I LOVE my job! Working in the hospitality industry all of my life in one form or another has allowed me to indulge in my love of people. I love learning what makes people tick, what they like and don’t like, what they would love to be able to do and what they would do if there were no restrictions, financial or otherwise. I thrive on finding an opportunity to spoil them by giving them something they would not give themselves. This whole experience rests on the backbone of developing relationships. Learning about each other and then working with each other leads to respect, caring and protectiveness. We support each other and ultimately become a team. Together we deliver a product or more importantly, an experience that is unique, rich and stands apart from the normal. In short, we care about others and are invested in ensuring that their experience is superior. Translate that motivation to the conference experience, and the result is that our clients, working together with us, deliver a superior member benefit that ultimately ensures retention is protected and new members are attracted.

But what has happened to relationships and customer service? If you’ve been in the business for any length of time, you’ll know right away what I’m referring to. There’s been an erosion of relationships, personal touch, interaction, and service. Our challenge as conference planners is to rekindle that desire for relationship and service that our technology driven world has so clearly impacted in a negative way.

Over the next few articles, we’ll explore what’s happened and what our challenge is today:  to re-energize and bring life back to developing relationships; which ultimately help to produce the event experience that stays with you long after the conference is over.