If you’ve been debating on holding a customer workshop, here’s your sign to make it happen, and we’ve prepared an easy to follow how-to guide to make it successful.
When holding a customer workshop, it is important to make the event stand out to your customers and keep them engaged, which will help to bring them back for the next.
To hold a successful customer workshop, here are a few things you need to consider:
The Venue – Before booking a venue, ask yourself these questions:
- Is there a central location venue available? Central location venues typically bring in more attendees as it is convenient for everyone.
- How many people am I expecting to attend these workshops? Make sure that the venue can accommodate your number of attendees because no one wants to stand or feel left out during the workshop.
- Are hosting supplies available at the venue or will I need to rent out equipment? (ex: chairs, tables, presentation screen, projector, etc.)
The Meal – Before determining your workshop meal, consider:
- Is my event long enough where I will need to provide a complete meal, or will snacks keep attendees content? Hungry attendees will eventually become anxious to head out once the workshop is over rather than generating additional conversation after the workshop has ended.
- What type of meal would get people to attend my workshop? Take this time to really get into your customer’s shoes and determine what you personally would need to offer to attend such an event yourself. People love food. Trust us. Consider putting the menu on your invitation to the event, which could persuade additional attendees to come to your workshop.
The Materials – There are actually quite a few materials that will need to be used during these workshops. Let’s dig in to what is all needed and how to prepare them:
- Invitation – When determining what is all needed on your workshop invitation it is best to keep information in short bullet points where your audience is able to gather the invitation information quickly. Stay away from lengthy sentences in invitations.
- What to add:
- Who (business title) is hosting the workshop
- What the workshop title is
- Where the workshop is going to be located
- When the workshop is going to take place and for how long
- And any additional information you want your attendees to know (menu, etc.)
- We’ve made it simple. Use these invitation templates and all you have to do is add in the workshop/event details! Punchbowl template or Picmonkey template.
- Sales and product sheets may not seem as important to you, but they are very valuable to your audience. Once they get home from the workshop, they may think of multiple questions they’d wished they’d asked, and by sending them home with additional information on your products and services they will have materials to reference or representative information to contact with any questions. What to add: Product information and images, who to contact with questions, frequently asked questions regarding this product, and any additional information you would wish to add.
- A presentation is essential for workshops when showing the “proof” of your products. Yes, you can stand up in front of people and wing your speech, but to get your customers really engaged with your products, you will need to not only show them the benefit of using your products and how they compare to competitors, but also why they should invest in your products. We would suggest using PowerPoint or Google Presentations to design these presentations.
Social Media – Utilizing social media postings are essential when hosting an event or workshop. This will not only give your audience knowledge about the workshop, but will also serve as a reminder to them if they had already received your invitation. Consider either of these social media postings when informing customers about your upcoming workshops:
Join us on [date] from [starting time] to [ending time] at the [workshop location] to learn more about [workshop title]. See you there!
We want your opinion on [workshop title]. Please join us on [date] from [starting time] to [ending time] at the [workshop location] to dive deeper into this topic and cover all you’ll need to know!
Another option for posting your workshop on social media is to create an event where your customers can either accept or decline your invitation instantly.
Wow! We covered a lot of information. We hope you use this information in your upcoming sales season when considering hosting a workshop.
