Lateral Events
How to get the Best Guests
Lateral thinking is the main component to successful events. While corporate hospitality packages have their uses, they will not be special enough to attract the AAA guests. There is very little point in running events targeting your clients or prospect CEOs unless they attend, and they are not likely to attend unless you offer them an event that they would value and appreciate and that is not being offered to them by a myriad of others (your competitors).
The chief difficulty in delivering great events for the “extremely bloody important indeed” category of guests is that they are normally spoiled for choice. Every CEO of note has sat in the best seats, met the legends of the game, and been wined and dined in the process. They have done it all, so the only way you can make their feelings, their experience – and therefore their impression of the event – positive is to apply lashings of original, lateral thought.
You need to understand how to research the lifestyle interests and passions of your high worth customers or prospects, and how to create and deliver events that provide the unique access and “high touch” experiences that will ensure your customers accept invitations. Use this research into your targeted guests to create the perfect forum to get to know your major clients and prospects, form relationships, exchange information and views, understand your client’s preferences, and in all likelihood, form a bond. The information exchange and goodwill is invaluable.