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How Personalization Leads to Client Retention

Here at Tigris, we work in the industry of people. Whether its staffing, marketing, preparing logistics or even quoting on an event, the common thread that we thrive upon is the successful relationship built with the individuals that we work with.

Client Retention is an Essential Component of our Business and a Daily Process

We want those who we work with to have a pleasant experience, and to in turn return to us for their future event needs. This is the cycle of client retention. If you can help enough people get what they want, ultimately you will be able to get what you want – in our case, sales and growth. When clients approach us, often times it is through referrals or web searches for the services we offer. They visit our website or give us a call to inquire about how our services in staffing or management can help them reach their marketing goals. With today’s technology we are able to provide information remotely in various ways. We use email, phone calls, and even in some cases texting to arrange event details and training all across Canada.

Accessibility & Consistency :: Accessibility is one of the crucial factors that allows us to ensure our clients are provided with clear and timely communication. We are able to use the technology available to answer questions, confirm details, or even make last minute changes with ease. In the business of people, things don’t always follow the steps you hope they will at the beginning of the planning.  We must be adaptive and resourceful when it comes to needs of our clients, and effective and timely communication with both our customers and events staff alike, is a critical part of ensuing success and client retention. This is no doubt greatly aided by our ability to use technology to reach our staff quickly to relay information, to check in with them when we can’t personally attend the events, and to make sure that they are able to reach us with any concerns or questions throughout the process of using our services.

Face to Face Interaction :: Another significant way that we build client relationships is through face to face interactions. When we are able to meet with our clients in person, we can get a sense of who they are, their qualities and characteristics, and they are able to assess ours as well. When our clients are able to identify with us in person, the pressure of formality ceases at least a little. We are able to speak more openly about successes, challenges and recommendations, and are able to create a friendly bond.

Recently, we booked a meeting with a few colleague from a local event marketing agency that specializes in the technology sector. In the past few months, we have staffed an experiential marketing event and close to 10 national conferences for this client. While we have been in regular contact with them for 2-3 months, we had never had the chance to meet face to face. When all of us were finally able to carve out some time after the holidays to meet, it was easy to set out goals and expectations in person and as a team vs through rushed phone calls and impersonal emails. We were able to speak in greater detail about the events that had taken place, and gain a greater understanding of how to tailor even better events for this upcoming year. By being personally relate-able to our clients, taking time to sit with them and work through details, we create individual relationships with them and a stronger business connection.

The Fortune is in the Follow Up :: Following up with customers on a regular basis for their feedback is another component of the client retention process. Our business is only as successful as the quality of the events that we offer our clients and the experience that comes from a positive program. To that end, we offer our clients a report that outlines the overall feedback that was received from the staff we’ve booked along with photos for the clients to use for marketing or social media.

After an event is held, we follow up with the clients to discuss in greater detail what went right, and what could be improved upon. Making time to follow up is a priority for us as it allows for mutually beneficial lessons to be learned on everyone’s behalf. Showing our clients that their event is not merely a business transaction, but part of a larger goal of relationship building is of great importance to Tigris. We like to convey to our clients that they are not forgotten, and are certainly valued. For Christmas, we thanked our clients personally through hand written holiday cards and with customized gifts to thank them for their support and loyalty.

At Tigris Head Office, it makes our day to day work so much easier and a lot more fun when we are able to cultivate friendly relationships with our clients. When we are able to get to know the people who make up the companies that we work with and in turn, become better at our jobs and how we provide them with our services. After all, people do business with people they like and people they trust. So, simply put – be likable and be trustable! They are a couple of the secret ingredients to running a successful business.

Client Retention is about not only a Strategy of Successful Marketing, but also a Key Facet of Building Strong Relationships with the People and Companies we Work With.

Tigris celebrated our 10th anniversary in 2014… below are some photos from the party we threw to say thank you to all of our client’s for their continued support. A successful client is a happy client and being able to say we’ve worked with some client’s for as long as we’ve been in business is a true compliment.

For more information on how Tigris can help you with your next event please visit our event planning page or give us a call at 647-286-9392 ! We’d love to hear from you!

Serena Holmes
Serena Holmes
Serena Holmes (formerly Schwab) is the President & CEO of Tigris Incorporated. She is a Broadcast Journalism graduate from Ryerson University. She began working in events in 2000 and started with Tigris as an events staff in 2004, was promoted to management and later accepted partnership. Serena took over operations of the company in 2008. Since that time the roster has tripled and the company continues to grow at a healthy pace. Some keynote clients include Rogers, Motorola, GTAA, CHIN Radio, Appleton Rum and many others. Google PLus Profile:

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