This article comes from Dave Hansen’s talk, ‘Dress for the occasion: Leveraging the right events for the right goals’, at our 2023 Las Vegas Customer Marketing Summit, check out the full discussion here.
Developing meaningful relationships with customers requires thoughtful, tailored experiences. But with so many event formats and types, how do you determine the right approach?
Today we’ll explore seven relationship-building event types for marketers. You’ll learn the distinct purpose and best practices for each one - from intimate interviews to large user conferences.
Armed with these insights, you can intentionally “dress for the occasion” by matching events to desired outcomes and avoid wasting time and resources on misaligned activities.
So, let’s get right into examining how to leverage the right events for specific goals like insights, research, and customer acquisition.
- Why are customer relationships more essential than ever?
- One-on-one customer interviews
- Client advisory boards
- Customer roundtables
- Customer focus groups
- Customer meetups & events
- Customer awards programs
- Customer user conferences
- Key takeaways
Why are customer relationships more essential than ever?
First, it’s worth emphasizing why customer trust and loyalty continue to gain importance.
According to Salesforce research, 88% of people say trust expands in value during changing times. But only 52% of customers currently trust companies in general.
Salesforce recommends several strategies to build trust: transparent communication, responsible data practices, treating people as humans rather than transactions, cultivating relationships beyond the sale, and proactively resolving issues.
While many of us already implement these daily, it underscores why creating meaningful customer experiences is more vital than ever. Thoughtful relationship-building events play a pivotal role.
Let’s explore how to select the right activities for your goals and resources and the purpose, costs, format, and best practices for each one.
One-on-one customer interviews
One-on-one interviews involve in-depth, conversational discussions between two people – you and the interviewee. Avoid straightforward Q&As.
🎯 Purpose
One-on-one interviews enable personal connections and insights from individual customers.
The flexible format provides opportunities to gather feedback on products, messaging, and concepts; understand needs, pain points, and goals; build rapport by listening; and clarify responses in real-time.
The intimate yet informal nature encourages customers to share honest opinions and experiences that surveys or focus groups may not uncover.
💡 Cost, format & best practices
The main cost is your time. But the qualitative insights justify the investment. Keep interviews to 30-60 minutes to respect customers' time. Let the dialogue flow naturally with some guiding questions. Ask open-ended questions to draw out stories.
Provide context upfront on goals and confidentiality. Take thorough notes and share for review. Follow up to show appreciation and address additional questions. Combine interviews with NPS surveys to maximize value.
At LRN, I spend most of my week in one-on-one customer interviews. They deliver invaluable insights compared to large forums.
For example, I regularly conduct informal “how are things going?” interviews to check in and nurture relationships.
🤝 Who to involve
The only participants are you and the interviewee. Occasionally include a colleague like someone from product marketing. But keep groups intimate.
Client advisory boards
Client advisory boards (CABs) are recurring councils of 12-15 clients who advise on offerings and industry needs. They provide structured guidance over time.
🎯 Purpose
Well-run CABs enable regular Voice of Customer insights from diverse clients; incorporate clients into product/program development; build lasting relationships through dialogue; and demonstrate customer-centricity from the top down.
💡 Cost, format & best practices
Costs range based on goals and activities. Virtual boards can meet regularly with minimal cost. More extensive in-person councils require greater resources. Dedicated staff time is essential for recruitment, planning, facilitation, and follow-ups.
To maximize value, define the purpose tied to business goals and limit to 2-3 objectives. Recruit engaged members representing customer segments. Meet regularly but limit sessions to 2 hours. Focus agendas on dialogue rather than presentations.
Circulate notes, share outcomes, and continue conversations between meetings. Annually revisit the purpose and reconstitute the CAB as needed. Within guidelines, give members special perks for their time and guidance.
🤝 Who to involve
Include a mix of customers, internal leaders related to the goals, and facilitators who handle planning, facilitation, notes, and follow-ups.
With the proper members and facilitation, CABs enable invaluable two-way communication with customers.
Customer roundtables
Roundtables convene 12-15 carefully selected people for informal but topic-focused discussions led by a facilitator. They reveal detailed insights from customers.
🎯 Purpose
Well-executed roundtables explore attitudes, opinions, and ideas about specific products, issues, and approaches. They uncover deeper insights through peer-to-peer conversations.
Roundtables also share thought leadership and provide a forum for customers to interact.
💡 Cost, format & best practices
Roundtables require several hours of internal facilitator time plus any tools or incentives. Their informal nature makes them affordable. Limit sessions to 90 minutes to prevent fatigue. Carefully select interested participants and provide discussion guides in advance.
Set ground rules upfront encouraging candor and equal participation. Follow up with notes, actions, and relationship nurturing. The conversational format produces nuanced qualitative feedback.
For example, LRN recently held a roundtable on enhancing training with data. The lively dialogue generated actionable insights.
🤝 Who to involve
The moderator guides discussion and takes notes. Customers are carefully selected. Observers listen in real-time behind the scenes.
With proper preparation and facilitation, roundtables efficiently provide qualitative customer perspectives.
Customer focus groups
Focus groups convene 6-10 customers for 1-2 hour moderated discussions focused on defined research objectives to gain precise, actionable insights.
🎯 Purpose
Well-run focus groups obtain qualitative feedback about concepts, messaging, products, and more. They evaluate tactical elements like UX designs, content, and campaigns.
Focus groups collect different perspectives efficiently and provide insights pre- and post-launch to optimize offerings.
💡 Cost, format & best practices
There are several costs: A professional moderator, recruiting/incentives, and possibly facilities/catering. The specialized format also limits group sizes and sessions.
To get credible results, hire an experienced moderator and provide discussion guides. Pick a narrow objective set.
Carefully recruit participants based on criteria and incentivize them sufficiently. Avoid company staff in sessions to prevent bias. Debrief with the moderator to interpret findings.
For example, we’ve effectively held focus groups at conferences by bringing specialized third-party moderators and participants onsite.
🤝 Who to involve
The moderator is a skilled, neutral third-party expert. Participants are 6-10 target customers fitting recruiting criteria. Observers are typically project team members behind the one-way mirror.
With rigorous planning and moderation, focus groups generate objective qualitative insights.
Customer meetups & events
Meetups are informal social gatherings aimed primarily at relationship development rather than research/education. They cultivate community through memorable interactions.
🎯 Purpose
Meetups facilitate casual networking with customers. They strengthen bonds through experiences and introduce customers to each other to spark connections.
Meetups show appreciation via exclusive events and generate affinity for your brand through shared experiences. Even if they don't directly drive revenue, meetups provide crucial engagement and loyalty.
💡 Cost, format & best practices
Meetups have higher costs than roundtables/interviews given their scale, production needs, and swag. But they don't require specialized facilities/staff. Successful meetups occur regularly with creative venues, activities, cuisine, and takeaways. They encourage open networking rather than rigid agendas.
Feature senior leaders to demonstrate commitment and prioritize relationship development over transactions. Blend online and in-person elements to extend reach.
For example, LRN hosts happy hours, dinners, and virtual gatherings for New York City-area clients to facilitate organic community building.
🤝 Who to involve
A cross-functional internal team designs and produces the event.
There are enough customer invitees to achieve critical mass while enabling conversations. Sufficient staff welcomes, engages with, and supports customers.
Customer awards programs
Awards programs recognize and celebrate customer success stories, validating customers and collecting testimonials.
🎯 Purpose
Effective awards programs spotlight standout customers and achievements. They obtain powerful success stories to promote, strengthen relationships through recognition, motivate future stories, and produce assets like case studies for sales enablement.
Public awards make customers feel valued while generating marketing assets.
💡 Cost, format & best practices
Main costs include software/services, staff time, prizes, fulfillment, and possibly an event. Substantial coordination is required over months unlike small events.
For maximum impact, heavily promote awards and make applying easy.
Categorize awards by initiatives like innovation, transformation, ROI, etc. Incorporate both executive judges and customer/peer voting. Combine awards event with a conference or gala. Feature winners prominently across channels. Repurpose award entries into collateral.
Since LRN lacks an internal program, I nominate deserving clients for external industry awards to provide similar benefits.
🤝 Who to involve
Customers participate as nominators and nominees. Staff manage the program, judging, events, and communications. Partners can co-promote and co-judge.
Well-executed awards programs recognize exceptional customers while generating powerful marketing assets.
Customer user conferences
User conferences are large multi-day events bringing together hundreds of customers. They represent the pinnacle of relationship-building at scale.
🎯 Purpose
At their best, user conferences build camaraderie through shared experiences. They generate product ideas by engaging customers directly and gather instant feedback via crowdsourced tools/focus groups.
Conferences inspire customers by revealing vision/roadmaps and energize employees by connecting them with customers.
💡 Cost, format & best practices
Major costs include venue, catering, A/V, production, speaker fees, staff travel/time, signage/apps/swag, and more. Most companies only justify these massive investments every 1-2 years given the undertaking.
Successful conferences incorporate marquee keynotes, diverse breakouts, real-time engagement tools, lead-gen opportunities, dedicated advisory boards/focus groups, and receptions/activities that facilitate connections.
In the past, I’ve helped organize major events like Adobe Summit and Marketo Nation using these elements to create memorable, high-value experiences.
🤝 Who to involve
Conferences require company-wide coordination including a cross-functional program team, speakers, attendees across all roles, and various vendors.
With extensive planning and resources, user conferences become legendary – remembered by customers for years.
Key takeaways
To summarize, here are some key pointers when planning relationship-building events:
First, match events to strategic goals. Connect one-on-ones and roundtables to insights, focus groups to research, meetups to engagement, and so on.
Also, blend online and in-person experiences to combine convenience and impact. Leverage existing industry conferences or regional meetups to engage customers cost-effectively.
Make it about customers by prioritizing their needs and interests rather than selling. Plan rigorously but let conversations flow organically.
Experiment across various formats to determine what works best for your audience. Follow up consistently to extend the value.
And express genuine appreciation to customer participants through gifts, donations, or contributions in their name.
Most importantly, apply the right event format for each occasion to deliver value to your customers and community!
