When it comes to creating an exceptional guest experience at your facility, success begins internally—rising or falling on the practices of your staff. As Ungerboeck Software looks forward to the future landscape of events, they discuss best practices to empower staff and elevate the experience of attendees as a result.
Venturing back into the world of onsite events is becoming a reality for many event planners. As stadiums and arenas reopen and welcome fans back, the overall guest experience has become even more important. Perhaps more than ever, there is a laser-focus on creating exceptional in-person experiences and maximizing fan engagement. This is crucial if we are to remind attendees of the value of onsite events, versus an online alternative.
However, the guest experience begins long before they arrive to your facility. It begins internally, with your staff—the “home team” behind it all. How efficiently and easily they pull together the moving parts and details required to successfully deliver an event has a direct impact on those who show up at show time. Conversely, if event professionals stumble over obstacles as a result of complicated and disjointed processes, the event delivery may be rushed, haphazard, and leave little headspace for staff members to focus their efforts on an exceptional fan experience.
If you’ve ever been waited upon by a server who is clearly overwhelmed and stressed, how did that impact your dining experience? Did it put you more at ease or less at ease? The effects of your facilities internal circumstances and practices can be felt on a subconscious level, and this is especially the case in smaller spaces, such as VIP suites.
One of the most effective ways to improve the experience of an event for staff and guests alike is to implement cohesive, multi-dimensional technology that marries public-facing and internal-facing features into one intuitive platform. While clients or suite-owners enjoy the ease of a one-stop shop for ordering, communication, payments, and account management, a truly valuable system will simultaneously allow venue staff to breathe easier as it handles the heavy-lifting of those requests. The process of booking, contracting, detailing, delivery, and event changes can quickly compound into a mass of stressful responsibilities for event professionals without an investment in the proper application to manage them.
In addition to investment in the proper technology, new incentives and ways to promote your event space are crucial ingredients for building positive client regard. One example of an incentive that also serves to elevate a guest’s experience is a customer loyalty program. After a successful event, asking for feedback and offering incentives in exchange not only builds loyalty, but also secures repeated bookings as you implement the constructive feedback. Some organizations have also found success in promoting special package deals during slower months. If your bookings tend to slow down in the winter, for example, offering winter party packages to attract more business could mitigate a drop in revenue for that particular season.
As we close the book on 2021 and look forward to the future landscape of events, venue managers will need to continue their creativity and resourcefulness to encourage a full come-back of onsite attendance. When it comes to creating an exceptional experience at your facility, success starts from the inside-out. When your staff feels empowered by strategic tools and streamlined practices, an elevated client experience will follow suit.