Delivering a VIP Experience at the Dell Customer Advisory Board.
A customer advisory board is a great way to truly understand customers and find ways improve a company’s product or solution. However, running an effective customer advisory board takes more than cramming a few VIPs into a hotel conference room for a couple days and jotting down the insightful nuggets.
The Challenge
The client asked Forum Group Events and Marketing to produce a boutique, white-glove experience for twenty-five VIP customers. The mandate was to deliver a forum to discuss solutions and gather insights, while also providing attendees with a truly engaging and enjoyable experience.
The Solution
Personalisation of the event experience was key to creating a VIP experience for Advisory Board Council members. This white glove approach started from the invitation process right up to follow up and event follow-up.
How We Made It Happen
Customer Advisory Board members were nominated by the Client’s Account Executives. To streamline this process, an email template was provided so that Account Executives could conveniently forward this email to nominated contacts. This was followed up by our Customer Advisory Board Concierge who would call each nominee after 2 days to answer any questions and follow up.
Registrations were accepted via online registration form or by phone. Once registered, the our Customer Advisory Board Concierge would organise travel and accommodation arrangements to and from the event venue. Meticulous care was taken to ensure the needs of registered guests were accommodated within reason.
Travel was organised with corporate car briefed in to ensure a VIP experience starting from the airport. At the hotel, in-room welcome packs were pre-delivered to their room with personalized letters from the Managing Director.
In order to maintain interest and keep focus, sessions were kept short and sharp with clearly defined objectives. A Blue Ocean Strategy consultant was brought in for several session discussions to delivery insights and moderate discussions on how to create and capture uncontested market space. Throughout this two day event, Customer
Advisory Board members were also had the opportunity to meet have a 30-minute 1-on-1 meeting with the Blue Ocean Strategy Consultant who would chat with them about opportunities within their own business. This proved to be highly regarded by event attendees it also gave them an leverage insights for their own professional growth.
At the end of Day One, dinner was organised a at secret, highly coveted venue. This was to further add to a memorable event experience, with a short appearance from the head chef. The dinner also provided a setting to network with one another, and also provide a relaxed setting to wind down.
The event was scheduled to finish at 3pm to avoid traffic delays Also, feedback from the event was garnered by a follow-up phone call from Event Concierge.
The Results
The event was heralded a great success. Feedback from attendees were extremely positive, with future Customer Advisory Boards held within the region being modelled from our event.