How was your company’s last event? Were there more empty seats than filled? Swear you could hear crickets chirping? If so, you may be one of the many companies that has experienced event failures. It happens. It’s disappointing and can be, if you have stockholders to answer to, downright painful. But don’t give up!

As bad as it seems, we’re going to show you that there’s opportunity here. You can learn from these missteps and bounce back even better than before, both financially and emotionally!

Okay, So What Went Wrong?

One of life’s biggest learning lessons is, unfortunately, failure. Identify and analyze what could’ve been done differently or done better. Consider surveying people who attended to see what they liked and didn’t like.

But What Went Right?

Hopefully, all was not lost, and some things went relatively well. Reflect on those by listing everything about your personal and event performance your audience found pleasing. Play to those strengths and you’ll find the motivation to try again.

Find Yourself a Mentor

Seek out support if your confidence has been shaken by a failed event. When you’re doubting yourself, a mentor can give you step-by-step feedback. Seek the advice of many or find one person to mentor you. To reach out to other event creators on event industry forums or groups.

Take a Break

So your event failed. Okay, take a step back. Now’s the time to restock and regroup. If you need to avoid personal burnout, take some time off.

Before starting another event, be sure to settle matters with any vendors that are still waiting for payment. You don’t want to be blacklisted, so protect your reputation with suppliers. When you dive into that next event, you want to be on solid financial footing.

Encourage Stockholder Communication (No Matter How Painful)

Don’t pretend that everything was fine and avoid providing an explanation for the event’s disappointing results. Face it and own it. But most importantly, show that you’re doing something about it in how you’re preparing for your next event. Execute a post-event analysis and share the results by communicating with your stockholders.

Additional Steps to Take After a Failed Event

  • Analyze industry trends – are other companies and businesses in the industry facing the same challenges?
  • Based on what you’ve learned from this event, set up realistic but meaningful targets and milestones.
  • Scale back a bit – maybe your event was just too big or your expectations too lofty.
  • Where were the people who should’ve attended your event? Was there a new competitor offering an event that outshined yours?

The biggest lesson here: Learn from your mistakes.

Reversing the Effects of an Event Failure

Crises such as network breaches, natural catastrophes, product failures, and, yes, event failures are bad things that happen to good businesses every day. They hit hard. If you don’t deal them in a productive manner, you’ll find yourself and your company trying to put out fires.

We understand that organizations and companies aren’t necessarily trained to deal with these circumstances. If these things are mishandled, panic can spread faster than a virus.

JOTO PR Disruptors takes the established view of press and public relations and breaks the mold —we call it Anti-PR. We use the science of crisis management to manage our clients’ everyday PR. This gives us an edge. It’s like energizing old, established, everyday PR methods to the point of super-power status. Simply put – we offer unprecedented results!

Contact us today to find out more.