Advice From The Trenches
Achieving Business Objectives Through Customer Events
From the desk of Emily Zazado, Managing Supervisor
Special events can be a very effective way to reach out to your customers and achieve business objectives. Make the most of this opportunity to showcase your company, and you may have a customer for life.
Here are some easy steps to holding a successful event:
• The Invitation. Your invitation will set the tone for the event. Keep it light and avoid a sales pitch. Make your customers want to come.
• The Hook. You’ll need a strong reason to get customers to your event, especially during the workday. Speakers, bands, comedians, or professional athletes are always a good draw, and your customers will appreciate being invited to something exclusive.
• A Charitable Tie. Consider aligning with and inviting a non-profit organization that shares similar values as your organization and has supporters that are in your target audience.
• Important Influencers. If your product or service is used by a government sector, consider inviting several levels of politicians and government employees to your event as well. They may not be the purchaser, but can be a decision-maker.
• Sugar-Coated Sales. If you need to educate your guests on a product or service, try something more entertaining than the usual PowerPoint and speech, like a scavenger hunt with clues involving your product. Your message can also be subtly delivered in how you greet guests, a speech by the company’s president, a parting gift or even a post-event phone call.
• Staff Up. Make sure you have enough staff on hand to adequately entertain your guests – about one staff person per 15 guests is a good rule of thumb. Before the event, prep them on appropriately delivering key messages to guests throughout the event.
• Stay Focused. Put your energy into entertaining your guests and achieving your goals. Let someone else handle the logistics and details – set-up, catering, entertainment, A/V, etc.
Great food, entertainment and people create an event to remember – keep this in mind along with your ultimate goals and you’ll have a great time and meet your objectives.
