Revisiting your awards management spend
During the course of any event planning and management, costing and budgeting plays the most crucial part and your awards program is no different. Budgeting an awards program is pivotal to the sustenance of the event, both now as well as in the long-term. Contrary to the common notion, the determined cost and the actual cost are never the same. And with respect to your awards program, we, as event managers, very well know how the expenditures can add up in a jiffy and go out of hand. Well, if you are the administrator or the operations manager of the online awards judging program, we give you one word – Budgeting! In the flurry of preparations, this is one thing you should not fail to do.
It is never too late to start budgeting and it is even never late to revisit your budgeting to perform better the next time. However, it is imperative to make note of what your budget should allow for the complexities involved in it. Awards judging programs typically should involve the below costs:
1. Costs incur even before the start of the awards
This area should take a special place in your budget because of the simple reason that this helps attract potential entries and markets your awards program. Expenses might involve advertising, press releases, awards website revamp, materials to the clients and judges, social media marketing and so on.
Oh! Good news never ceases, and here we tell you why! A lot of costs involved in the awards judging program can be minimized just by going online. Automated awards ensure the mailing of physical material is done online, thus saving on huge costs. In addition, most of the work done by your staff could be made available online without the need for more manpower.
2. More costs during the program
Once the awards program starts, the costs start building up in the form of credit card processing, more marketing strategies and of course the heart of the program – judging. Though the additional advertising cost is unavoidable to boost traffic and visibility, online awards help reduce the judging costs.
The judges’ travel and accommodation accounts to most of the judging budget, and with an online program judges can score from anywhere and the data is streamlined for everyone’s convenience. With these costs taken care of, the extra budget can be utilized for other ad hoc expenses.
3. Costs just don’t stop after the program
Post-judging costs are apparently the most unavoidable and expensive. These are inclusive of returning of the entries (which can be avoided if you go for online submissions, trophies for the winners, compensation for the judges and most importantly – the awards gala event.
Apart from all these costs, there can be other unforeseen expenses which need to be taken care of well in advance during budgeting.
Conclusion
Overwhelmed? There’s no need to be. Because advance planning integrated with an awards management system will not only help eliminate the budget risks but also provide a comprehensive system to automate the entire submission and evaluation process. Go ahead, work alongside online awards program management and let the experts take care of the rest while you sit back and relax!