I am planning an in person lunch and learn event for customers and would love ideas for motivating customers to travel for in person events. Max distance by car would be an hour. What are some strategies you all have employed to get customers butts in seats for events rather than doing it digitally?
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Hey Jacob, I’m planning something similar in the next 2 months. It helped me to think about “what’s in it for my customers to make them want to join the event”. I’m not don’t yet but I’ll likely position it as a peer discussion, choose a relevant topic and offer networking dinner and drinks after!
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@jacob.welch Depending on budget, you may want to bring in an interactive element to it that could only be done in person, and requires a definitive “Yes” or “No” based on what the activity is.
Just spit-balling here, but maybe you could have a chef come in for a customized meal experience for the group’s Lunch and Learn (perhaps some of it is an interactive demo where participants help make the dishes in some way.)
Another idea is that there could be some kind of nearby (or on-location) activity. I’ve worked at places that had monthly in-office events and some of the ideas were pretty interesting — we had a small orchestra come in and perform, we had a magician do some tricks, we had a barbershop quartet do some singing, and we even had a casino set up with black jack tables, a roulette wheel, and poker.
There are all kinds of things that you may be able to find in your area that would entice people to attend for the added experience. I would say that you can never go wrong with the food angle. The times I’ve had a chef involved in an event, everyone talked about it for a while. Always a slam-dunk.
Not sure what the particular persona would be most interested in, but you could conduct a poll in advance to gauge interest (and showcase some of the options.)
Budget permitting, there could be some fun ideas that could maybe even turn into a recurring series. Like, if you did a Lunch and Learn with a chef each time, you could almost brand it to highlight the interactive element.
In conclusion, think outside the box and imagine what would generate the best word of mouth to make your event the one all the customers want to go to!
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Maybe have a special guest speaker, or some kind of unique VIP tour of HQ (if you’re doing it on-site at your company.)
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