Event Planning: Creating a Business Niche

• Many event planning companies prioritize presenting clients with creative options that meet objectives and provide ROI, but neglect applying this to their own business practices.
• Many event planning companies focus on the next sale or upcoming event but fail to assess their profitability.
• ROI isn't always immediate financial gain; it can include prestige, client list enhancement, and expertise development.
• Some companies accept low-paying events for prestige; others pursue demanding clients for expertise, the short-term emotional cost can be worth the hands-on knowledge.

Creating a Niche

• Companies and individuals define their niche to stand out instead of chasing the same clients as everyone else.
• Targeting specific markets with unique products and skills allows companies to be one of the few serving a particular clientele.
• Niche markets exist for both large and small groups due to events come in all sizes with different requirements and budgets.
• Companies can lose time and money trying to win a major account if they are not equipped to handle it.
• Companies can be financially vulnerable if they depend on one major client who may leave.
• Smaller meetings aren't getting sales rep attention so markups may be better and create more stability.
• Event planners should consider designing events for Fashion Week in New York while understanding that the same expertise is required for malls across America and in large upscale retail.
• Sales reps should reach out to individual car dealerships instead of just chasing large car launch accounts.
• Niche markets that cater to smaller group sizes event planning companies while others target their talents and make their mark handling niche market events that are done on a large scale.
• Event planning companies can specialize in niche markets catering to smaller groups or target talents for large-scale niche events.
• Event planners can create a niche by:
  • Meeting a need
  • Focusing on a specialty market
  • Being income-driven
  • Tapping into emotional hot buttons
  • Offering specialized expertise

Meeting a Need

• To create a niche, companies and individuals should research their options within specific event planning categories.
• Examples of Event planning categories
  • Corporate events
  • Social events
  • Community events
  • Nonprofit events
• Figure out and target the underserved market
• Determine if you want to do only corporate events for large or small businesses, around the world or is your preference local or national functions?
• Ask yourself if you want to handle the company's meetings and conferences or just their special events and incentive programs?
• See where your competition focus their energies due to the lack of good business sense, because trying to land the same accounts, but in the end only one would come out a winner.
• Clients of focused companies had big budgets and did international travel, while no one was targeting small businesses with perceived limited funds.
• One company decide to cater to the neglected smaller businesses and her reputation and business grew and her decision turned out to be very profitable.
• Consider client needs and offer customer-specific options, such as staff production material support for meetings, or incorporating specialized audio visual.

Example Successes

• An event planner creates a niche by concentrating on events that are high profile, big budget and needed to be filled with celebrities.
• This event planner knew their clients wanted the media to be buzzing about the events they threw and they knew that they had the creativity, the expertise and the contacts to pull it off.
• Planners were schooled in public relations and knew how to work with the media to gain maximum exposure.
• The owner make sure he would arrange to invite some very special guests to attend his client's events.
• Another event planner specialized telephone lists that are usually compiled and very closely guarded.
• The company became indispensable to her clients even when air travel ceased.

Specialty Markets

• Specialty markets can be described as tucked away and overlooked little markets that grew into something bigger than anyone would have imagined.
• Specialty stores, magazines and travel are everywhere.
• Companies catering to very specific needs are growing, while those who try to offer something for everyone are folding.
• Specialty candy stores can have party themes as well
• One fast-food company set out to serve residents living on an island not connected to the city by a bridge
• One florist did decorations and floral arrangement for weddings so much that she became a luxury event planner.
• Planners avoided high school proms for years, but there is now a 2.7 billion in revenue for market, with the average couple spending US$1,200
• Proms and after-proms are professionally themed nowadays and well trusted.
• One audiovisual company was surprised to find a niche market in cemeteries in the needs of the people they serve.
• This audiovisual company learned that there were niche markets in themed send-offs, where funerals are personalized to celebrate the life of the departed, handling with sensitivity and decorum.

Income Driven

• Event planning companies seek out their niche at opposite ends of the financial range.
• Profit margin matters more than the total budget
• One event created its niche by undertaking events that supported the arts with very influential people on the boards of directors.
• This company made sure they and the staff they employed were schooled in the arts, fine wines, cigars, the choicest dishes to serve and what caliber of China they should be served on, as well as etiquette and protocol.
• One company that targeted the upper-income bracket and met its prospects where they played to carve out its niche.
• A new airline wanting to create a niche market does more to offer low fares, and its Planes are new, with leather seats and live satellite television for each passenger
• Another airline made a name for itself catering to the affluent market allowing dogs and cats from U.S. and Canada to enter the country on flights from Los Angeles to London's Heathrow Airport.
• One company made no excuses for its rental prices due to their award winning reputation
• Their appeal was enhanced by the awards they won, and the press coverage they received
• There are profitable niche markets on both ends of the financial scale, and they can expand into other areas.
• A chain store became a US$1 billion business by selling suits and adding dry cleaning services at its stores

Emotional Hot Buttons

• Emotional hot buttons address our wants, not our needs.
• Emotional hot buttons come in many forms, and companies are making them their niche. They can be related to people, business, culture, fun, entertainment, personal desire, nostalgia, sports, environment and even pets.
• Hotels looking to develop hot button niche markets are jumping on the pet-friendly bandwagon by providing everything from special bowls to chew toys
• At some luxury hotels, meals for pets can run as high as US$20
• Major cities tap into the financial district by offering business over a game of golf with New York facilities membership costing upwards of US$100,000
• One company tapped into people's secret desire to experience being a rock star with a five-day fantasy music camp
• Some companies create team building events similar to pop culture phenomenon with a focus on comradery.
• Find what tap into their prospective customers' emotional hot button.

Specialized Expertise

• Individuals as well as companies can create their own niche, by doing annual car launches to dealers for several car companies, incentive programs for their car dealership sales staff and managed consumer events for them
• Companies seek planners to handle special event planning needs because of their abilities and faith
• Example of specialized experts
  • Payrotechnics expert
  • Security companies with ex=police officers
• This translates to guest safety during event.
• With specialized expert knowledge to create a niche can result in building a demand for your services.
• Ask yourself if you already possess any areas of expertise
• Ask yourself do What specialty markets would be a match for the skills or interests I have?
• Then consider these following questions
  • What attributes are required for the market I am targeting?
  • What additional qualifications or characteristics would contribute to my success?
  • Where do I see a business need that is not being met?
  • Does this have the potential to grow into a viable market that I could service?
  • Would this be a profitable venture?
  • What are the long-term possibilities?
  • What are the current emotional hot buttons in my field?
  • Where have the most recent growth areas been?
  • What has become obsolete?
  • What sector is being overlooked by my competition and why?
• You can create a job around personal expertise, such as organizing air transportation.