- An Introduction to Staying ConnectedLesson 10:46
- Why is Staying Connected So Important?Lesson 21:24
- Retention vs. LoyaltyLesson 31:20
- NewslettersLesson 44:03
- Why Use Social Media?Lesson 51:32
- How to Use Social MediaLesson 63:10
- Create Personalized LettersLesson 71:57
- Client Appreciation EventsLesson 83:58
- Next StepsLesson 91:04
Client Appreciation Events
Want to get to know your clients even more? Hold client appreciation events and get ready to make connections!
The other methods we’ve mentioned are great ways to stay in touch.
Holding an event can take the relationships you’ve already fostered through newsletters, social media, mail, and other efforts, and turn them into face-to-face interactions.
With the potential of plus ones as referrals.
First, make sure the event is something that the majority of your clients would want to participate in.
Think ice cream social, a BBQ picnic at a local park, not something super specific and niche, like underwater basket-weaving.
You can even use your newsletter or social media accounts to send out a poll and gauge interest from your clients!
It’s a great way to find out what times and places work best, even what types of events the majority of clients would be interested in.
If your budget allows, think about hosting multiple events throughout the year to target different interests.
You could hold a bowling night, bingo night, attend a local sporting event, host a movie night, there are so many different ideas and interests to choose from!
That being said though, there are a few considerations to keep in mind!
First, as we mentioned earlier, allow for plus ones, and plus twos, threes, or fours.
Make sure the invitation is open so your clients can bring friends and family members!
They’re much more likely to attend, and you’ll have a better chance of meeting potential new prospects!
Make sure you have business cards on hand if people ask, especially with prospects attending!
Just remember that the focus should be on appreciating your current clients.
Remember, don’t try to pitch or sell.
It’s not the place for it.
And it will make the appreciation event feel more like a sales or marketing event, and that ruins the whole purpose of having your clients see you in a more friendly, human way.
And just a quick compliance note here, in case you’re wondering, removing intent to draw a beneficiary’s attention to a plan or influence their decision making process is what keeps a client appreciation event classified as “communication” instead of being classified as “marketing.”
And that’s according to the CMS Medicare Advantage & Part D Communication Requirements.
When an event is considered to be classified as “communication” meals are excluded as a nominal gift, but any other gifts or drawings must still fall under fifteen dollars per expected attendee.
So, for example, the cost of food to go along with watching a baseball game together is fine, but you can’t give away a gold-plated baseball.
But you could give every attendee a squishy baseball with your logo on it that you bought in bulk for 2.59 each.
Now let’s talk invitations.
You can send those out in a couple of ways, through your newsletters, personal letters, on social media, but we recommend adding a personal phone call to your event marketing.
Phone calls go a long way towards boosting attendance at these kinds of events.
If you’ve never held a client appreciation event, you might be apprehensive about holding one.
If you’re worried about the event being a success, start out small with more personal appreciation events that don’t require large attendance or high cost.
You don’t have to rent out a movie theatre for your first customer appreciation event!
Start small, and once you’ve seen that you have the interest and engagement from your clients, you can grow your events and feel more confident that your time spent planning will pay off!
