The Importance of Cultivating Relationships with Event Partners

As an event planning company, our ultimate goal is to create a stellar event experience for our clients. This amazing level of service is partially a result of which vendors and suppliers we choose to work with.

Event planners work with vendors of all kinds—venues, florists, photographers, musicians, DJs, photo booth operators, car services, rental companies, lighting experts, prop specialists—you name it! Imagine a luxury corporate retreat, product launch party, or wedding. Every aspect of that event is provided by a vendor. It’s our job as event producers to cultivate relationships with top-notch event partners so that we can recommend the right companies to our clients.

Here are some of the key reasons why a successful planner needs to cultivate relationships with event partners:

Accountability Leads to Great Service

According to Entrepreneur.com, relationships with vendors are critical to planning and executing a client’s event. In fact, a misstep by even one less-than-stellar vendor can completely destroy the implementation of a client’s vision. This can impact their perception of the job that I, as the planner, have done in managing their event.

As an event production company, our goal is to establish long-term relationships with consistent, reliable vendors and suppliers. If we can’t count on them to provide excellent service every time, they don’t make our A-list. Working with the same excellent vendors repeatedly helps us to hone our skills as planners and ensures consistency when it comes to the level of service we provide clients.

Great Relationships Promote Growth

Excellent relationships with vendors help to lend credibility to the event planner, as well. Perhaps a client has started planning for their corporate retreat by contacting a highly respected venue, rather than calling a planner first. If the venue is one we’ve often worked with, they’re likely to point the client in our direction when it comes time to find a planner. Since the venue is well-known and well-thought of, their recommendation makes us, as the planner, look great by extension! This sort of mutual respect only further enhances the client experience—both parties have wonderful motivation to work hard and keep clients happy!

Along the same lines, having a great relationship with an event planner can be great exposure for a vendor. At Savvy, we make our expectations clear from the start. If vendors provide excellent service and execute our client’s vision appropriately, we won’t hesitate to recommend them to future clients. This can lead to client referrals for vendors and positive outcomes for their businesses. If they also liked working with us, we can also benefit from new clients and business growth. It’s a win-win!

Vendor Availability is Critical

According to Holly Jacoby of Eventplanning.com, the biggest hurdle faced by an event planner is often the availability of their event partners. If you only have experience working with one florist, and that florist is booked on the date of your client’s event, you’re out of luck! If the caterer you’ve worked with in the past doesn’t have the staff to accommodate your client’s guests, you won’t be able to work with them for the event. Having a backup plan is critical.

Popular event partner companies book far in advance, so a good planner will have a vendor list containing several vetted partners for each category. The planner will be familiar with that company’s capabilities and skillset, and can, therefore, be comfortable suggesting the vendor for a client’s event.

Having multiple vendors that are pre-vetted is also important when it comes to finding the right partner for each event, says Jacoby. No two events are alike, but an excellent planner can understand the requirements of their client and recommend vendors accordingly.

This also comes into play when a last-minute need arises. If I have a good relationship with a vendor, they are much more likely to go above and beyond to help us out!

Overall, strong relationships with event partners benefit those companies, the event planner, and, most importantly, the client. Cultivating trust and a good rapport with event partners over time leads to higher-quality service and, ultimately, an even better event. We’re fortunate to work with some of the best event partners in the business and look forward to sharing our highly vetted vendor and supplier team with our clients as we all work towards making their event a success. Get in touch to learn how Savvy and our event partners can help with your next event. 

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