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Marketing Academy

Module 11: Referrals, Partnerships, Reviews and PR

Most event businesses are built on other people's recommendations. A venue coordinator who mentions your name, a couple who tells their cousin, a five-star review that a nervous parent reads at midnight:…

Most event businesses are built on other people's recommendations. A venue coordinator who mentions your name, a couple who tells their cousin, a five-star review that a nervous parent reads at midnight: these are the marketing channels that cost the least and convert the best, and they are the ones most businesses leave to chance.

This module turns word of mouth into a system. You will learn why referrals behave the way they do in the event industry, how to build a working network with venues and other vendors, how to handle preferred vendor lists and referral fees honestly, how to ask for reviews and answer bad ones, how to use testimonials within the Competition Act and the Ad Standards Code, how to work a room or a wedding show booth, and how to earn coverage from local media. It is written for planners, performers, caterers, venues, photographers, rental companies and anyone else who books events in Ontario.

By the end of this module you can

  • Map where your bookings really come from and set referral targets
  • Build and maintain a reciprocal network of venues and vendors
  • Handle referral fees, preferred lists and endorsements with full disclosure
  • Run a steady, policy-compliant review request and response routine
  • Pitch local media and work trade shows with a clear follow-up plan