What does an age-old expression have to do with your party budget? Every company has customers, and this week, Bright Ideas is going to share with you why the Perfect Client Appreciation Event is the proverbial stone that kills two birds when it comes to spending your company’s event funds wisely. Here are the 5W’s that double both to thank your existing clientele and to make your client list expand.
Who
Let’s begin with the easy one. A
Client Appreciation is an event hosted to celebrate those who keep you in business. Those individuals purchasing your goods or services. If you’re a department store selling all manner of items, your clientele is the General Public and so you should plan on a rather large gathering. If you’re a credit union or a garage or a table linen rental company, your market is a little more niche and so your guest list should reflect that.
What
Deciding what kind of an event to host is an extremely important topic. If you’re that department store hosting an event for your customers, you likely want a theme that’s family-friendly, like a Carnival or Disney, with lots of multi-aged activities like rides, games, crafts, and Photo Booths. But that credit union may choose to host a cocktail party with canapes and a signature drink and a swanky jazz band.
No matter the setting, you want to make sure you’re taking advantage of this opportunity – your most important customers are all here so make sure the event is all about them, but in a way that puts your company at the center of it all. For example, at the pinnacle of the event, take a moment to deliver a quick and snappy announcement about what’s coming up for your company, and make sure your brands and slogans are absolutely everywhere!
Where
For most companies, it will make most sense to host an event right in your shop or office or the Grand Atrium of your building. This proximity to your place of business will only serve to deepen your clientele’s sense of your hospitality and appreciation. It’s also a great cost-savings measure, since you already own or rent the venue. If you do have to rent a location to host the
Perfect Client Appreciation Event, Bright Ideas will help you make sure the venue suits the needs of your theme and any onsite staff are capable of supplying the kinds of services your event needs.
When
It is Bright Ideas experience that companies thanking the general public, like department stores, do well to host their events when families are already looking for fun things to do because children are off school. That might suggest a day-long Carnival event during summer or an afternoon of traditional holiday fun once kids are out for Christmas.
Alternatively, that credit union hosting a cocktail party would do well to host an early evening affair, right after work when guests are already in office attire so they can just swing through after work, and in early Spring when your guests have surfaced from the holiday season and are thinking about their finances in the long-term. They’ll come, take in a drink, a tuna spoon, and your key message along with your thanks, and depart with a renewed sense in your efficiency, discretion, and class.
Why
Word-of-mouth has repeatedly proven itself as the very best form of advertising or client recruiting. If your customers have no complaints, then they’ll tell their friends that whenever the topic comes up. And better yet, a customer who’s had a positive experience with your company is more likely to actively suggest that their friends switch their patronage.
So, for the simple expense of hosting the Perfect Client Appreciation Event once or several times a year, you are not only reinforcing your bond with your existing clientele, you are giving them reasons to speak kindly of you in their social circles, conversations that translate into a growth in your customer base over time.
There you have it. Two birds with one stone! Thank your existing clientele with a customized event, hosted at the right time and the right place, making them feel special. And increase your customer base by word-of-mouth when your guests walk away from your event knowing they’ve picked the right company to do business with. Bright Ideas can’t think of a more efficient way to spend your party budget, so call us and we’ll get those two birds all lined up in our sites for your next Perfect Client Appreciation Event!
