A well-organized client appreciation event can help you build deeper relationships with clients and increase referrals.

When you hold an appreciation event for all of your clients, it shows you care about them beyond their portfolio, says Laura Curtis Ferrera, head of marketing and communications with Macquarie Canada Banking and Financial Services Group in Toronto. Meanwhile, smaller events for top clients create an opportunity for referrals.

Here are three ways you can organize better client appreciation events:

1. Make it a family event
For a general appreciation event, invite clients and their children.

Look for activities with mass appeal, Curtis Ferrera says, and a low cost per person. Invite everyone to a movie, rent a skating rink for the afternoon or a buy a box at a lower-cost sporting event such as a minor-league hockey game.

When inviting clients, include information about the event, says Curtis Ferrera. For example, if you’re going to a movie, do some research on a site such as commonsense.com to find out about adult content and violence. That way, you can help parents decide whether the event is age-appropriate for their children.

2. Give the red carpet treatment
For events aimed at smaller groups of top clients, pay attention to details and do a little extra.

Consider dinner at high-end restaurants, big shows such as those performed by Cirque de Soleil and niche events such as film festival screenings and jazz concerts.

Hire a car service to whisk clients to and from a restaurant, says Curtis Ferrera. Being chauffeured offers a feeling of indulgence, and it shows clients how highly you regard them.

For theatre events, buy VIP tickets if they’re available, she says. Cirque de Soleil, for example, offers a promotion called Tapis Rouge, that lets guests mingle in a VIP tent with cocktails before the show. Not only does it add a pleasant touch to the evening, it also provides more time for you to chat with your clients.

Another option is to choose events that speak to your niche. For example if you cater to people in the entertainment industry buy a ticket to the Juno awards pre-party.

Says Ferrera: “It says you’re an insider in an industry that they already operate in.”

Similarly, if your top clients are information technology professionals, find out if you can link your event with a technology trade show or exhibition; if they’re airline pilots, investigate holding an event at an aeronautical museum.

3. Time it right
Get a good turnout by scheduling the event during a traditionally slow time of year.

Curtis Ferrera suggests holding events early in the year, between January and early March. This period falls after the Christmas rush but before March break, when many families go on vacation.

Next: How to hold smaller, referral-generating events

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