How to achieve a successful on-site visit for your client and WIN the business!
As a creative agency who value client satisfaction with upmost importance, we wanted to share a few tips on how we ace an on-site visit, achieving the ultimate collaboration between client, venue and Genero! 🤝
On-site visits are the final review before making a decision, they are the critical part of a client’s venue selection process and one that the venue will want to ensure is carried out effectively.
A productive on-site visit can help clients…
Enhance attendees experience
Plan the logistics of the event space
Experience the level of service that they can expect
Boost their own confidence in finding the right venue for the event
We have organised a lot of on-site visits for clients at venues over the years, and have experienced every level of ‘how to’ and ‘how not to’ organise an on-site visit. It has been a total eye-opener seeing how venues react to this golden opportunity to win an event for their venue. It is obvious that the venues that succeeded were the venues that put effort into the planning prior to their client arriving for the site visit.
We may be stating the obvious here, but some venues often seem to miss the obvious, so here is what we have learned:
Read your client’s brief carefully- remember it is ALL in the detail.
Select only the venues that match your client’s requirements – it is a total on-site visit ‘killer’ to waste your client’s time by showing them venues that clearly cannot accommodate their requirements.
Send out an event schedule to all partners who are included in the on-site visit – get all venues onside as to how important this ‘event’ is – for them as much as it is for you. Show the importance of it by treating the on-site visit with as much thought and consideration that you would to a client’s event. Plan where to go for coffee ☕, lunch, etc, in order to showcase the area they are considering. It is as much about the destination as it is the venue! How is the client being transported from the airport/train station – can you arrange a car for them to be collected? Think of all the touch points that matter.
Contact all partners just prior to the on-site visit to ensure everyone is on board with times confirmed and what is expected of them.
Make sure that the venue contact is there to welcome you and your client when you arrive – first impressions!
Ensure that the venue contact is the relevant person 🙋. They must be knowledgeable and able to answer client’s questions (e.g. height of room, where are sockets etc).
Make sure the venue has prepared the private rooms/conference rooms that the venue has proposed to the client. There is nothing worse than for a client to arrive at a venue and there is no preparation in order! This has been the singular most common reason that a client’s on-site visit fails – it leaves the client feeling that their business is not welcomed and valued.
The conference rooms should practically sell themselves! Curtains open/lights on/smelling fresh/carpets clean/furniture not broken etc.
Ensure accommodation is allocated for the on-site visit. The on-site visit is wasted if clients arrive to find out that the hotel is fully booked and they are unable to view the rooms.
After a full day on-site visit, ask if your client would prefer to have a hosted dinner, or just be allowed to retreat back to their hotel – a full day together can be tiring for both parties!
Your client will feel so well looked after that even the bigger oopsies of the on-site visit will be ignored! 🎉
Finally, FOLLOW UP! Make a call the following day to get that all-important feedback and to nail that contract.
In summary, it is all in the planning, the planning, the planning. Make sure all partners involved in your site visit are briefed effectively and those quick ‘check’ calls making sure venues are ready to welcome you are an absolute must.
If our top tips have inspired you to work with us, then please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team:
📧 Email: info@genero-group.co.uk
☎️ Telephone: 01446740043
Instagram: @generogroup
Facebook: @GeneroGroup
LinkedIn: Genero Group
Twitter: @GeneroGroup