5. Get lively
Too often, events have the standard wine and cheese, a short speech and maybe a museum tour. Instead, encourage interaction and get people engaged with each other. It can be as simple as having them write on their name tags the answer to a question like, “Favorite vacation spot?” Or fill in the blank, “In my next life I will be _______.” Those are conversation starters. Better yet, create a situation that gets people engaged. I’ve done events with competition stations -- like putting or shooting baskets. One very successful event let clients and prospects try out all kinds of musical instruments and then had a few comments from the orchestra conductor. People loved it!
Once you’ve had a great event and people are talking about it, your real work begins. You must have a solid follow-up plan that results in some measurable gain for your business -- or it’s a party, not marketing. You’ll be tempted to dive back into normal work, all that event pressure behind you. Instead block time on your calendar before the event for the important post-event follow-up. You’ll need a few hours blocked the day after the event to circle back with people who had questions or requests. Now is also the time to set up meetings with those prospects you just wined and dined, before the afterglow fades! By the third day after you should have sent thank you notes -- perhaps with some photos -- to each attendee. Invite their ideas and feedback to make the next event even better.
What can you do with your mother-in-law, the party planner? Well you can put her to work building a great marketing event, not a party. If you have a plan and a process with clear business objectives, then the creativity has a roadmap to follow. Enjoy!
Gail Graham is chief marketing officer at United Capital, a national partnership of private wealth counseling offices. She is responsible for all aspects of marketing, branding and lead generation as well as business strategy and planning.