From One-Off Event to Multi-Year Contract: Securing Repeat MICE Business

Turn a Successful Event into a Long-Term Revenue Opportunity

A successful event should be much more than just that. For hotels, conferences, and MICE teams, it can mark the start of a long-lasting relationship with the client. When a company event, a conference, or an incentive program proves to be a success, the sales team has an opportunity to secure additional business from this client.

However, repeat MICE business does not usually come without a fight. It is necessary to maintain regular communication, have an understanding of what clients need in the future, and have an account management strategy. Thus, every event can serve as the basis for a new deal and even a multi-year contract.

Understand What Drives Repeat MICE Business

Repeat MICE business not only requires having a good event but also confidence on the part of the clients that the venue can provide the same level of services and value every time. The ability to maintain good communication and coordination, provision of appropriate event rooms, good catering, and flexibility contribute to the choice of venue made by the meeting planners. Price is important, but it is not the decisive factor in most cases.

In addition, sales representatives should be aware of the needs of their clients in terms of achieving certain goals of the company. For instance, the client who organizes annual conferences needs reliable technology, comfortable accommodation, and uniform service standards. Other companies that organize frequent training sessions prefer a flexible room layout and an easy booking process.

Evaluate the Client Experience After Every Event

The relationship does not come to an end at the conclusion of the event. A proper review allows the sales team to gauge what went well and what could be improved, and whether the client will come back again. Make contact with the meeting planner shortly after the event takes place while the experience is still fresh. Inquire about service quality, communication, catering, facilities, budgetary management, and whether the event accomplished its intended goals.

Feedback also provides an opportunity to solve any issues before they can negatively impact your future bookings. If the client had issues such as delays, unexpected charges, and technical issues, address this matter and assure them that you will do what it takes to rectify the problem. Do not make the feedback process a mundane procedure. Record the results and provide pertinent information to your operational team. This will encourage the clients to return for another event at the same facility.

Build a Proactive Account Management Strategy

Getting recurring business is possible only through continuous account management, not sporadic communication of follow-up messages. The sales representatives have to document the customer's history of events, desired dates for holding these events, required room layout and size, desired menu and food requirements, budget, contacts, etc. This will ensure personalized treatment for your client, as you will not have to ask them about the same requirements again and again.

The proactive account management plan should also include the times and ways of contacting clients. For instance, if you organize a yearly conference, it may require early discussions about possible dates and budgets. For customers having regular corporate meetings, you should have monthly planning calls with them. You should consider the time of communication based on the client's booking schedule and the type of business they do, but not just because you want to sell more.

Identify Opportunities for the Next Booking

An executed event offers good information about what would be required from the client in the future. The sales representative must take the opportunity offered by the post-event discussion to learn about the upcoming conferences, annual meets, seminars, incentive trips, and other corporate gatherings. This could help identify certain recurring needs that may not have even been considered during the initial stage of booking.

In order to identify the opportunities, one needs to understand the event calendar of the client. If there is a leadership meeting arranged every year by the organization, the sales representative could offer suggestions regarding the dates for next year, before the client considers searching for another place to hold the same event. If there are any departmental meets conducted by the client, the same place can host them too. Such steps would enable one to turn the process of booking into account opportunities. However, the suggestions must not go beyond the relevant requirements of the client.

Turn Repeat Bookings into a Multi-Year Contract

Where there is an ongoing history of the client regularly scheduling repeat events at the venue, then there may be benefits to each party in putting together a multi-year agreement. This is because the client benefits from greater planning certainty, favorable commercial agreements, and a dependable service provider, while the venue gains better demand visibility, stronger account management, and more effective resource planning. However, a multi-year agreement will only have merit when there are matching interests between the recurring requirements of the client and the commercial needs of the venue.

Start with analyzing past booking history of the client and future needs in terms of number of events being hosted, required dates, and other considerations. Put forward a realistic proposition based on the actual relationship rather than assumptions regarding future demands. In a multi-year agreement, you will outline various aspects such as pricing, booking window, level of service to be provided, payment methods, cancellation clause, and performance reviews in case of volatile demand and operating expenses. Finally, your sales team should articulate the value of a multi-year agreement properly.

Demonstrate Value Beyond Price

Satisfied customers will still be comparing venues for their future events. In order to win repeat MICE business, sales professionals need to show the client that it makes good business sense to continue working together, rather than just offering discounts. Knowing the client's needs can save time in the planning process, ensure smoother coordination, and help the venue anticipate potential issues. Good service and clear communication will make organizing future events easier.

These points should be related to the client's priorities. If the meeting planner appreciates effective coordination, highlight the benefits of using already established processes and documented preferences in the booking process. If budget certainty is a priority, highlight the clear pricing structure and inclusions. Whenever possible, offer special packages or additional services, which add to the experience without lowering the basic fee.

Measure Account Health and Repeat Business Performance

It is necessary for MICE sales specialists to determine the efficiency of account management in terms of success. Some measures that can be used in this situation are repeat booking rate, revenues from accounts, number of events, booking intervals, multi-year contract renewal, and account profitability.

This way, it will be possible to determine which relationships grow and which have to be considered. If a customer used to book many events per year but stopped doing it recently, there may be certain reasons why he changed his mind. Sales specialists will be able to clarify what the problem is related to – budget issues, event strategy, service requirements, or something else.

Sales specialists also need to evaluate whether their repeat bookings are profitable or not because it is important. Account reviews will help MICE sales specialists assess their performance, solve problems, and plan the next steps in relationships.

Make Every Successful Event the Start of the Next Opportunity

Obtaining repeat MICE business demands a certain level of account management strategy. Sales staff need to assess the experience of the client, maintain communications, forecast future needs, and show value other than the cost. If the venue knows what the client wants and provides reliable service, this will form the basis for repeat bookings and multi-year contracts.

The best way to start is prior to the current event fading from memory. By collecting feedback, recording the preferences of the client, finding out about future needs, and offering the right long-term solution, MICE sales professionals can transform sporadic events into profitable business. The objective here is not to convince the client to come back. The aim is to become the reliable partner who helps the client achieve their event goals and earn predictable profits for the venue.

Call-to-Action

For anyone that wants any further guidance, ClickAcademy Asia is exactly what you need. Join our class in Singapore and enjoy up to 70% government funding. Our courses are also Skills Future Credit Claimable and UTAP, PSEA and SFEC approved. Find out more information and sign up here. (https://www.clickacademyasia.com/course/mice-revenue-pipeline).