14 Jul 10 Is Your Business Ready to Plan Its First Event?
If your business seems like it is on the verge of making it big but needs something to carry it over a hurdle, then consider planning a major event. Events can include various departments, partners, suppliers, customers, or even a combination of elements of these different groups. Here are a few key signs that you need to start planning an event:
• Squeezing efficiency out of departments is becoming harder – It might be that the departments are on the verge of losing their self-motivation to perform at their best. Threatening to downsize or outsource only creates a workforce that is willing to work just enough to not lose their jobs. A nice company picnic event at the park might not cost much and it could inspire loyalty that is impossible to put a price on.
• Getting new customers to commit seems difficult – A tour complete with local business meetings, brunches, and seminars could inspire potential customers to take the leap and buy.
• Suppliers are becoming less reliable – In down economic times it pays to not only track companies surreptitiously via D&B and other services, but it pays to plan meetings and look the other party square in the eye. Never underestimate the value of a gut feeling when looking suppliers and partners in the eye.
Tags: Amp, Brunches, Business Meetings, Business Plan, Company Picnic, Economic Times, Efficiency, Elements, Gut Feeling, Hurdle, Jobs, Leap, Loyalty, Nice Company, Outsource, Self Motivation, Seminars, Signs, Verge, Workforce
10 Feb 10 How to Have Lasting Relationships with Clients
Clients are the most precious assets for a meeting planning business. Without clients, there can be no business. With poor quality of clients, the business will be poor and if you manage to get very good clients and retain their loyalty, your business will only go up and up. This all sounds very exciting. But it is not easy to get very good clients and all the more difficult to retain them. After all, whatever you do, your competition is trying the same and may use better techniques to get business. Are there any innovative approaches to client relationships?
The first need is of course client satisfaction. If the client is satisfied with your response time, after sales service and can depend on you, pricing may become secondary. All clients do not buy from a supplier whose sales at the lowest price. If your product cost is a small percentage of clients total expense or if your product is essential for your clients, you are onto something good. How to retain such clients despite all the competition? What are the other factors than client satisfaction?
Relationship is one such other major factor. Do you relate with your clients only professionally, or are very good friends? Both these extremes can hurt. For a long-term business relationship, good friendship is not good for health of your business. Any problem in the personal friendship will directly affect your business. What if you relate to your meeting planning clients mechanically in a professional style totally devoid of personal touch? You know the answer yourself.
What is needed is a relationship that does not border on personal friendships, but crosses mechanical approach. A fine balance between personal and professional.
Tags: Client Relationships, Client Satisfaction, Extremes, Fine Balance, Good Friends, Health, Lasting Relationships, Loyalty, Mechanical Approach, Meeting Planning, Nbsp, Personal Friendship, Personal Friendships, Personal Touch, Poor Quality, Precious Assets, Professional Style, Response Time, Term Business Relationship
16 Oct 09 Gaining and Keeping Your Customers Trust – Part 2
Customer trust is built on job performance – yours to be exact. Are you a competent meeting planner? Do you deliver on promises? Are travel arrangements and accommodations precisely what you have led the client to believe they would be?
Your track record is your best asset. Satisfied customers are quick to speak your praises to their peers, but unhappy clients are even faster to cry about their disappointment on a sympathetic shoulder.
If you do not know the answer to a client’s question, find it or find someone who does. Clients are more patient and trusting when they sense your determination to give them the information they need.
It’s been said before but bears repeating, honesty is the best policy. If something goes wrong and you can’t deliver on services, the client needs to hear it from your own mouth and as quickly as possible. Do your best to resolve the situation or come up with a satisfactory plan B and don’t be afraid to enlist the client’s help to brainstorm over the situation. Don’t expect them to come up with a solution, however, a direct approach may make their plans more flexible in the case of disaster.
Trust takes time and energy to build and it’s well worth it. Inspire loyalty and your efforts will be rewarded.
Tags: Customer Trust, Customers Trust, Disappointment, Disaster, Honesty Is The Best Policy, Job, Loyalty, Meeting Planner, Peers, Plan B, Praises, Promises, Satisfied Customers, Travel Accommodations, Travel Arrangements, Unhappy Clients
24 Aug 09 Let’s Talk in a Few Months
This is one of the ways businesses are putting off spending money. Delaying is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can make your job as a planner a little rough around the edges. Rather then let it completely fray you, here are two approaches to delays and cutbacks companies are currently experiencing.
Contact Them Before the Deadline
If someone says you should talk in a few months about scheduling the meeting, call them in a few weeks and see if anything has changed. Rather than feeling like you’re bothering them, they may appreciate that you were thinking of them. You can even say that on your call: “Okay, let me give you a call in a few weeks and see if that is still your target. It will help me plan better for you.” This way you get permission to make the call and you’re doing something special for them. (more…)
Tags: Assets, Business Course, Cancellation, Contact, Friendship, Grief, Job, Loyalty, Rough Around The Edges, Scheduling, Spending Money, Target, Virtual Meeting
21 Aug 09 Take Advantage of Federal Guidelines for Bailout Companies to Increase Your Value
As a business meeting and event planner, you are constantly searching for ideas to add value to your services. Recently the federal government published guidelines to the businesses receiving bailout dollars. These guidelines can in fact aid you to be a preferred planner.
The boards of directors of corporations getting cruicial relief from the government have to adopt a company-wide policy on any outlays linked to air travel services, entertainment and holiday parties, and conferences and events. This policy is not aimed to include justifiable outlays for sales conferences, human resources development, unexcessive performance incentives and other controls attached to a firm’s ordinary business operations. What does this mean? Here are a couple of the stipulations and ways you can employ them to cause your client’s businesses seem golden even if they are planning incentive travel. (more…)
Tags: Air Travel Services, Bailout, Boards Of Directors, Business Meeting, Business Operations, Conferences, Corporations, Event Planner, Federal Government, Holiday Parties, Human Resources Development, Incentive Rewards, Incentive Travel, Loyalty, Neighborhood, Outlays, Performance Incentives, Regard, Stipulations, Target, Travel Rewards
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