Guest Contribution by Thomas Davey, Content Manager at Eventtia

There’s a massive emphasis on event marketing to attract new customers but what about your current customers, don’t they deserve some tender loving care too? After all of the effort that you’ve put into to turn your leads and prospects into paying customers, it’s too easy to allocate all of your efforts into the other areas of the funnel or just to forget about them altogether.

Yet, customer retention is usually a lot faster and costs a lot less than acquiring new customers. After all, when you think about it, you have already done the hard part by putting your customers through the funnel.

Customer retention is a faster and more effective way of growing revenue and the good news is that at this stage customers should already be a big advocate of your brand. But it’s down to you to keep this momentum going and doing this requires you to create a set of initiatives that increase customer value, encourage further purchases, and promote your company as a brand ambassador.

Experiential marketing, through events, plays a big part in this process of keeping your customers engaged with your brand. The aim of the game here is to create special experiences that keep your customers coming back for more.

And the evidence of how effective it can be speaks for itself. A recent report from Marketo found that “Events offer high levels of engagement with customers, which helps to retain and grow the customer base and allows marketers to realize a bigger ROI.” Whilst the same study showed that “95% of business professionals say face-to-face meetings are essential for nurturing and retaining long-term business relationships.”

Evidently, events can play a massive part in creating happy customers. So, without further ado, we’ve drawn up five ways that you can leverage event marketing so that you can retain your customers and give them that much needed tender loving care.

Exclusive access to new products

Launching a new product is a big deal so it’s only natural that it generates a buzz. After all, it’s the first opportunity to showcase your product to the world. It’s the result of all the hard work that you’ve put in and it’s down to you to show it in all its glory. The exclusivity of these events shows that you’re willing to invest in your customers and that you genuinely value them.

This goes a long way in showing trust and how reliant you are on them to expand and improve. Customers should be encapsulated by this and providing that the event is a success you will have a loyal group of advocates vouching for your company.

Analyze ways to improve your product or service

Brand events are an incredible platform for listening to your potential attendees and understanding their real needs. So how about your existent clients? Do you think you know everything about their challenges? Are you sure that your products or services provide high value? Or maybe your current clients have developed a new series of problems and questions that you could tackle and solve?

Strengthen brand loyalty by showing your current clients your care and interest in going further and understanding their ongoing issues. Take good advantage of gathering your current clients at your event and talk to them about the ways you could improve your products and services.

Invite VIP speakers and offer your guests the opportunity to network with them

Have you asked your customers why they attended your event? The answer is going to be the speakers, who are always the major pull factor for attendees. For this reason, VIP speakers and business leaders are an event’s hottest commodity and it’s vital that you utilize this to its full potential.

A great way of doing this is to provide your customers with the opportunity to network with VIP speakers. This can either be at an event with a special session dedicated to your customers, or it can be an event designed specifically for your customers. For example, if your business is developing digital products for beginning startups, during your brand event, you could plan a B2B matchmaking session between your loyal clients and potential investors.

This gives customers the opportunity to get insights from industry experts and leaders something that is often difficult to organize or very costly to do. By doing so, you’ll show your commitment toward your clients’ success as well as highlight your intention to accompany them on their path of growth.

Provide exclusive brand elements

Leading on from the last point, you can also offer exclusive brand elements such as helicopter trips, dune car racing, or banquets. This is a real opportunity to surprise and delight your customers with a unique experience. Remember to add a few elements of surprise. Everyone likes getting unexpected gifts. And it’s these little surprises like in-room gifts and personalized experiences that leave a long-lasting impression on your customers.

This is a great time to spoil your customers and show you how much you value them. These exclusive brand elements should be something completely unexpected and should really show how much you value them as a client.

Set up a social program exclusively for your current clients

How about incentivizing your attendees? Invite your existing clients to a cocktail party, an exclusive guided tour, or a unique concert. Show them your loyalty and appreciation and make them feel special. Plan your event around their brand perception and think about ways in which you could supply a truly extraordinary experience.

By doing so, you’ll encourage them to associate your brand with positive memories and enthusiastic feelings. This hint of exclusivity will not only show your allegiance toward your present clients but will also encourage their sense of empowerment (and maybe pride) to be part of this restricted group.

Key Takeaways

• If you are truly serious about your business, you must never forget about your existing clients. Strengthen brand loyalty by tailoring your events to their needs and continuously adding real value to their professional or personal lives.
• Customer retention is a great way to generate revenue without having to go through the lengthy process of churning leads through the marketing funnel.
• The best way to do this is to create a set of initiatives that increases customer value, encourages further purchases, and promote your company as a brand ambassador.
• Experiential marketing is king when it comes to creating special experiences that keep your customers wanting to come back for more.
• You can do this by providing special access to new products or by offering exclusive VIP brand elements. Just remember to keep it special and show how much you value your customers.