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Rock any party

Module 30

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30. Module 30: Improving the customer base

Table of Contents

30. Module 30: Improving the customer base ............................................................................................................ 1

30.1 Making the Experience Memorable ..................................................................................................... 2

30.2 Impressing the Client .......................................................................................................................... 3

30.3 Keeping It Creative ............................................................................................................................. 7

30.4 Keeping Everyone Happy ................................................................................................................. 10

30.5 Going Above and Beyond for the Client ............................................................................................ 13

30.6 Party Favors that Rock ..................................................................................................................... 15

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30.1 Making the Experience Memorable

Intended Learning Outcomes:

To learn about different ways of impressing your clients

To understand the importance of creativity in your business

To learn about different methods of improving creativity in your business

To understand how to keep clients happy

To learn how to keep guests happy

To learn what it means to go above and beyond for the client

To understand different ways that you can go above and beyond for the client

To learn about great alternatives to traditional party favours

Module Index:

Impressing the Client

Keeping It Creative

Keeping Everyone Happy

Going Above and Beyond for the Client

Party Favours that Rock

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30.2 Impressing the Client

The importance of impressing your client goes without saying. The client begins their first perception of your

business from your first interaction. Whether you meet through your website, social media, through a friend

or through an advertisement, a client will already have a preconceived notion of what your business is.

In order to make your business stand out, you need to begin impressing your client from your first interaction

and finish with your good-bye.

But impressing them does not mean that you need to juggle chainsaws while you cut the cake. Sometimes

little things can go a long way with a client and set you apart from other children’s party planners.

Here are some things you can do to leave a great impression on your clients:

Make Meaningful Small Talk

Small talk is a part of most business interactions. Whether you love it or hate it, small talk is important for

establishing rapport with your customers. Since you work with kids, it is especially important to market

yourself as a personable, kid-friendly business.

However, don’t just ask a long list of standard questions to every client you interact with. Make sure that your

small talk is meaningful. To ask more meaningful questions, you should absorb the information you get and

ask friendly follow up questions.

Meaningful small talk will set you apart from other businesses because you can demonstrate your interest in

the client without taking up a lot their valuable time.

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Send Lightening Responses

Clients love a fast response. No one wants to sit around wondering whether someone has received their email

or if they will get back to them.

If you receive an email, you should respond as quickly as possible to the client with the information they ask

for. If the information they ask for is not available, drop them a quick email to say that you received their

message and that you are working to find a solution for them. Quick communication will go a long away with

a client.

This does not mean that you need to respond to standard emails at midnight. In fact, it is better to avoid this if

the email is just a general enquiry. This will demonstrate that you have a work/life balance and clients like to

see this in small businesses.

Promise to Be Brilliant – Not Perfect

Do not promise to be perfect. It is not possible to be perfect. No one is perfect, not even your competitors.

Instead, make promises to be brilliant. Brilliance is not only achievable but it makes you shine.

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Under Promise and Over-Deliver

In any kind of business, promising a client the world and failing to deliver can result in you losing clients. Not

making good on promises, no matter how over-the-top they were, is bad for business no matter how you look

at it.

Expectations management in one of the greatest tricks you have for creating happy customers. It is hard to

please clients fully if you have promised them that you will throw the best party in birthday party history. The

history of parties is pretty long and you don’t know what kind of expectations you are suggesting when you

make these promises.

Instead, you should under-promise and over-deliver. That does not mean that you should sell yourself short,

just be realistic when you are describing your services to clients. This gives you plenty of room to create one

or more “Wow!” moments for you customers. These moments are even more special if they are not anticipated.

Listen to, Identify and Anticipate Their Needs

One of the biggest things that any customer complains about when dealing with any business is that the

business does not listen to their needs. If you can listen to, identify and even anticipate your client’s needs,

you will impress them a great deal.

Being able to anticipate needs is something that takes practice and it may not happen when you are putting

together your first few parties. However, it is a skill that should be honed with every interaction you have.

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Take Notes

Note taking is a forgotten art. Children’s party planning is an industry that is full of details. If you can catch

the details the first time, this will save everyone time later because no one will have to repeat themselves.

Pay Attention to Detail

The little details can take a party from an average day out to a heart-warming, experience that leaves an

impression on a child and their parents. Paying attention to little details will help you create these experiences.

For example, if a child wants a certain theme, spend some time doing research into the theme if you are

unfamiliar with it.

You may find that there are little pieces of the theme that could really contribute to the party and surprise your

clients with how much you have engaged with their child’s interests!

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30.3 Keeping It Creative

Creativity is the heart and soul of your kids’ party planning business.

But creativity is hard. It takes a lot of work and there are days where even Steven Spielberg does not feel like

he has a creative bone in his body.

Creativity isn’t a totally natural process. Of course, it comes easier to some people than to others; however, it

is a learned skill that can be developed over time.

You cannot force yourself to be creative all the time; however, you can gently encourage your creative side to

come out. Here are some great ways to support your creative side so that you can build bigger and better

children’s birthday parties.

Creativity through Playing

There is a reason that kids love playing so much. Playing is a great way to relax and move into a different

mind-set.

As people grow older and start taking on more responsibilities and more stress, people often turn to leisure

activities that allow them to just switch off in front of the TV or the computer.

Instead, you might try to schedule time to play. Whether you are playing a board game, sports or chasing the

kids, carving out sometime where you actively engage in play time will help you relieve stress, improve brain

function and help boost creativity.

Play time can be incorporated into your business as well! If you have no ideas for games, activities or schedules

for a party, offer to host a just-because-gathering for your friends and their children. Experimentation through

play time is fun for everyone and you can test out your new ideas without the pressure of pleasing a client.

As a children’s party planner, your ability to take part in, understand and facilitate play time will only spill

over into your business both in planning parties and running them.

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Sparking Your Imagination

Most great ideas do not just appear but are sparked by a completely different idea or catalyst.

That spark may feel like a moment of pure brilliance that can never be recreated but that is not true. You just

need import methods of creating these moments of brilliance more regularly.

Brainstorming is one of the best ways to set sparks flying in your mind. A great brainstorm session can lead

to more productive ideas. However, you have to let go of your pre-conceived notions about what is ‘realistic’

to have a truly productive brainstorming session.

For your next brainstorm session, forget about criticizing or analysing any of your ideas. Write down the

wildest things that pop into your head. Whether the craziest thing you think of is a bat mitzvah in space or

adding a fish pond to a party, you may be surprised where your imagination takes you.

Brainstorming gets easier the more you practice. Just like flexing your creative muscle, working on your

brainstorming capabilities will only help free your mind and take full advantage of imagination!

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Giving Yourself Space to Be Creative

How often have you sat down at your computer and decided that you were going to be creative today? How

many of your most creative ideas have come when you’re forced yourself to sit down at your desk? If you’re

like most people, very few creative ideas come from force.

Instead of getting down to business, try to think generally and first distance yourself from the problem you

are trying to solve.

You also need to give yourself space and time to be creative. For many people, creativity comes during periods

where they are relaxed or focused on something else. Some of your best ideas might come when you are

driving, eating, jogging or taking a shower.

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30.4 Keeping Everyone Happy

The first thing that you have to know as a kids’ party planner, as a self-employed person and as a human is

that you can never keep everyone happy, at least not for very long. You could produce the best birthday party

known to man and you will still find someone who hates birthdays.

Almost everyone has gone out of their way in an attempt to keep everyone happy. Most people can attest to

the fact that not only is it impossible to do but it’s also not worth the extortionate amount of energy that you

put into it.

However, as a small business and a creator of special memories, it is important to make the day a generally

happy one, even if there are few moments of cloud cover.

Keeping Parents Happy

Keeping your clients happy is important; but it is important to remember that there will be some clients that

you just cannot please how hard you try.

In general, the best way to keep your clients happy is to listen to what their needs and concerns are. You can

alleviate a whole host of problems and discontent simply by being available to listen.

Whether it’s a birthday party or a huge religious celebration, parents will often feel the pressure to show their

friends, family and neighbors a great time. That is why they hired you! But this pressure can lead to stress that

may be taken out on anyone around them.

It is normal to feel stressed about a big party! It just means that they care about the celebration.

The best way that you can keep parents happy as a party planner is to communicate with them. They might

ask you to confirm something with them every day. This is a reflection of their feelings and not of your

organizational skills. Do them the small service of answering the same question twenty times if they ask it.

Patience, empathy and understanding goes a long way towards keeping clients happy.

Keeping parents happy also means that you need to make promises you can keep and then follow through on

them.

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Why is this so important?

The first reason it is so important is because it is party of running a good business. You cannot make promises

that you cannot accommodate to win business. It will lose you clients faster than it will win you new ones.

The second reason is because you are throwing parties for children. If you promise a parent that you can

arrange for a pony to come to the birthday party, they will tell their children about the pony. If it turns out that

you have no idea where or how to get a pony, this will be very disappointing for the child.

Promises you break have to be explained to children by their parents, not by you. Parents will not appreciate

having to explain disappointing news to their children on your behalf.

Keeping Guests Happy

Keeping a room full of kids happy is no mean feat. You might be ranked as the best kids’ party planner in

your community or even the world but you might still end up with a guest who woke up on the wrong side of

the bed and cannot be pleased.

In difficult cases like these, you need to focus on keeping the group as a whole happy. You can’t stop the party

to accommodate one child who has made it clear that he has only come for the cake.

You should always prioritize the needs of the group as a whole over the needs of a single, grumpy child. Of

course, if the child is disabled in some way, you will need to be more accommodating.

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A great trick for keeping unhappy children content is to keep a spare coloring book or small activity set in

your party kit. You can use this to set up the child on their own to keep them occupied while the rest of the

group gets on with the celebrations.

When it comes to keeping the group happy, a great way to go is not to give them time to become bored,

discontent or cranky. If you keep an exciting schedule that is well run, the kids will be so busy moving from

one station to the next that they won’t have time to become unhappy.

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30.5 Going Above and Beyond for the Client

In today’s market, it is not enough just to meet the client’s needs with good service. Going above and beyond

the client’s needs is a great way to win and keep business.

Going above and beyond does not mean you need to go well out of your way to accommodate every single

client you have. Instead, you should aim to provide above average customer service consistently. All you need

to do is meet and exceed your customers’ expectations.

Going above and beyond for the client is almost entirely dependent on the client’s needs. It does not require

you to spend a huge amount of time or money. Instead, token gestures can help make the client’s day and let

you know that you are there to help them get the party planned.

Even the smallest gestures can mean the world for the client.

For example, if a client calls you distraught because the party is being crashed by sixty uninvited, out-of-town

relatives and they have no idea what to do, you can do something to reassure them besides tell them that you

can rearrange orders and numbers to make the party work.

The first thing that you can do is to add only the necessary extra charges you need to pay your vendors and

make the appropriate alterations. If the client is already upset, a new fee will only make it worse.

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You might also send them a box of chocolates or sweets and include a nice note to console them. You do not

need to have a standing order with Godiva. Even a nice box of candy from a local retailer will reassure your

client that you are thinking of them, that you understand their needs and that you are working hard on their

behalf.

A good rule of thumb to follow is to think about what would make a difference for you if you were in their

position.

If you are struggling to think of ways that you can improve your customer service, do research online to see

how huge corporations can do it. Whether you change the name of your product on the advice of a three year

old or you send out a simple thank you note, a little thoughtfulness goes a long way.

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30.6 Party Favors that Rock

Party favours are a fun part of any party. Whether the guests are adults or children, almost everyone enjoys a

good party favour.

Party favours act like thank you gifts for the guests to thank them for taking the time to attend the party. Their

importance is hotly debated by parents and child psychologists but they can be a lot of fun if you think

creatively.

There are three big rules that govern how you give out great party favours:

#1 Don’t give out things that will end up in the trash within three days

There are many reasons why should avoid giving out small, token gifts at a children’s birthday party. The first

reason is that even if kids love $1 slingshots and rubber balls, they just add to a huge collection of useless

objects that pile up at home. If you live in a community where there’s a classroom birthday party every

weekend, parents won’t be thrilled about another plastic bag filled with cheap toys.

#2 Give out favours that guests can customise themselves

Buying party favours in bulk is a great; however, the older the children attending the party are, the more

impersonal they will feel. Instead, purchase party favours like canvas bags, pillowcases, story books or

anything that can be customized with each individual child’s ideas. This way the kids can enjoy the creative

process of making their own favours rather than just expecting to be given a bag full of toys.

#3 Create memories by giving out mementos rather than favours

Another great idea is to help create memories of the party through the party favours. This gives the child a

chance to bring home a memory by creating a memento rather than a toy.

For example, you might bring a Polaroid camera to your parties and take the children’s pictures. Whether you

set up a photo booth or you’re a great at taking candid photos, a photographic memory is a favour not only for

the kids but for their parents as well!