Guest experiences are starting to be more and more part of the event planning stage and rightfully so. For corporate parties to standout to the public and attract their employees to attend, they have to give more of a reason than simply throwing a party. YES simply throwing a party will draw in people. However, the next time you host it, you may have a lower turn out rate. Compare that to stories of other parties their friends may have went to and you are now competing to see who had the better guest experiences.
Attending a company hosted event can activate guests to do two things:
1 – Improve the impression that you have on the general public which in turn increases their probability to buy a product or service from you.
2 – Turns guests into promoters who will go out and inform their network about the experience they had at your party.
So how do you use enhanced guest experiences for your upcoming holiday party theme?
Guest Experiences Example 1:
The holiday season is a great time for giving as more people are nicer during this time of year than any other. Verses giving out gifts that potentially would be thrown away, ask your guests this simple question as they arrive to your event…. “What is one SMALL thing you would like for Christmas?”
While they are enjoying the holiday party, have a team go out and actually purchase these small gifts. As your guests leave, provide them with the small gift that they wished for. Ensure two things happen: 1 They know it’s the gift they asked for a few hours ago. 2 the gift is wrapped to allow them to enjoy the surprise all over again on Christmas day.
This may appear to be a big under-taking. However, with a team at the venue and a team standing by at stores that sell most of the items. It can be done
Christmas Gift
Guest Experiences Example 2:
Things guests can use well past your event reminds them of what brought upon the experience. We all love going out right? At times it can be a hassle driving and finding parking. Have your guests play a game that lets them pick a car service to take them to the next party? Id create a spin the wheel type game that lists companies such as Uber, Lyft, or Curb as the prizes. Have guests use their keys and wherever they land will determine what service they won for a night.
Uber Driver
Conclusion
Give yourself time to consider how creative you can be for your event. It takes just as much time to plan the experience as it does the rest of the event. The outcome you want are your guests sharing their experiences via social media. This allows others to live vicariously through guests and see how unique your company really is.