I woke up this morning thinking why do so few companies hold appreciation events for their clients and employees? Think about all the places you’ve worked…were you included in any type of Customer Appreciation events? And as an employee, did you pretty much just get treated to a Christmas dinner with the other staff and maybe a gift of some sort?
Throughout my career, I rarely got to see a client appreciation event being hosted, but I really enjoyed the few that I was involved in. The first of these were private shopping parties. I was working in retail at the shopping mall and we used to invite our best customers and fans to come to a private shopping event with upbeat music playing and a great discount on anything that they wanted to purchase. Another experience was at an engineering firm that I worked at. We would have great client appreciation events right in the office that were catered with food, drinks and music. We would also regularly host Hospitality Suites at annual industry Association conferences we would have, and our clients loved it. We would bring a couple of guitars and the sing a-longs would start. It was just like a down-home kitchen party!
It didn’t happen often in my work experience, but the interactive events were the most memorable for me because they were actually team building events at the same time. I was able to form stronger bonds with colleagues when we had something to do together, outside of work. I recall a holiday party where we went glow bowling and the company treated us to pizza and beer. I was thinking it would be kind of lame, but it ended up being one of the most fun staff parties I ever got to participate in.
Client Appreciation Event
These days technology has really taken over our lives. Don’t get me wrong, I am just as guilty as the next person for relying on my phone and my computer to mind my schedule and communicate with others. But, I also see that it often takes precedence over face-to-face interactions and time together to really get to know each other. I was reading an article in the May 2018 edition of The Rotarian which referenced that the author of Shock of Gray “pointed out that people who adopted the Mediterranean diet, hoping to live longer, were missing the point. In those cultures, breakfast, coffee, lunch, wine and dinner all happen in the company of other people. Conversation is as important as the nature of calories consumed. Visit a café in Rome: what you notice first is that no one is talking on a phone. They are lost in face-to-face conversations.” There’s some food for thought.
An appreciation event doesn’t have to be a large lavish affair, it can be something intimate or Interactive, something that really shows your people that they are appreciated. And because not very many people do it, you really can stand out and be irresistible.
Christmas gifts are nice, but how about thinking outside of the proverbial box? Give your clients or employees an experience that they can enjoy – something they can remember – and that will turn them into loyal, raving fans. I think ultimately we’re all longing for success, connection and trust. AMBER EFFECT EVENTS leverages our knowledge, ideas and network to make sure your organization has the chance to look people in the eye and share remarkable experiences. My goal is to help you make great memories while connecting with others as well.
Is it time to contact AMBER EFFECT to help you plan your event? Go on over to ambereffect.com/contact and let’s get started today!
Related posts: When to contact an event planner for best results. And How I got to my WHY
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