Event planning budget and pricing strategy for the new year

When setting your budget and pricing strategy for your event planning business, there are many factors to consider including your costs, competition, and your clients’ needs. You want your business to profitably grow, provide value for your clients, and continue to attract new clients. That means strategically setting your event planning rates and budget with the following considerations in mind.

Understand your business costs

To effectively price your services, it’s essential to calculate and build the costs of operating your business into your pricing strategy. To budget for the year ahead, account for overhead expenses that support the overall operation of your business and include costs associated with rental space, utilities, insurance, supplies, licenses, marketing, and staff salaries.

Know your market and competition

To attract clients, it’s important to research your competitors’ pricing. This will give you an idea of what your target market is expecting to pay for event planning services in your area. Adjust your prices accordingly to offer fair rates in line with your expertise and experience, while also considering your overhead expenses and your desired profit margin.

Pricing strategies

There are a few different ways you can build out your pricing strategy and it’s up to you to decide what works best for your business. You can select one pricing strategy for your business or choose the strategy on a per client basis. You may even want to experiment with the different strategies until you find one that suits you and your clients. Here are some strategies to explore.

• Flat fee—this is a fixed charge for the entire event. This strategy works best for small-scale events where the services you are providing are predictable, basic, and there is minimal room for changes. This pre-determined fee simplifies pricing for your client.
• Tiered pricing—this is where you offer different price points, and your clients can access higher level of services and discounts within each tier.
• Packages—similar to tiered pricing, packages offer bundled services at a single price point and allows your client to choose a package that fits within their budget. You can also offer add-on services so clients can customize the services that work for them.
• Hourly rate—charge a fixed rate per hour. This strategy usually requires you to track your hours to provide transparency. It can be a good option for smaller events.
• Percentage of total budget—you charge a percentage of the client’s event budget.

Within your pricing strategy, you’ll want to include your payment structure. This details how you expect to be paid and includes requiring a deposit at the time of contract or full payment up front. In addition, provide a complete breakdown of costs and services in your proposal to offer transparency to your clients and build their trust. Taking a “no surprises” approach to your pricing strategy and payment structure will benefit your business in the long run.

Now that you have a handle on your budget and pricing strategy for the year, consider reviewing your insurance plans to make sure you have the right coverage for your business.

Markel offers event liability insurance to hosts and honorees, protecting from incidents such as property damage to the venue or injury to a guest. Up to $2 million in event liability insurance can be purchased by your client from Markel any time at least 1 day before the event. Policies start as low as $75.

By offering event insurance, it will not only protect your clients, but it can also protect you by potentially decreasing your own business liability risk for accidents due to negligence of the event host or honoree. Markel's event insurance is an easy and affordable solution for your clients – a free event insurance quote takes only a few minutes online or on the phone – that will help protect your clients (and you).

Free client materials! We can provide you with free brochures to help raise your clients' awareness of the benefits of event liability insurance.