Planning customer appreciation events can be a wise thing to do for a company. Why? Because running a business is mainly about people, not just products and services. People make decisions. It’s them who sell or buy goods or services from you. And they are also the ones who talk about your company.
Of course, high-quality products and services are essential to pleasing your clients. Still, you should take some more intentional actions like organizing customer appreciation events. Such festivities can be incredible opportunities to enhance customer loyalty and determine positive referrals.
Client-focused ceremonies need to be stunning to achieve these goals. Otherwise, they may turn against you. Here’s a list of things you can do to create a memorable event for your customers.
Extend Your Customer Appreciation Events to More Than Customers
It’s an event dedicated to your top clients. Still, you could get some additional benefits if you increase your invitation list a little.
- For instance, you can invite customers’ familiesto create a sense of ease for your attendees.
- You could also welcome some of your clients’ business partnersor That will allow your customers to feel important as they get public appreciation in front of their collaborators. Plus, you create a new opportunity to increase brand awareness.
Be Consistent with Your Business
Make sure to align your planning process with your company’s profile. Small details like food, venue, setting or promotion campaigns should reflect your business’s identity.
Let’s say you are a company promoting health supplements and nutritious eating. Of course, you cannot serve unhealthy food during your event.
Or, if you are a high-tech company, technology should be your number one tool to promote and organize the event. And you ought to use it in a brilliant way.
Show Appreciation without Selling
You need to remember that your focus here is not to promote your company but to acknowledge your clients.
- You can use a red carpet to welcome guests as V.I.P.s.
- Or, you might want to integrate a photo booth to create memorable takeaways for attendees.
- You should also prepare personalized awards to hand out to your customers in advance.
Most important of all, make sure your awarding speeches are the “Pièce De Résistance”. They should be short, smart and focused on the customer. For this part, you might consider hiring a professional MC. Some CEOs or managers may be excellent at running businesses but not so great at public speaking.
Choose Quality Entertainment
Customer appreciation events provide many ways of showing how important your clients are. The quality of your entertainment also reveals how much you value your business partners.
- Live music, for example, creates a warm atmosphere and a framework for public interaction.
- You could also give people a piece of wisdom and help them learn by hiring a professional public speaker.
- Or, you can offer a chance to see a clean, entertaining comedy in action! Given some personalized facts, a clean comedian can add a fun touch to your event. People tend to remember positive and fun experiences. Why not give them something to remind them of your amazing event?
Follow up in Surprising Ways
Following up with your guests is key to maintaining the success of your event. You should get creative with how you do it. You can use:
- Thank-you cards
- Photos from the event
- A video with the key entertaining moments of the evening
Think of your customers’ profile and figure out new ways of surprising them. Just do it in a fun, empathetic and professional way.
