The 7 Most Common Mistakes Event Planners Make
Hello, this is Chris & Partners! 🎉
When planning an event, just when you think ‘This time we've prepared it perfectly!’, an unexpected problem often erupts. We've found recurring patterns while running events. Today, we'll pinpoint the seven mistakes event planners make most often. If you're preparing an event now, use it as a checklist! ✅
❶ ‘Just starting’ without setting goals
The most common mistake in event planning is KPIs (key performance indicators) or clear goals—starting with venue booking and scheduling without them.
Whether the event's purpose is ‘boosting brand awareness,’ ‘generating leads,’ or ‘motivating internal employees’ completely changes the program design, speaker selection, and venue choice.
✔ Checkpoint | In the first line of your event plan, always state ‘the success of this event is measured by ___.’.
❷ Setting the budget too optimistically
There are items easily left out of an event budget. People cover venue rental and catering but often omit interpretation-equipment rental, insurance, waste disposal, overtime labor, and an emergency contingency.
According to MPI (Meeting Professionals International), even experienced planners are advised to always secure 10–15% of the total budget as a contingency.
✔ Checkpoint | Add ‘contingency (10–15%)’ as a required line at the end of your budget sheet.
❸ Skipping or shrinking the on-site rehearsal
A mistake especially common in hybrid events. There are far too many elements—online streaming environment, mic levels, screen transitions—that can only be verified on-site.
In Chris & Partners' events, too, there were several cases where problems found during rehearsal prevented major incidents on the day. At the 2021 4th African Martial Arts Conference, with speakers joining from Africa, we identified local network instability through advance rehearsal and prepared a Plan B, so we could respond flexibly even when actual connection failures occurred.
✔ Checkpoint | Always do a full rehearsal the day before or the morning of the event.
❹ Focusing on ‘filling the program’ over participant experience (UX)
A schedule packed tight with sessions isn't the standard of a good event. What participants actually want is ‘connection’ and ‘experience.’
Harvard Business Review (HBR), too, emphasizes that event-participant satisfaction is influenced more strongly by networking time and the quality of interaction than by the number of sessions.
✔ Checkpoint | Reserve 20–30% of the total schedule for participant networking or free time.
❺ Not preparing a contingency plan (Plan B)
Speaker no-shows, technical errors, weather variables, venue issues… the unexpected can happen on-site at any time. Yet many still run events without a Plan B.
International event-management standards (ISO 20121, the sustainable event management system) also define risk assessment and contingency planning as essential steps of event planning.
✔ Checkpoint | For each session, document at least two response scenarios in advance—‘if the speaker is absent’ and ‘if there's a technical error.’
❻ Starting promotion and participant recruitment too late
The moment you think ‘the venue's set and speakers are booked, so now I'll promote’ is often already too late. For paid conferences and large events especially, it's standard to start recruiting participants at least 8–12 weeks ahead.
According to PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association) guidelines, setting the early-bird registration deadline 6–8 weeks before the event is effective for maximizing turnout.
✔ Checkpoint | The moment the event date is confirmed, confirm the promotion schedule along with it.
❼ Not doing post-event follow-up
When an event ends, it feels like everything's over, but in fact an event's results are often made afterward. Satisfaction surveys, thank-you emails, sharing presentation materials, and distributing highlight videos become important assets for the next event.
According to Eventbrite research, sending a follow-up email within 24 hours of an event's end raises participants' repeat-attendance rate by an average of over 40%.
✔ Checkpoint | At the planning stage, designate the follow-up schedule and owner in advance.
In closing
Did any of the seven mistakes hit home? 😊
The mistakes above are traps anyone can fall into, regardless of experience. What matters isn't ‘knowing’ but ‘the habit of checking.’ We hope this serves as a small checklist as you prepare your next event.
Chris & Partners is with you across online, offline, and hybrid event planning to operation, with rich experience and expertise. If you run into a dilemma while preparing, reach out anytime! 💬
📚 Sources• MPI (Meeting Professionals International): https://www.mpi.org• PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association):https://www.pcma.org• ISO 20121 Sustainable Event Management: https://www.iso.org/standard/54552.html• Harvard Business Review – Events & Networking: https://hbr.org/topic/subject/meetings• Eventbrite Event Marketing Report: https://www.eventbrite.com/blog/event-marketing• Chris & Partners official website: https://chrisandpartners.co