On the surface, it might seem like throwing a product or business launch event is no different than hosting your niece’s birthday party. But continue with that line of thinking and you’ll serve yourself short by not taking this business-critical event as seriously as you should.

The writers of Inc. Magazine have published a great article on How to Plan a Product-Launch Event that outlines a few of the questions you should be thinking about when planning your product launch event. We think these questions are also relevant to just about any marketing effort you put together, whether that’s an event, piece of printed collateral or advertisement. I’ve reprinted the list below, and added my own notes.

• Determine your purpose. Before you plan any piece of marketing piece, make sure you can clearly define the purpose. This could be a sales goal, to push a specific slow moving product, to raise awareness about your services, to introduce yourself to a new demographic, etc.
• Scout your location. The success of your event will rely heavily on the medium in which you choose to share it. Pick a bustling night club scene and your message may go unheard. Choose a “quiet as a library” venue, and your audience will feel stifled. This is the same for any marketing you do - you have to choose the right media to share your message on.
• Give your audience a reason to go. You have to add value to your customers time. Asking them to attend an event (or read a piece of marketing) has to reward them with something at the end. Make sure what you are offering is visible, and clearly spelled out right from the start.
• Follow up. The event is just one piece of a successful marketing campaign. Remember to keep thinking long term. Collect people’s information so you can continue to follow up. Offer new incentives to draw people back. Make it easy for them to continue to hear from you.