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Event planning is complex, time-consuming and often stressful. Whether it's a business event, a client event, a conference or an internal staff event: many factors must come together to ensure a gathering not only runs smoothly but leaves a lasting impression. This guide provides a clear phase plan, practical insider tips, proven event hacks and strategic approaches to help you plan your events in a more structured, efficient and successful way.
Anna brings over 6 years of experience in digital event management, including 2 years as Marketing Manager at START Global for the START Summit, and is an expert in product development and customer success at Oniva. She holds a Master's degree in Business Innovation from HSG.
Successful event planning requires structured processes, clear communication and the ability to respond flexibly under pressure. Practical tips include: creating a detailed run-of-show, building in buffer time, defining clear escalation paths for problems, and thoroughly briefing all team members and service providers. Working through planning details carefully before the event day significantly reduces stress and avoids avoidable mistakes.
Expectations of events have risen sharply in recent years. Attendees don't just compare events with one another — they measure them against digital experiences, services and brand interactions they encounter in their everyday lives.
Professional event planning ensures that:
In short: good event planning is a decisive success factor for extraordinary experiences.
The central goal of event planning is to create a gathering that fulfils strategic objectives while delivering genuine value to attendees. It's not just about organisation — it's about impact. Event planning connects four dimensions:
A successfully planned event stays in the memory, strengthens relationships and pays dividends in the long term — for brand, culture or revenue.
Event planning also means risk management. The most common risks include:
Pro tip: Always have a Plan B (or C) for critical areas. Contingency plans are a hallmark of professional event planning.
Successful event planning follows a clear sequence. Knowing each phase and what needs to happen at each stage means you plan more efficiently, avoid last-minute stress and achieve better results. Here are the five phases every professional event planning process goes through.
Before a venue is booked or an invitation sent, the strategy must be developed. This is where the foundations are laid that determine success or failure.
The choice of date has a significant bearing on whether enough attendees will be able to come. Avoid public holidays or major events that compete for your target audience's attention. Find out more about the most popular times for business events on our blog.
Thanks to AI, competing events can now be identified easily. Use this prompt to find relevant clashes:
Find all public or closed events, conferences, trade fairs or industry events on the topic of [Topic X] in the region [Region, e.g. DACH or Munich] in the period [date from – to], aimed at the target audience [Target Audience Y]. Give me the name, date, location, organiser, target audience and link to the website.
To make your event a success, you need to know the right audience. Tailor communication and marketing to the needs and interests of those people. As an event planner, you should know exactly who will be attending and what those people expect.
One of the underestimated variables in event planning is the required contact list size. Here are our benchmarks:
This assumes you have high-quality contacts and an appealing event concept.
💡 Pro tip: Plan backwards from the event date. Set the date first, then work back through all planning steps — you'll immediately see which deadlines are critical.
Now strategy becomes a concrete plan. Venue, speakers, service providers and communication — the big decisions are made and secured contractually in this phase.
The venue largely determines the atmosphere of your event. When choosing, consider not just size and design, but also accessibility, Wi-Fi, power connections and lighting. You can find an overview of the top congress and conference venues in Switzerland and Germany on our blog. Useful platforms for the search include Eventlokale.ch and Eventlocations.com.
A clear concept is the heart of every successful event. Define the message and goal of your gathering and build the programme accordingly — whether networking, entertainment or knowledge transfer, the concept should run through every aspect.
LLM platforms such as ChatGPT or Perplexity can help structure content. Use this detailed prompt for your event concept:
You are an experienced event strategist with a focus on business, marketing and storytelling. Begin by asking me structured questions about the company & context, the goal of the event, the target audience, the framework conditions (format, duration, budget, on-site/online/hybrid) and the thematic focus. Then develop: an event concept with a working title and tagline, a content architecture with 3–5 theme clusters, an agenda logic with a dramaturgical structure, engagement formats and differentiation ideas. Close with a brief summary and 3 concrete next steps.
Successful event planning works closely with various service providers — from catering to sound engineering to décor. Choose reliable partners who meet your requirements. If contacts are lacking, a professional event agency is recommended. Our lists of the top event agencies for business events in Switzerland and Germany can help.
💡 Pro tip: Book the venue and top speakers as early as possible — popular speakers are often booked up six months in advance. An early-bird ticket offer at this stage significantly boosts early registration rates.
With the first invitations going out, the operational peak begins. Now it's about tracking registration numbers, sending reminders and making all the details watertight.
Modern event management platforms such as Oniva make not only planning easier, but also improve the attendee experience. From RSVP and registration software to event check-in apps, the right technology helps you stay on top of everything and ensure smooth execution. You can find an overview of the best event tools in our blog post on the top tools for digital event planning.
Events can quickly become expensive. Possible optimisations include sharing infrastructure with preceding or subsequent events, or reusing materials. More tips on saving costs can be found in our budget hacks blog post.
💡 Pro tip: Hold a full briefing meeting with all parties two weeks before the event. Ambiguities resolved now won't cause surprises on the day.
The big day has arrived. The quality of the preparation shows itself now, and flexibility is just as important as the plan itself.
Long queues at the entrance can negatively affect the mood of attendees. Use digital tickets with QR codes and well-trained staff to avoid delays. More tips on this topic can be found in our post on a smooth event check-in.
💡 Pro tip: Plan at least 30% more set-up time than seems necessary. And designate one person who is solely responsible for coordination — avoid multitasking for the main person in charge.
After the event comes the next event. The follow-up is one of the most frequently underestimated phases and simultaneously the one with the greatest potential for learning.
Use the data collected — attendee feedback, registration statistics, technical evaluations — to systematically improve future events. An overview of the most important KPIs for your event can be found on our blog.
💡 Pro tip: Send the feedback survey on the evening of the event or the following morning — the experience is still fresh. A response rate of 30%+ is realistic if you ask within 24 hours.
The five phases provide the structure, but what distinguishes mediocre from outstanding event planning? It comes down to four core principles that run through every phase:
Clear goal definition: Without a clear goal, there is no clear plan. Successful event planners know who they want to reach, what they want attendees to think, feel or do, and how success will be measured.
Structured preparation: Checklists, schedules, budgets and clear responsibilities ensure nothing is forgotten and that the team works in a coordinated way even under pressure.
Clear communication: Internally within the team as well as externally towards attendees, service providers and partners. Misunderstandings cost time, money and nerves.
Flexibility: Despite the best planning, things change. Successful event planners respond with composure and a solution-oriented mindset — with their Plan B already in hand.
Thoughtful event planning is the key to the success of any event. Those who know the five phases, use the right event tools, plan ahead and follow up consistently create events that run smoothly and are remembered long after the day is done.
Good preparation, clear communication and the flexibility to respond to unforeseen challenges make the difference between a good event and an outstanding one.
Successful event planning is based on clearly defined objectives, structured preparation and well-thought-out communication. It is crucial that responsibilities are clearly allocated and that everyone involved maintains a clear overview of the budget, schedule and tasks at all times.
Choosing the right event date is a key factor for success, as it has a direct impact on attendance figures. Competing events, public holidays or holiday periods should be avoided where possible to ensure a high attendance rate and to reach the target audience effectively.
Event debriefing is crucial for learning from an event in the long term and improving future events. By analysing feedback, registration data and participant behaviour, it is possible to identify areas for improvement and refine the event strategy in a targeted manner.
Learn more about the possibilities with Oniva for event planners.
Damit du bei deiner nächsten Veranstaltung nichts vergisst, haben wir alle Aufgaben aus den fünf Phasen in einer kompakten Checkliste zusammengefasst. Von der Strategiephase bis zur Nachbereitung. Mit dieser Vorlage behältst du jederzeit den Überblick.
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