Here are some key tips for how to incorporate evaluations into your next planning process…

Map it out from the beginning: When you’re planning, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the enjoyable details, like choosing your venue or picking a theme, but be sure to establish how you’ll evaluate your event’s success off the bat.

Choose a method: Do you have the emails of all your attendees? Use Survey Monkey to email them all a short evaluation of the event 24 hours after. Make it easy for them to select what they liked the most and least, and be sure to give them a comment box.

Automate it: Write your survey before the event and have it timed to send 24 hours after its completion. If you leave writing the survey until after, it probably will be rushed.

Keep an open mind: Your results will probably follow a bell curve, with 10% of people loving your event, 10% with not-so-nice comments, and about 80% somewhere in the middle. Focus on those 80% and what you can do to get them to become more like the 10% who loved it.

Follow these simple tips, and you’ll have the facts to back you up when someone asks, “So… how did it go?”

Philadelphia Event Facilities:

The Betsy Ross House is one of those venues. A treasured historic site, it can make a perfect patriotic setting for your next small or medium-sized event. America’s most celebrated seamstress once lived in this home. Today it is furnished with period pieces. Larger meetings and entertainment are scheduled in the outdoor courtyard. The Betsy Ross House is available year-round for more intimate gatherings. Consider holding your next family gathering, meeting or event at the historic Betsy Ross House!

For an event facility with a little more elbow room and a dedication to dining, there’s the Philadelphia Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant. Their wood and leather Old-World style and charm are a warm welcome to your guests. The food is delicious, and the staff truly dedicated to your guests’ satisfaction. Private meeting rooms are available for meetings, wedding rehearsals and receptions, and conferences, or just bring a client or colleague there for cocktails and a great meal! There is also a Maggiano’s in King of Prussia.

If some is good, Dave and Buster’s Philadelphia prove that more is even better! This casual fun-house has two locations for your next party, family gathering, award ceremony or just about any event when you want people to relax and have a good time! Choose from Philadelphia proper or go to their Grand Sports Cafe off of Franklin Mills. Either location will provide you and your guests with hundreds of video arcade games, simulators and fairway amusements and contests. There are billiards tables and private meeting rooms. Lots of fun and, of course, tasty foods and great prices. Dave and Buster’s provide a great venue for a fun time!

If you need a place to host a business meeting of a few hours or an all-day conference, consider the Regus Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their entire purpose is in providing state-of-the-art AV equipped meeting rooms and facilities with all the services of an executive office space. Fax, phones, wifi, video conferencing, secretarial services, coffee & tea – whatever you need, Regus will see to it that your meeting goes smoothly and will do everything possible to ensure your success.

For a wedding, meeting, conference, barbeques, picnic. Banquet, reunion. Bridal or baby shower, award ceremony, recital, or any other occasion, the venerable Brossman Center, located on the Lutheran Theological Seminary campus, is well-qualified and experienced in handling every detail so you don’t have to. The campus is convenient, yet secluded, providing everything you or your guests may require right there on the 14 acre campus. Their Benbow Hall easily accommodates 450 people. The Hagan Amphitheater’s tiered, lecture-hall seats 80 attendees, and the Schaeffer-Ashmead Chapel is an ideal location for your unforgettable wedding day. Eleven other classrooms and eight break-out rooms will ensure that your conference is never at a loss for private space. Their A/V services are state-of the art, and the facility can provide on-sight catering services and overnight accommodations for forty guests. Established in 1888, the Brossmen Center continues to share its standard of excellence with its guests.

Cavanaugh’s River Deck provides just the right balance between quality and a good time. Their menu ranges from the most common favorites to steamed lobster, from brew to fine wine, mixed drinks, specialty liquors, and everything in-between. Proud recipient of the MyFoxPhilly’s Hot List 2008, Cavanaugh’s River Deck operates between spring and fall every year, and makes a fantastic place for your bachelor (or bachelorette) party, family reunion, or other social gathering. The attire is a casual dress to impress. Now with a second location which is open year-round, Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse sports bar gives you another opportunity to please and impress your adult guests.

This is just s smattering of the many wondrous and unique Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Event Venues available to you for a truly memorable event in Philly, the magnificent, historical, and venerable City of Brotherly Love.

VIDEO: Pennsylvania Meeting Facilities

The Regus in Grand Rapids, is rapidly becoming the place to be, when you need to host a business meeting. With state-of-the-arts AV equipment, wifi everywhere, and video conferencing abilities, (as well as standards like secretarial services, copy machines, etc.,) this virtual office is exactly what many business people need, at a reasonable price.

When in Detroit, the magnificent Fox Theatre may be available for your meeting or event. With its classic multi-story proscenium arches, gilded and lit to be dazzling, and the Renaissance stylings throughout, it would be difficult to imagine a more impressive venue. The Fox Theatre has worked its magic for millions of productions, and is one of the top grossing venues of its size in the country. Book your event at the Fox – let it work its magic for you, too!

When you need more than a day, for awards or retreats, a memorable sales conference, or to rally the troops, the Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island provides a unique and unforgettable experience. Lake Huron’s natural beauty is the backdrop of this 242 room classically styled resort, built for leisure and comfort. Their Old World hospitality and a long list of amenities all ensure that they will be talking about the event for years to come

Looking for something fun and casual? Dave & Buster’s Detroit is a favorite, offering hundreds of video arcade games, simulators, fairway attractions, pool tables, stomp-dance machines – every sort of amusement imaginable! Their menu is tasty and reasonable, and meeting rooms can host a handful or several hundred guests. Dave & Buster’s is a great team-building environment as well. Book your next meeting with them, and get ready to have a really good time!

When in Troy, Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant provides an Old World Italian motif, amidst rich wood and leather furnishings, oil paintings, wonderful food, and a staff that will see to it that you feel like royalty and family at the same time! Whether for a one-on-one and cocktails, a wedding rehearsal or reception, an award banquet, no matter what your occasion, Maggiano’s will see to it that every guest is satisfied, at a price you can’t refuse!

Just this sampling shows you how wonderfully diverse and eclectic the choices are. No matter what your occasion, the Wolverine State has a perfect Michigan conference center space for your group. You’ll find many unique venues to make your meeting, conference, wedding or event magical, everywhere you go, in the great state of Michigan!

Video: Mission Point Resort – Mackinac Island, Michigan

Now you can post your events on Upcoming as an added benefit of your Unique Venues membership. Unique Venues will post and manage the information for your venue. IT’z Family Food & Fun has been taking advantage of this service for the past several months to announce and promote great events. They post information for their events directly from the members area on uniquevenues.com, and we take care of posting the information (including images & links) on Upcoming. If you are responsible for promoting internal events for your venue, let us do the work for you. This is another opportunity of exposure for your venue.

If your venue doesn’t host internal events, you may want to consider announcing the events of your clients. Clients will appreciate “going above and beyond”, and all you have to do is log-in to the members area and click POST.

Lisa Morrell,
Sales Manager

When you need space for a business meeting, the Regus Houston Texas comes through every time. Their Houston location offers a variety of rooms, from space for a small meeting, to seating for an entire national sales force, and all the latest AV technologies. They can even host a video conference, if key members are unable to be there personally! Coffee, chilled water and tea are always included, and catered menu choices are available as well. Just ask when you make your reservation, and Regus will take care of everything!

If a presentation is more what you had in mind, consider CineMeetings & Events. Held in movie theatres, you’ll have the leading edge in projection technologies and sound systems at your disposal. Comfortable, air-conditioned seating for hundreds is not a problem. Whether it’s a CD release party, a live performance, a screening, or a regular podium-style business meeting, CineMeetings has you covered.

When you want your guests to have a good time, Dave & Buster’s Houston is famous for their video and game arcade. Hundreds of games, from old-school video to the latest simulations, to shooting hoops, pool tables, dance/stomps, you name it they’ve got it! The food is excellent and reasonably priced, and private meeting rooms are available when you need them. For a casual awards ceremony, birthday or other party, or any occasion when you want it to be fun, Dave & Buster’s is a great choice!

Dining more what you’re after? Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant brings Old World taste and style to your event. Wedding receptions and rehearsals, business meetings, awards ceremonies, or just as a nice place to take a client, you’ll feel comfortable amidst the quality furnishings, the strength of wood and leather of this classy, affordable restaurant.

For team building and casual events, iT’Z Meetings & Events is the is the place to be for Houston meeting facilities! They have bowling alleys, a 100 foot long buffet table, and all sorts of electronic games and simulators. Divide your group up and compete for points, to rally the troops! Meeting spaces can provide all your AV needs, and there are several different theme dining rooms, each seating up to 300 people. IT’Z is family friendly but can be partitioned off to allow for a more adult environment, or the entire facility, accommodations for 2600, can be booked. Big or small, iT’Z: a great venue!

Spiritual and religious gatherings will feel very comfortable at the Cenacle Retreat House. Green and serene, the individual seeking some time to reflect is as welcome as a group to enjoyh the 9 wooded acres that Cenacle is able to offer. Comfortable private rooms and dorm lodgings are both available, as well as a dining hall which caters to a wide variety of tastes. Operated by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Retreat, the group was was originally co-founded by St. Therese Couderc in France in 1826. Run entirely by donations, the sanctuary gives warm welcome and even guidance, if requested, to all who come seeking a closer walk with God.

When you’re after an office environment with all the trimmings, Atrium Crest Executive Suites can accommodate your every need. A business environment, all of the standard facilities are at your disposal, including receptionist services and meeting space. Attorneys, medical professionals, entrepreneurs, and business reps all find that Atrium Crest gives them exactly what they’re after in one concise package – at the price of raw office space! If you need a business presence in Houston, give Atrium Crest a call!

These are just a sample of the wide and eclectic choices of venues available Houston. There are hundreds of activities, tours, museums – more than one could hope to visit in months – all waiting for you and your group in the Big Heart.

Explore More Texas Event Venues on Squidoo.

Before I knew it, I had a training schedule in my hand and had agreed to train for and compete in the “Tri-for-the-Cure” on August 3rd in Denver. I’d never tried a tri before and I wasn’t even sure if I could even remember how to swim! But my biggest concern was as a working mother of three, how would I ever find the time to train?

Well, I did find the time and I did figure out how to swim and I did compete in the tri! Seeing 3,000 women do anything is amazing, but watching husbands, grandfathers, friends and children cheer on their women was beyond moving.

Anyone else care to share a summer vacation story? I need some ideas for next year!

We’re onto this Web 2.0 thing…so hold on tight, we’re beginning a BLOG!

I’m new to this, and I’m sure many of you are too…but don’t hesitate! I will be sharing my thoughts along the way, and asking you for yours. Insights, tips, perplexing questions, trends are all in store for you. So join me for the ride. It might be bumpy at first, but I promise….it will be worthwhile! BLOG AWAY!

Marketing to the Masses

Ever think about how you REACH your customers and potential customers? Are you flexible and versatile in your approach to marketing and selling? I just heard Joan Eisenstodt speak at the ACCED-I conference and she shared with us the VARK approach. What is VARK? Check it out at www.vark-learn.com Basically, VARK stands for visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic which are the four different learning styles used by most consumers. On this site, you can take a quick inventory that will help you understand your preferred learning style.

Check it out. I am a kinesthetic learner, meaning I prefer to learn experientially. It struck me that most often when we market, we unintentionally tend to think one dimensionally, and typically that one dimension is the one we most personally prefer. Don’t get stuck in YOUR rut. Diversify your marketing and sales approaches!

Chuck Salem, President