The big event went off without a hitch. When you saw the client smiling from ear to ear, you knew you nailed it. But you want more than a pat on the shoulder. You want your triumph to lead to gobs of event referrals. In this article, we pour over all the ways NYC event planners can use one successful event to open the floodgates to a stream of new clients.
Give Your Clients Killer Swag
Invest in a few high-quality pieces of logoed swag. Save these items to give to event clients who are especially happy with your services. Tailor the gifted items to the type of event you planned.
For example, give a newly married couple a pair of “Mr. and Mrs.” coffee mugs that tastefully feature your business name. Or give a mom-to-be an organic cotton baby beanie, resplendent with your logo, which the little cherub can wear while cruising in the stroller.
Killer swag — that your clients will actually love and use — is an emotionally positive way to stay at the top of their minds. That way, when a friend is looking to plan a baby shower or wedding, your name naturally comes up.
Encourage Your Event Clients to Connect With You on Social Media
Most of us don’t see our friends and family nearly as much as we would like to. Social media has become the stand-in for phone calls, coffee meetups, and other ways we used to connect before we got so gosh-darned busy. You can insert yourself into these more tenuous ties by connecting with your clients on social media.
Once you’re connected on social media, sharing your content or tagging your event planning business becomes a painless way for your existing clients to refer your services to others. Great event hashtags are a great place to start to inspire social sharing and tagging.
Tag Your Clients on Social Media With Event Photos
You don’t have to wait for your happy clients to interact with you on social media before sharing the great work you’ve done for them. You can tag your event clients in a post featuring pictures of your outstanding event. Also, you can pull this off without being intrusive by writing a heartfelt thank you within the post. Your clients, still glowing from the success of the event, will likely comment with a positive testimonial for you, which all their friends will see.
Send a Thank You Card and a QR Code That Makes Leaving a Review Easy
You can turn every successful event into a glowing review by sending a thank you card that includes a handy QR code that takes users to the online review site of your choice.
Believe it or not, there are some poor souls who have never attended an event that benefited from the creative whimsy of a professional event planner. Imagine drab events planned by amateurs and overflowing with red solo cups and plain potato salad.
Perhaps most troubling is the mass of people who dream of putting on their own posh affairs but have no one in their circle to turn to for a recommendation. At-risk party hosts can turn to online reviews to find the best NYC event planners.
Luckily, online reviews are as powerful as personal referrals. According to BrightLocal, half of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust their loved ones’ recommendations.
Implement an Event Referrals Program
A wedding leads to a baby shower that leads to birthday parties and bar mitzvahs. Happy clients will have plenty of reasons to dial your number in the future. Give these repeat clients an incentive to send their friends your way with an event referrals program.
A referral program is a marketing strategy that incentivizes customers to recommend your event planning services to their friends and family. When the referred friend signs on and becomes a new client, then you “reward” the referring client with things like discounts or perks.
Partner With a Vendor
That uber-successful wedding was helped along by a host of vendors, from the photographer to the bakery whose artful cake stole the show. You can bet your bottom event dollar that those vendors are creating a marketing plan to cash in on the event’s success. Why not join forces?
Create a reciprocal event referrals strategy with vendors you’ve worked with in the past. First, invest time to forge a genuine relationship with event vendors whose work you admire. Then, create a mutually beneficial referral program.
Feature Your Successful Event Business at The Event Planner Expo 2025
Trade shows are a top way to gather leads and find new clients. They’re a great strategy for making connections with potential clients by talking to them face-to-face. Give potential clients an opportunity to see what you’re capable of by creating marketing materials that feature your most successful events. Use high-quality posters, client testimonials, and even videos to showcase your best work.
The Event Planner Expo is New York’s premiere event planning trade show that draws thousands of attendees every year. In addition to connecting with quality leads, you can also learn from the event industry leaders through dozens of top speaker presentations. Don’t miss out on New York’s most important event industry expo. Reserve your booth today.