Case Study: 8 ways VenueNow’s top venues book so many events

What are the top venues in the VenueNow marketplace doing to attract customers, book more events and maintain solid relationships with our community of over 75,000 event planners? Today we take a look at Campari House, Woolshed Melbourne and Rokeby100 and how they're booking so many VenueNiw events.  And you know what? A lot of it is just about communication.

Aside from being complete listings filled with beautiful and informative content, these venues absolutely kill it post-enquiry. Communication is key to locking down the details and ensuring you book more events for your venue. 

Basically, you don't have to be the sleekest, biggest, or most impressive venue to book the most events.

Respond quickly

Our marketplace superstars respond within 40 hours of receiving an initial enquiry. Some as quickly as within the hour. By responding quickly, you’re letting the customer know that you’re eager to work with them, and in the customer’s eyes, it’s a good sign of things to come.

If it's a simple event, send over a function pack, an indicative spend, and a brief outline of what it takes to book the space.

It’s true though, sometimes you won’t know if the venue is available, or if you can accommodate the customer’s unique request straight away, but you should at least establish initial contact within 40 hours. It could be as simple as sending the customer a message to confirm that you’ve received their booking and will work on a proposal to present as soon as possible.

Perhaps try the following:

Hi there,

Thanks so much for your interest in booking our function space for your 30th birthday. We’re excited to be working with you!

I’ll work on a proposal for you, which I’ll send tomorrow.

In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Use a positive tone

Events are fun! Start the conversation on the right foot with a personable tone to let the customer know that you’re eager to make their experience positive and filled with fun. At the same time, keep it to the point.

Take Campari House as an example, a marketplace superstar who always respond with a positive tone:

Hi_,

Thank you for your interest in Campari House for your upcoming Christmas Party.

Campari House is available on your preferred date and, based on the supplied event brief, I believe it would be a perfect venue to host this event! Our level 1 Guest room is available.  

We would love to have you visit Campari House in person to take in the venue's character and function facilities. Please let me know when is best suited for you.

Please find attached a copy of our current functions package for your perusal and I'll be in contact shortly to discuss in more detail. The minimum spend is $2500.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Amp up the tone of your messages to communicate enthusiasm and let the customer know that there is a real deal human with personality on the other end of the line.    

Received a booking request, or have a customer that seems ready to book? Send a quote.

Chances are, you've spotted the new 'Send a quote' feature in VenueNow. With a click, you'll be able to send a customer an event quote via VenueNow Manager. Input an event cost, a message to the customer, and a deposit amount required to book, and the customer will be able to pay directly via VenueNow – with no processing fees for you, the venue.

In other words, the customer will immediately receive a deposit payment link. If they're keen to book your venue after receiving a quote, they can pay it with just a click! Simple as that.

It's an immediately actionable request, with a quick and immediate response sent back to the customer. This feature is something we've built to further speed up the booking process, by streamlining and making sure it's all in one spot for the customer. And we repeat: there are no card processing fees for venues.

You can respond to any enquiry with a quote. And if you've received a booking request, sending a quote is definitely the way to respond.

Why? Booking requests are like a VenueNow enquiry on crack. These customers are pretty much ready to book – they've committed to a minimum spend, they've detailed their plan for food and drinks and, in many cases, they've provided their credit card details. They're ready.

In these cases, there's no use beating around the bush and starting a long-winded conversation. Send them a quote, specify the deposit amount required, and wait to see whether they accept, or if they want a change. By all means follow up with a call or message, but we recommend getting the show on the road.

Booking requests look like this:

Use message templates

Whether you’re receiving 10 enquiries a week or a few a month, message templates will save you loads of time, and ensure that your messaging to customers is consistent.

You can choose to use the pre-existing templates in VenueNow Manager, or create your own to add to the system. Remember, those merge fields instantly populate your message with customer details – and you can always edit a template to further personalise your message.

 

Follow-up with a call

What’s that old saying? If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Book more events through VenueNow by remembering to always follow up your initial message with a call. 

Customers booking through VenueNow are often time-poor, which means they'll send enquiries to at least three venues at any one time. This means if you’re not particularly attentive, or if your follow-up happens weeks after your initial contact, your message may slip through the cracks and your venue will be forgotten.  

Give the customer a quick call to check in, or send a simple follow-up message. Super Venue Woolshed Melbourne recently sent the following follow-up message to a customer:

Hi __,

Just checking in to see if you are still interested in the Woolshed as a potential event venue?

Let me know if there is anything I can help you with, or if you have found an alternative venue.

Be succinct

Venues often fall into the trap of responding to a simple, direct customer request with a full-blown history of the venue, or a detailed explanation of all their function spaces. Succinct, clear messaging will help you book more events and ensure that the customer remains engaged throughout the process.

There is a very fine line between providing customers with the right information, and providing them with way too much. Stick to the point in your messages and don’t scoot around a direct question.

Take a look at the examples below.  The first response below highlights a common mistake – especially considering customers provide their budget and often their preferred space in their enquiry. The second example provides you with a guide for how to respond with a succinct message.

What NOT to do: 

Customer:

I want to make a booking. Please contact me via VenueNow or phone to confirm your availability and minimum spend. 

Venue:

Hi there,

We’d love to host your 21st birthday party!

For your preferred date and attendee numbers, we have a few spaces available that would be perfect for your event. The function space is also available.

Hidden behind the lobby, our exclusive function space is an impressive open-plan space perfectly fusing the building's historic aspects with contemporary design.  Our function space boasts 8 metre high ceilings, exposed brick walls, sweeping views of the city, and a 18 metre long brass bar that draws focus to a vast marble centerpiece shaped like a tiger, honouring the building's jungle past. The greenery-filled courtyard off the northern side of the room is a perfect escape for smokers in your group. This room is both magnificent and yet comfortable.

What is your budget? Our venue is very flexible so I can create a tailored package for you.

What to do:

Venue:

Hi there,

We’d love to host your 21st birthday party!

At this stage, our exclusive function space is available for your preferred date. For a December date, the minimum spend for this space is $8000, to be spent on food and drinks from our function menus (attached). If you are unable to meet this minimum spend on the night, a room hire fee of $1500 will apply.

Would you like to set up a bar tab, or select a beverage package for your guests?  Let me know what you would prefer and we can work on a plan together.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Provide attachments

Customers want to be able to curate their party experience, so it’s important to arm them with as much information as possible at the first point of contact. This is where attachments rein supreme.

Do you have a function package, floor plans, drink menus and a price list for extra theming or AV facilities? Attach any relevant material for the customer in your initial message, or better still, send a quote with a sample menu and appropriate floor plan. Relevant is the key word here. If the customer is enquiring for a 21st birthday party and they want a bar tab plus some platters, don’t send them every attachment that you’ve ever created, simply send your individually priced drink and platter menus.

Super Venue, Rokeby100 have seven attachments but they only ever attach the most relevant ones in messages to customers.

Provide options and alternatives

The customer wants a party, and you want to host them, right? If your venue isn’t available for the customer’s preferred date, don’t write them off straight away. Provide an alternative date and minimum spends, and lots of options for customers to ensure you have the best chance of booking their event.

Clear, polite, concise communication will do wonders for your venue’s reputation, and it’ll ensure that the customer’s venue booking process is painless and efficient.

Whether you’re a hospitality all-rounder running a small business or a sales manager for a large function venue, our stats are clear: venues who respond quickly, follow-up with customers and attend to unique customer requests book more events with VenueNow.