How to Convert Your Banquet Hall Space into Full Occupancy.
If you’re looking to grow your events business, whether in a hotel banquet hall or another event space, our team at fluidmeet recommends the following creative ways to improve and grow your event space in Dubai & Abu Dhabi.
Return Calls Straight Away; Be Customer-Centric
If you get an inquiry and you take too long to get back to them, then this leaves a tepid impression. It simply means that you don’t care enough about the client. It’s discouraging and off-putting for customers when they call a business, leave a voicemail or message, and don’t get a callback or even receive a follow-up call. Failing to receive a callback makes them feel the company doesn’t value them as a customer, and they may decide to do business elsewhere. It doesn’t stop just there; when you return a call, be sincere and apologetic about your lack of availability to the customer because it goes a long way if you’re genuine. A customer-centric approach can add value to your company by enabling you to differentiate yourself from competitors who do not offer the same experience. This is one of the most important ways to get people through the doors and increase your banquet sales.
Get Your Venue Space Photographed Professionally
If you can illustrate what your event space offers that others can’t, through clear photos, then customers can see your event space features. Make sure to take pictures with the event space filled with people, so that customers can visualize their event there – although it’s also good practice to take empty venue photos.
Capitalize on that unique banquet hall event benefits and run with it.
Invite Your Potential Lead For a Tour of Your Event Space and Make Them Feel Special
The minute your potential lead contacts you, it’s all about that awesome customer service experience. Invite your client to your venue and ensure that your event space venue exceeds the clients’ expectations. This is an opportunity for you to understand the client and get to know their specific needs. When you understand your client, you make them feel special. Everyone likes to feel special, so why not offer your client something unique to encourage them to book their banquet in your space? One way that you can do so is by allowing your clients to have access to your VIP section, or offer them an early bird discount if they book before a certain date, or even an extra space filled with special decorations that can be incorporated into their events if they desire.
Show Off With Your Menu for Catered Events
Whether your private event space offers food in-house or you work with outside suppliers and caterers, make sure to clarify this to your customers. If you are a restaurant looking to hold an event, be sure to include samples of your past special event menus on your website. Why not even invite them to a taster session? If you work with outside caterers or have a preferred caterers list, consider linking to their menus or sites so they can get a clear idea of the type of catering offered. Prospects almost always ask about food options when they tour venues, so having this information easily accessible will make the booking process that much faster, and will help lock the customer into your banquet hall.
Go After Your Past Clients and Stay in Top of Mind
Repeat business is always the easiest (and smartest) way to boost your banquet sales. One way of doing this is by sending past customers who booked with you at a certain time last year, an email and see if they’d like to start a tradition by doing the same again this year. Why not even offer your past clients an incentive, say, free photographic coverage or free social media coverage, or a free meal, so that they see your service at an ‘above exceptional’ l level. This way, you have established a strong relationship with the client, who will have no desire to try another banquet hall space. All of this can be done through fluidmeet.
Work on Your Negotiation Skills and Prepare Clear FAQs
In a nutshell, it’s always good practice to have a set of FAQs ready. You can even send a very clear email to avoid frustration and anxiety to your potential client, letting them know that you have already thought of all the ins and outs of hosting an event. For example; what if it gets too hot? How do you accommodate this if it is an outdoor event? Can you change the menu to meet my needs? I only want a vegetarian menu! What’s the cancellation policy? Does your venue accommodate live entertainment? Are there parking facilities? What’s included in the rental fee? And the clearer you are, the better chances you will have to get close to your sale. Make sure to train all staff members about the venue deliverables and go to the extent of having a mystery shopper come in to assess your staff’s quality of service and product knowledge.
Make The Booking Process Simple For Clients – List Your Event Space and Banquet Hall on fluidmeet
The easier it is for someone to book an event at your venue, the more likely you are to close the deal. fluidmeet is a platform that lists event spaces in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and plays a vital role in increasing banquet sales. fluidmeet strives for efficiency, which is a huge benefit for clients and banqueting managers alike. From the client’s perspective, they love how simplistic and user-friendly fluidmeet is. It is simple for banqueting managers to list their event space, send and receive proposals, make payments, and communicate with clients — all in one platform.
“Planning an event can be a daunting task,” Jareer Oweimrin, Co-Founder of fluidmeet explains, “so it’s nice that, with our event listing platform, fluidmeet, we get to make this process easy for the client.”
fluidmeet allows users to book everything from meeting rooms to banquet halls to co-working spaces to serviced offices.
