Do Your Customers Know Your Secret Sauce … Do You Know Your Secret Sauce?

These are important questions, that as business leaders, we must all wrestle with as we attempt to grow and emphasize our brand promise.

As Founder of  Global Events and Retreats (GEAR) these questions have been on my mind as I have been working with our team on new services for the company.  During the process we found that we were continuously asking ourselves whether our new offerings were in alignment with our core values and vision. Were they going to bring added value to our existing customers and/or help us expand to new markets? Would they deliver our brand promise? Makes sense, right?

After some debate, we decided to ask our loyal clients what they think is GEAR’s secret sauce? We wanted to better understand how our customers viewed our services.  How are we different from other event planners, experience and retreat planners, conference producers, personal assistants and admins, travel agents and more.  What is unique about what we do and how we do it?

It soon became obvious that our clients already knew the main ingredients of our “sauce.” And were more than happy to share with us. According to them GEAR’S approach:

• Made it easy, seamless and affordable for them to host an event, retreat, conference or meeting locally or globally.
• Enabled them to look like a hero to their clients by providing once in a lifetime experiences that they don’t have access to or would be difficult and time consuming to create and execute.
• Curated impactful experts, speakers, owners, storytellers, venues, vendors and delivered once in a lifetime experiences.
• Reflected we “GET them”. We understood their CEO and/or entrepreneurial rhythm. We GET the flow they need in a retreat, event or meeting and planned and execute to exceed expectations.
• Listened and paid attention to detail. We know the devil is in the details and we listen to the stakeholders prior to and post program to ensure we continually provide the best customer service.
• Anticipated problems and solved them without notice and stress for anyone. We are calm under pressure and always keep a smile on our face, never looking frazzled.
• Came prepared with multiple contingency plans so we are never caught off guard.

As business owners, our secret sauce shouldn’t be a secret. It should be what’s most obvious about our product or service, delivery, branding, and customer experience.  It’s a main ingredient in who we are, what we do and how we do it.  But listening to our customers’ viewpoints and feedback gave us tremendous insights and perspective. As founder I was delighted with the comments; we were doing our jobs well. But I knew there was something more. As the team surveyed our library of retreats, events, conferences and experiences the main ingredient in our secret sauce suddenly became very clear.

It was our connections, and how we strategically mix them into each experience we produce. Our special access connections provide meaningful and memorable experiences for our clients and enable them to achieve their goals.

Our connections include:  inspirational speakers, business leaders, presidents and prime ministers of countries, creatives and experts who personalize each experience and take it over the top delivering actionable learning. Our behind-the-scenes venues, retreat settings and exclusive high-impact activities have created unique environments for people to share inspiring experiences. Our connections have enabled us to produce a rhythmic flow of WOW and AHA moments.

Here’s a great example that comes to mind. After an exciting day in Iceland with 30+ plus CEO’s and their spouses snowmobiling on glaciers and visiting the continental divide, we headed over to the home of the president of Iceland.  We were all surprised by the lack of security and our ability to freely walk into his home. We were invited to explore the home and then all gathered for a reception and over an hour of intimate discussion with the president about the country and its growing impact in world affairs.  Finally, the president took photos and chatted with each person individually. Everyone left with a once in a lifetime experience and story they will remember forever.

Finally, It’s about our connection with our vendors. They are important partners and a good fit with our values and vision.  We trust and respect them, as they help us deliver what we promise: high impact experiences for clients.

I hope the sharing of our journey to identify the special ingredients in our secret sauce inspires you to do the same. Tell us about your secret sauce in the comments below.

We’d love to help you define and share your secret sauce – with an event, retreat, conference or meeting.  You can reach us at 617.905.5691 or email us at csaitz@globaleventsandretreats.com.

Photo by: Through My Eyes Media – www.throughmyeyesmedia.com

Special thanks to Volante Farms -www.volantefarms.com