Organizing an event is no cake walk. There’s a lot that goes into organizing an event. Right from the venue to the food menu, every single thing needs to be planned with the utmost care. There are times when attendees leave the venue suddenly just because the quality of the food being served isn’t up to the mark.
In all fairness, corporate away days offer business houses and corporates an excellent opportunity to establish personal connections with the stakeholders. Everybody loves to attend parties. There’s nothing that can beat the joy of getting to eat some mouth-watering delicacies for free. Nothing works like food, right?
Some of you might disagree, but impressing your guests has become as daunting a task as it possibly can. Even if everything goes on course, your guests are likely to find faults in the arrangements made. Corporate events such as seminars and conferences happen to be a double-edged sword. Just one flaw and the company’s goodwill is likely to go for a toss.
How to Establish a Better Connection With Your Guests?
Here are a few ideas to establish a better connection with your guests:
1. Having personalized name tags
Now, that’s a very-very cost-effective way of establishing a better customer connect with your guests and audiences. You can opt for quirky name tags that describe your guests in three words. For instance: if a guy named John loves having coffee, you can simply get a name tag made which says: ‘John: The Coffee Lover’.
2. A few complimentary drinks would help
Well, that’s the easiest way of bringing a smile on the faces of your guests. Having a complimentary drinks reception on arrival is definitely a great idea. A few complimentary drinks can really do wonders at an event. If you provide your guests with the best booze in town, there’s every possibility that they’ll listen to what you say.
3. Don’t make it too loud
An excessively loud and noisy event happens to be quite uninviting. If the speakers are running on full volume, then staying at a party might become uncomfortable for some of the guests. Encourage your guests to have a leisurely conversation among themselves. You too can join in and enjoy some friendly banters.
Related: Corporate Event Chaos: 5 Tips to Ensure Your Event Goes Off Without A Hitch
Keep the welcome address short and sweet
Nobody’s interested in listening to a 5,000-word-long speech. It tends to get quite boring when the speaker speaks endlessly. Don’t make it unidirectional. Give your audience a chance to speak. Make it interactive. If you give your audience a chance to speak, then they’d feel involved. Let them have their say.
Giveaways are awesome
Ah, this one is the best. Handing freebies to your guests after the event is done and dusted is a great way of establishing personal connect. You can distribute flash drives after the event is over. You can get the name and logo of your company imprinted on the flash drive. Breweries often give a bottle of champagne to each and every guest during the inauguration. Your guests would always remember you if the freebies are good.
Keep it slow and steady
Don’t rush. Packaging information in small segments is a great way of retaining the interest and attention of your audience. Let your guests assimilate the information they receive. Give them some time to digest it. Throwing a huge chunk of information at your audience can lead to a decline in interest.
Last, but certainly not the least, be cheerful and brimming with life. As a host, you need to have a smile on your face while the event is underway. Interact with your guests, indulge in a few light-hearted banters, crack a few jokes. This will help you stay connected with the audience.
