Authored By:  Collins Computing

At Convergence each year we consider ourselves "Customer Ambassadors".  This includes making them feel welcome from start-to-finish, and of course during the conference.  This could include Welcome Receptions, attending sessions together, walking the Expo with our customers, hosting dinners, sitting together at Lunches, and more.

During this blog I will focus on hosting a customer 'event'.  One of my friend's axioms is "Food always makes things better", so we will start with this in mind.  Our most successful events have been our "Customer Appreciation Dinners", but this can be modified to be a lunch, brunch, or in-between 'mini-meal'.

Here are the primary features to include in a customer event that expresses your gratitude to them for your continuing companies' partnership; your business relationship; and even their friendship!

  • Invitations: The invitation doesn't have to be too fancy, just require an RSVP (along with a calendar link so they don't forget). Yes, the attendee can bring a guest if they have a family member in town/attending Convergence with them. But you want them to realize this event is specifically for them, and not the other 9,000+ attendees.
  • Tables: We try to insist on a private room, but for smaller partners, it can be an entire section of the venue. Just be sure your guests are separated from other patrons and can hear each other talk.
  • Reception: Always allow time for ALL of your guests to get to the event before being seated. You can prepare a 'conversation starter' with give-a-ways for this time (easy questions on Convergence or your own company), or just provide beverages while waiting.
  • Seating: We have thank you notes with individual customer names setup on the tables. This way each attendee feels appreciated, and we can be sure we have one of our consultants (Ambassadors) seated within conversation distance of every customer. We also attempt to sit 'like-customers' near one another so the conversation may drift to topics that all their organizations might benefit from. After the event we can encourage them to continue sharing ideas. Even if you are only hosting dessert or lunch, you want to control part of the ability to converse with each customer, so we would still have a 'sit-down' or 'crowd-around' portion of the event.
  • Unique Food: It is always fun to have some sort of 'hosting city' authentic-food or just something different. This can be Southern Home-style Cooking, the 'Brazilian feast', or whatever seems a little different than where most of your clients come from. This doesn't have to be a full-course dinner, but possibly fabulous hors d'oeuvres or lunch if the timing or funding just doesn't suit for more.
  • Gifts and Sponsorship: We usually supply our customers with a package at the beginning of convergence to include: 'Specific' Convergence Mini-Schedules to put in their Convergence Lanyards that contain our Convergence contact numbers and specific events and daily lunch table areas; gum or mints to use for all those Networking conversations; a 'host-city' special gift (perhaps something to take home to the spouse or just to remember the event by); and then ask our Premier ISV Partners if they want to add to the package by either helping to sponsor the event or to provide some customer give-a-ways. These partners will in turn have their booth number and product info supplied to the customer (and possibly led to the booth by us while walking the Expo). Whether you invite the partners to the event is directly contingent upon space of venue and reminder to be 'low-key' in selling their product during the event.
  • Microsoft Key Contacts: We invite our Microsoft contacts to our event and make sure the customers know this is just a chance to Network with Microsoft, and let them develop a relationship with them. We know the value of having the customer feel they have a personal connection to Microsoft!
  • HAVE FUN! As I mentioned in the "reception" section, we usually have give-a-ways which involve easy questions that all participants can answer, plus also some 'freebies' for the customers. But we also make a short speech to let the customers know how excited we are that they are there; persevere to make sure each customer is involved in some sort of dialogue with us during the evening (and match the appropriate consultants); and have even been known to have a Disk Jocky, a caricature artist, or other performer make a surprise appearance during our event.

Above all, make sure the customer will perceive that you have pre-planned your event and had them in mind when you created the atmosphere and appreciation affair.

See you in Houston!

Collins Computing- Convergence 2012 Partner Advisory Council Member