The cookie cutter approach to event production is not okay. Your AV company should be more than customer focused providing the requested materials, they should be customer centric and provide you with even greater value as a partner. Each new event consists of a new audience and new goals and for these reasons, your customer centric AV company should do three things for you: conduct a discovery call, provide equipment and solutions, and be focused on developing a long-term relationship.
Discovery Session
An AV company that requests to have a discovery call with you is a good indicator that you’ve made the right choice. It’s during this discovery process that you and your AV partner will share ideas, begin to understand the message and the overall goal of the event. Your AV partner needs to understand your vision to help you to achieve the optimal return on your investment.
Provide Solutions
Following the very necessary discovery session, your AV partner should be ready to offer solutions. While you may have requested certain equipment, your AV partner may have other options that can better suit your needs or help to elevate your event. The company needs to go beyond selling you what is already in their inventory and should be focused on designing solutions specific to your event.
Long-term Relationship
Throughout the process, your AV partner should be an extension of your team, working seamlessly with you to provide creative collaboration. When you have worked with a company this closely, you have invested yourself in the relationship. Now you have a trusted AV partner that knows how to work with you – they understand company roles, expectations, production and management styles – essentially, you have a team ready to work with you for years to come and is dedicated to growing both your business as well as their own.
While there are a number of capable AV companies, what you ultimately want is an AV partner that goes beyond selling you their services and instead is dedicated to customer-centricity, while offering a deep level of industry experience. A customer centric AV partner goes beyond delivering what is requested of them, they strive for, and achieve a higher level of engagement delivering greater results for your company.