customer and you’ll be able to show your spaces that meet market demand.
2. Show Your Venue Off
Now that you’ve defined the use cases of your venue’s space for corporate guests, you really need to get behind it. This means showcasing your venue! Ensure your website has a section that signposts corporate guests – especially if you’re close to a city or business centre. Do this by clearly outlining the use cases for each space, including capacity and any equipment or multimedia options like audio and TV. Make sure you have clear photos, or even better, a fly-through video of the space to really ensure those corporate event planners know what your space looks like.
3. Target to UK Corporate Event Planners
The power of social media cannot be underestimated. Invest in a mix of organic and paid (targeted) social media activity across platforms – focus on LinkedIn to target the corporate event planners. By using LinkedIn’s targeted tools, you can ensure you have a geographically relevant audience and target those businesses and event planners within your area. Ensuring you showcase or “tease” the space and link them back to the website to see more is key – get them excited on social and unpack the spaces available on your website.
4. Get to Know your Local Area
The power of getting involved in your local area is key. Which corporate businesses are nearby? Do you know them? If not, you should! Many large corporate businesses have a presence across the UK, from Central London to Leeds and Hammersmith. Drop into these businesses with cards, flyers and even special offers. Invite the businesses along for a happy hour, or even better, host a try-before-you-buy event at your venue to show off and provide everyone who attends an offer if they book. Inviting prospects to see the space in person is a great way to engage and let them ask questions. What better way than with an incentive like complimentary food or an offer if they book?
5. Use the Power of Referrals to Book more Corporate Events
Once you host a few successful events of varying sizes, use those as case studies. Profile the event planner, what they were looking for, and how they found the experience end-to-end, and then capture that. With their permission, feature them in a case study and use that as a proof of concept to showcase your venue. Publish a video and photo along with a written case study so that other event planners with similar needs will be able to envision themselves hosting events at your venue. You could also offer a referral code to those who have booked and pass on your details to others!
Ready to Streamline the UK Corporate Event Management?
Turn leads into confirmed bookings and increased revenue with Tripleseat, the ultimate event management software. Join leading UK venues like Corrigan Collection, who have been using Tripleseat since 2019 to make their event business easy across their five locations in London and Dublin. Hosting an average of 50 events across these locations per week they rely on Tripleseat to streamline the event management process. Kathyrn Williams, Head of Sales, said “Since using Tripleseat, we have seen our bookings increase massively.” Book a demo to learn more about how Tripleseat will streamline your events to bring in more business.