If you’re a financial advisor, then one of the many ways to build a long-term clientele is to show appreciation. And, one way to show appreciation to your clients is by hosting client appreciation events.
As a Coach for Financial Advisors since 2004, I have been a big advocate for client events. Previously I have written this blog post about 5 Client Appreciation Events That Create Engagement and also How Financial Advisors Can Get Clients to Bring Friends to Client Appreciation Events. This blog post, however, is different! This is not your grandpa’s list of traditional event ideas. We have to get creative in order to bust out of the Covid dream we’ve been having the past year!!
Until a year ago, hosting financial advisor-client events used to be a straightforward and effortless process. However, the on-going pandemic has changed the way we manage or host events. The increased need for health safety requires financial advisors to get creative with their event ideas. It calls for hosting events so that social distancing practices are exercised comprehensively, clients feel safe, and the host achieves his/her objectives.
If you’re a financial advisor and looking for event ideas that are completely safe and adhere to the social distancing practices, then read this guide. I have tried my best to list the top 20 financial advisor-client event ideas during COVID. So without further ado, let’s get started!
Financial Advisor-Client Event Ideas during Covid – Social Distancing Style
If you have been stumped on how to host your financial advisor client event without neglecting the health safety guidelines, check out the ideas presented here.
Remember to adhere to the health safety regulations your government has imposed on businesses.
1. Reverse Drop-by party
Typically, drop-by parties, like Open Houses, have guests coming to the event location for a party, sometimes with a giveaway presented by their financial advisor. Considering health and safety regulations, you may not be able to host such a type of client-appreciation event in a typical way. Therefore, we need to tweak the idea.
You can set up a table in your front office entryway or any open space suitable for a drop-by party. Dedicate a specific block of time to your event and request your clients to come on time. You can hand out small gifts or giveaways to your clients that’ll be useful to them. Consider giving BBQ kits, summer fun bundles, backyard games, or anything that can be useful depending on the current weather conditions. This is one of the best and effective ways to build a good relationship with your clients. You can have a good time, discuss the important things while enjoying at the same time.
2. Social Distancing Portrait
While in quarantine or lockdown, a majority of people have not been taking photos or capturing moments in their lives. Take this as an opportunity and idea to appreciate your clients by offering them a chance to do a portrait or photo of themselves.
Create a list of your clients and contact them to let them know that you’re arranging a different kind of client appreciation event this year.
Hire a photographer with equipment capable of capturing portraits or family photos. Clients can come to your office or the photographer’s studio to capture their portraits or family photos.
You can have these portraits framed or just give them a soft copy of their photos. Instead of hosting a typical advisor-client event, social distancing portraits make a great idea considering COVID-19.
3. Free Coffee Hour
Now that it’s more difficult to host a typical client appreciation event, it doesn’t mean you should cancel this year’s event. If restaurants or coffee places in your area are allowed to conduct business, then you can arrange a free coffee hour or something similar for your clients.
All you need to do is get in touch with a local coffee shop and ask them to dedicate an hour to serve coffee or a meal/snack to your clients. You can invite your clients to come to the coffee shop and pick up a cup of coffee as part of your client appreciation event. Ask the coffee shop to have several varieties of coffee, some available to go, or ready for pick up, so your clients don’t have to wait.
Be present at the coffee place to welcome and greet your guests from the coffee shop to pick up coffee.
4. Personalized Gratitude Video Message
While it’s not extravagant, an impactful idea is to send a gratitude video. The meaning behind a gratitude video is what makes it special. All you need to do is record a personalized gratitude video message for your clients.
You can address the client’s unique characteristics, experience or reflect on a conversation you had. You can talk about how you felt working with them and share an instance you recall the most.
You can do one gratitude video and send it to all clients. Or you can do a specific video for each client.
For a customized video, ensure that you record a personalized message for each client. Send the video to each client using your CRM or any other way you feel suitable. The great thing about gratitude videos is that it can be for about anything at any time. It helps you show an even deeper appreciation for those who invest in you and your business.
A email video service my clients have successfully used is Boom Boom. See here for their website.
5. Outdoor Yoga
Considering the health crisis and need for staying in the best of your physical condition, outdoor yoga can be one of the best advisor-client event ideas. This event idea can provide a breath of fresh air.
Your clients would love doing yoga in an open area with freshness and serenity in the surrounding. You can contact a local yoga studio to help you arrange an outdoor yoga event for your clients.
Such an event will refresh your clients and improve their physical & mental health, and they’ll feel appreciated.
6. Host a Story Icebreaker
This financial advisor client event idea is for an in person event perhaps best utilized after the vaccine has been distributed. When arranging such an event pre-vaccine, make sure to follow the health guidelines. It requires guests to share a short story about themselves and it involves using markers, cards, and other such supplies, therefore wearing masks and using hand-sanitization should be adopted.
All you need to do is keep markers and index cards in a basket. Ask your guests to write a story about themselves that others do not know. Once done, they can keep the cards back in the basket.
Other guests will come up one by one, pick a card from the basket, and read out the story mentioned on the card. It’ll create a fun and engaging atmosphere.
7. Back To School Supplies Drive
It’s always a great idea to do something for underprivileged communities. If you’re planning to host a financial advisor client event without creating a mingling environment, then consider hosting a back to school supplies drive.
With schools reopening in many places, children will go back to school. Considering the massive layoff because of the on-going pandemic, many parents may not be able to afford essential items that school-going children need. You can arrange a back to school supplies drive to collect school supplies, clothes, and other education-related things that children need.
You can invite your clients to your office to drop off the supplies and enjoy a cup of coffee at your place or either visit each client’s house to collect supplies yourself.
8. Virtual Fundraising Event
One of the most common types of advisor client event ideas is fundraising events, where people donate funds for a certain cause. Considering the on-going pandemic and its outcomes, a fundraising event can be a great way to host this year’s advisor-client event.
You can dedicate your event to raise funds for a specific cause. You don’t need to host your fundraising event in a typical way. The ideal way to host your event during COVID-19 is to host it virtually.
You can use online streaming or video conferencing mode of a video calling application to host your virtual fundraising event. It’ll allow you to communicate and appreciate your clients and help you collect funds for a good cause.
Apart from money, you can collect food items, clothes, and books for needy people.
9. Drive-In Movie
In these interesting times, everyone appreciates a bit of fun. If you’re looking for advisor client event idea during COVID-19, consider setting up a drive-in movie theater.
You can host a family-friendly movie on a projector in a parking lot or rent out a drive in theater in your community. Drive in movies have come back into style due to Covid and can make for a novel event. Your clients can drive up at the location and enjoy the movie without stepping out of their vehicles. Serve popcorn and drinks and deliver straight to clients’ cars, ensuring safety measures are being observed.
10. Ice Cream Party
I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream!
Often, financial advisors host events without ice cream, which is a missed opportunity because everybody loves ice cream. With summer just around the corner, you can consider hosting an ice cream social distancing party. All you need to do is rent an ice cream truck, park it outside your office, and give your guests ice cream.
They don’t need to come out of their cars as well. They can enjoy the ice cream while sitting in the car. Welcome and greet your guests yourself and hire someone to present ice cream to them. Make sure to follow social distancing rules.
11. Local Food Trucks
If you want to host an outdoor event in an open space, consider hosting a fun food event. You can call in favorite local food trucks to your office parking lot, have clients park nearby, and serve food to your clients in their cars.
Call in trucks depending on whether you want to host a lunch, dinner, or dessert. With this type of idea, you save a lot of time setting up the place and cleaning up space after leaving the party.
Make sure to practice social distancing and wear masks. You can use chalk to mark six feet distance so guests can maintain a safe distance easily. Make sure the trucks are parked at safe distances from each other so crowds can be avoided.
12. Cooking Lessons
One unexpected benefit that this pandemic has given is that people have spent time reconnecting to their hobbies and interests. Cooking is one of the most common hobbies. Those who love cooking and eating new dishes tried to sharpen their cooking skills while following stay-at-home orders.
Giving cooking lessons to your clients as part of your advisor client event can be a great idea. Understandably, you can’t invite them to your house or a place because of the health safety risks. But you can host a virtual cooking class for them. All you need to do is hire a professional chef to give cooking lessons to your clients. Before hosting such an event, you can ask your clients what they want to learn and then give a lesson accordingly. It can be a great way to show appreciation to your clients.
13. Arrange A Virtual Comedy Show Or Concert
Under normal circumstances, such an event is organized at a theater or a comedy club. But given the current situation, you can’t arrange a comedy show or concert for your clients in a typical manner.
If you want to arrange a fun and exciting event for your clients without putting anyone’s health safety at risk, then arrange a virtual comedy show or concert for them. In the current crisis, everyone needs laughter, and arranging a comedy show is the ideal way to do this.
Hire a comedian or local singer and live stream the event for your clients. This will help you garner a strong relationship with your clients.
14. Virtual Health Education
If you want to show appreciation to your clients, then one of the best ways at the moment is to educate them about health safety and how they can protect themselves against COVID-19. You can hire a doctor or give your clients practical guidelines about the best ways to stay fit and healthy during stay-at-home orders.
This can be done by setting up a live streaming event. Allows your clients to ask questions and get the best out of the event. One more thing you can do is send a basket of immune supporting items such as fruits, supplements, etc. Your clients will see it as a special gesture.
15. Host A Virtual Game Show
If you want to keep your advisor client event fun and safe, consider hosting a virtual game show with real prizes. Apart from fun, it’s your perfect chance to show your inner Bob Barker while keeping your clients happy at the same time.
You might think that a virtual game show might be a cheesy idea, but the current situation is helping us see how important it is to step outside our comfort zones to do something fun and exciting for clients. Your clients are most probably already aware of your expertise as a financial advisor, so why not show them your fun side.
You can either keep it a quiz based show or a competition based show. Make sure that the prizes are something people are interested in. Also, make sure that you have solid arrangements to make it an uninterrupted virtual game show evening.
16. Hold an Outdoor Event Picnic-Style
At the moment, everyone wants to breathe in the fresh air and have fun. If you’re planning to arrange an advisor-client event at an outdoor location, then host an outdoor event picnic-style.
Ask your clients to come with their families to an open area where you have arranged everything for them. Considering the health safety risks, you need to ensure that everyone is at a safe distance from each other.
You don’t need to set up tables and chairs. Ask your clients to bring their own blankets, so they don’t have to sit on anything touched by others. Serve them food and let them eat in a picnic-style.
17. Offer A Planting Class
One of the best ways to show love and care for Mother Nature is through getting our hands immersed in the earth by planting flowers and trees. If you want to arrange an advisor-client event in a fun way, consider offering a planting class.
You can hire an expert to teach basic planting skills to your clients. You can use your front yard or a nursery to arrange a planting class. Make sure that you buy all the supplies for your clients. Provide soil, seeds, flowers, and pots to your clients. The expert will give a demo to let them know how to do the plantation and take care of the plants and flowers.
Once done with the class, send your clients on their way so they can practice planting in their houses. Make sure to follow social distancing practices. Set up a table for each client at a distance of six feet from each other.
18. Let The Drones Fly
To make a fun and unusual evening for your clients, arrange a drone flying event for them. Your clients will love exploring the city surroundings from a different perspective. Drone cameras give a beautiful view of surrounding areas.
You can arrange a drone flying event in your front yard or rooftop of your office building or home. You can rent drone cameras from a production company and hire drone pilots to carry out the event.
Make sure that your clients are practicing social distancing and wearing masks. Set up a hand sanitizing station at the location and ask your clients to sanitize their hands before and after the drone flying sessions. The gear must be sanitized as well, both before and after use.
19. Set Up A Photo Booth
If you’re planning to host a advisor client event that gives your clients memories and fun, then host an event with a photo booth. You can find a photo booth by entering this search phrase “photo booth rental” into a search engine.
This type of event is far from ordinary and is definitely out of the box in terms of ideas that are creative. Keep the environment lively with good music and food. Make sure that attendees are staying safe and maintaining a safe distance from each other. Offer a wide range of backdrops and props. This will keep the photo booth stylish and appealing.
20. Host A Mixology Class
I left my favorite client appreciation event idea for last! This is my all-time best-loved event because it’s one of my past times. I love learning how to make unique cocktails!
If you have wine or cocktail lovers, then offer a mixology class to your clients. You can ask your clients about what types of drink they want to learn about.
You can set up tables for each client in an outdoor restaurant. Hire an expert bartender to give a mixology class to attendees. Allow your attendees to ask questions and learn something individually. Once the drinks are ready, your attendees will be enjoying new types of drinks that they have never had before, making the event very memorable.
Make sure that everyone is following social distancing and wearing masks. Keep the utensils of each client separately and sanitize them before and after the use.
Final thoughts
Being a financial advisor, interacting with your clients and showing appreciation is so very important. COVID-19 has forced everyone to change the way we used to do things, and that’s why we need to be creative with your next advisor-client event.
If you’re struggling to find an appropriate way to arrange your next advisor-client event, then consider one of the above ideas. These ideas are fun and safe at the same time. Every idea is presented with health and safety as primary considerations.
Such events are amazing to show your clients that you value them the most while building loyalty. You can also consider further traditional ways, but due to COVID, selecting a different, out of the box, and safe event is the way to go.
To determine whether your clients are comfortable with an idea or not, you can ask them before finalizing your plans. I hope that your next advisor-client event goes well and your clients find your event fun and safe for them.
