Event Planning Research- Part 2 -Clients

This is the second of a ten part post– Event Planning Research- Clients

When speaking about clients throughout this blog series I am referring to the people that hire, want, commission, conscript or just plain ask you to organize an event for them. They could be family members, neighbors, bosses, children, charities, coworkers, customers, guests, religious establishments, communities, entertainers and politicians. For the sake of simplicity, they are all going to be understood as clients here. With that said, who are they?

I have always found listening to clients at the first sit down to be the most valuable aspect of research. This may sound elementary, but event planners tend to have out-going, talkative personalities. Sometimes their ideas explode into words too fast. Attentive listening and copious amounts of note taking on the first meeting is essential to understanding their vision, and making it yours. Too many times event coordinators verbally steam-roll over their clients wishes instead of gathering important information first. A couple of things may happen if you do. The client, bombarded by rapid suggestions may initially agree with you, but then rescind later when systems are already in place. That will cause you to undo the work and planning, and that costs money. Or they may feel too pushed and push back by taking total control of the situation, because you don’t appear to value their roll in the process. If that happens you’ll get micromanaged to death and that makes for a lousy atmosphere, if they hire you at all.

This first communication is too important for emails and phone calls. The emails and such can follow, but it’s best to air all expectations on the table, less guessing and assuming. Additionally, this engagement doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The level of emotional involvement has a profound effect on clients. There is no substitute for a face to face. Clients want to see that you care and understand their vision. Also, you ascertain an unprecedented amount of insight by meeting in person. What they wear, how they carry themselves, their manner of speech, facial expressions. Both consciously and subconsciously you’ll relate to one another in a much more reliable and forthright way.

Make sure you know who is funding the event. Not all clients that you sit with are in control of the money. This would be a good question to ask during the initial meeting. On numerous occasions I have been caught in the cross fire of billing and planning. This can be dangerous waters if the two have a disconnect. Tread very lightly when posing this question and even lighter when you ask to copy them in. Be very sensitive to egos and levels of participation. This is a judgement call.

Use social media and the web for research. If it is a company, read there website inside and out. You’ll learn about their values and purpose. Check out Twitter and Facebook for individuals or families. You can gather much helpful knowledge from their updates and photos. This could be a good ice breaker if you have some interconnection or random interest that may never have come up otherwise. It’s really good detective work and can help drum up some ideas.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       I mention client research first becuase you don’t know what ideas and resources you’ll utilize until you have a perfect understanding as to what the client needs. Start at the home or office and write down as many questions you can think of before hand. No scenario is to bizarre, and then go over them with like minded people or colleagues. This question list will be a work in progress for the rest of your career. Keep an open mind to all the possibilities and don’t procrastinate on any pending issues. The vision of your event must be mapped out way ahead of time so problem resolutions have a sporting chance to work. It’s all about systems and time-lining after that.

What have I forgotten about client research? Any helpful hints for understanding your clients better? Write back I would love to discuss them.