How to Host a Magical Online Event
My friend Tracey and I attended a magical online event this weekend that really blew me away…
A virtual wine tasting(!) with Molesini Wine Club.
Okay, okay. I know that doesn’t sound exotic; everything’s an online event right now. But I’ve gotta tell you: it felt like a transporting, magical online event. The precision and preparedness with which it was conducted, is really something to be admired. It was one of those evenings, where the morning-after, it’s still buzzing in my head and putting a smile on my face. And noooooo, not because I was hungover 😉 It was just a spectacular evening – from the comfort of my own home.
Here’s the issue: we’re all getting zoned out on Zoom calls. But they’re not going anywhere, anytime soon. So as business owners, we need to get creative with our online events and use them to stand out from the crowd. They are opportunities that we cannot waste to create exceptional, omni-channel client experiences.
Here are a few things that Molesini did that really impressed me (and can serve as a checklist for our own online events)…
1. Plan in advance, but not too far in advance.
Back in late May the wine club director Rachel (my new girl crush!) sent an announcement to their mailing list about the event. That was about six weeks ago, which felt like the perfect amount of time. It was far enough out to plan and block out the time but not so far in advance that it’d be forgotten.
2. Give convenient timing options for the audience (even if they’re not so convenient for the host).
If I remember correctly, I believe that they ran this tasting over three days, for two time slots a day. Molesini is based in Italy with a big following in North America. Italy is six hours ahead of our east coast, and eight hours ahead of our west coast. Which means… that poor Marco and Rachel, who were running the show, were hosting us from midnight to 1:30am! (I love my sleep, so that seems crazy to me, haha).
3. Provide something tangible – a true sensory touchpoint – so that your participants can engage on another level.
This is where the omni-channel, multi-sensory aspect to the experience is so key. Like I said, Zoom is necessary and great (thank goodness for it right now!), but it’s kinda becoming a drag. We need another layer to our Zoom experiences to really engage. In this case, there was an obvious and mouth watering solution: wine!
When Molesini sent out the invitation for the tasting, of course it was an invitation to buy the bottles that we’d be tasting and studying together. With this as their sensory tool, they added elements of taste and smell to the event, making it all the more scientifically memorable.
4. Send preparation materials in advance.
Two weeks before the event (alongside receiving the wine shipment, of course), we received a virtual tasting kit, including a tasting note packet, place mat, and complementary recipes to enhance the evening. These were beautiful PDFs + instructions for the eve, that we printed, prepped, and used as an excuse to chat and build excitement for the eve.
5. Make the event interactive.
We were together for 90 minutes, and the evening had a clear agenda. First, Marco gave us a history lesson, weaving us through the heritage of Sicilian wines, which were the focus of the evening. Within the history lesson, the team smartly interspersed photos and a video about the vineyards which had produced the wines we were about to taste.
Then, we moved through the actual tasting of three wines.
And finale, we spent 30-45 minutes on the Q&A. What really jumped out to me during this last part was the engagement. You know… Q&As can be a bit dead and uninspiring. But you could tell that many of the people who spoke up had a personal connection to this Marco, Rachel, and the others, engaging personally, sending out wishes for their next trip to Italy. Everyone was in great spirits, and it really did make you feel like, “I want to be part of that club!”
All in all, we had a beautiful evening – certainly the best eve at home I’ve had in four months. My real point with this wistful recap and checklist of sorts is that if client experience wasn’t your focus before, it MUST be now. With so much separation between each of us, the experience that we intentionally create from afar (or not) will be the defining characteristics that moves our businesses from survive to thrive during this next phase of life and work.
In fact, this is the reason that a year ago, we hired Nancy Cook, who, alongside being a Strategist, is our Director of Client Experience. Delighting our clients is so important to us that it is someone’s job!
If you’re a small business owner who knows you should be doing something to enhance your client experience but you’re not sure what and you want a “brain buddy” to chat about it, please send us an email at letsworktogether@ellevatedoutcomes.com. We’d be delighted to help you brainstorm!
