Get to SOLD OUT!

How to Sell Out Your Outdoor Event, Stop Worrying About People Showing Up, & Deliver an Extraordinary Experience

recent posts

    Satisfaction Guaranteed Events

    Event_satisfaction_guarantee
    Does your event come with a satisfaction or money back guarantee?     Whenever I ask event producers the previous question they get agitated and uncomfortable.  The usual response to the guarantee question is “We’d be crazy to offer a money back guarantee, everyone would ask for their money back.” Here is a follow up question . . . "Are you not willing to stand behind the quality of your event?"  A satisfaction guarantee is already built in to your event if an attendee purchased a ticket with a credit card. The consumer has the right to challenge any charges on their credit card. If a consumer feels like your event didn’t deliver on their expectations they can call the credit card company and dispute the charge. If the consumer can prove their case you need to return their money, plus a charge back fee.

    People Always Ask for Their Money Back
    No event has a 100.0% satisfaction rate. Even if you have a stellar event, there are people who will dispute the charges on their credit card.  Last year, I managed online ticket sales for a large event.  Over 7,000 tickets were purchased online for the event.  Of the over 7,000 tickets purchased less than 6 people called the credit card company to dispute the charges.  If people can already ask for their money back, why not just offer a guarantee?

    Event Organizers Already Offering Guarantees
    Guarantees are a great way to decrease someone's objections to making a purchase. I know numerous event organizers who offer a money back guarantee on their seminars, workshops, and events.  The money back guarantee is on events that cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. In one case an event organizer offered a "money back guarantee, plus we pay your travel expenses" on their event. There were 3 people who asked for their money back. Yet with the guarantee in place the same event organizer managed to increase their event revenue by over 50% from year to year.

    Yes, there are people who have asked for their money back. But savvy event organizers still insist on having a satisfaction guarantee. Why?  It makes selling any event significantly easier.  As a consumer, would you be more or less inclined to purchase a ticket for an event of interest if it was backed up with a believable guarantee?

    When planning your event, consider offering a money back guarantee.  It’s one of the easiest ways to increase revenue with little risk (provided you have a high quality event). You can mitigate the risk of refunds by properly executing your event. A strong guarantee tells your target market that you firmly stand behind the quality of your event. The whole idea of a event guarantee is much scarier than it seems. As soon as you do it once and see the results, I doubt you’ll have another event without a guarantee.

    > YOUR OPINION: Leave a Comment on this Post

    Want to get more great info? Check out the articles below:

    Posted in

    6 responses to “Satisfaction Guaranteed Events”

    1. Severe Avatar
      Severe

      I like the idea,as a matter of fact I was already toying with it. In December I have an event and I was thinking about trying this technique; the only thing is my profit margin is not all that large. What I’m trying to say is that It seems risky, this event is going to have about 200 people tops.

      Reply
    2. Loretta Avatar
      Loretta

      OK -I like this idea and I’ve heard it before, but where’s the details????? Everyone who suggests this never furnishes a legal doc example that a business used. This makes it impossible for anyone to FULLY understand and FULLY implement. Give an example or two, with the sample “legal-ese” that other companies have used sucessfully. If you just say “money-back guarantee” and don’t provide details – like every business does – you can open yourself up to a world of trouble. PLEASE provide details, or links where we can read the actual details that others have successfully used.
      MUCH appreciated – thanks!

      Reply
    3. Eugene Loj Avatar
      Eugene Loj

      Loretta,
      Thanks for the comment.
      Since I’m not a lawyer, I can’t give you legal advice. So, here’s my simple non-legal advice / example . . .
      “100% Satisfaction Guarantee – If you aren’t completely blown away at our event, just ask for your money back and we’ll issue you a full refund.”
      It’s important to realize, nobody has a
      100% Satisfaction rate at their event. Are people going to try and scam you with the guarantee, yup! But that’s the cost of doing business.
      Of all the people I know who offer a Money Back Guarantee on their event – NONE of them have ever lost their shirt on the Guarantee. The events price range goes from a few hundred dollars a day all the way up to $10,000 for a five day event . . . all with Money Back Guarantees!
      If an event is as good as its hyped, no event organizer should be afraid to offer participants a money back guarantee. If you’re not willing to offer a guarantee on your event, then it’s not a top notch event.

      Reply
    4. Clifford Avatar
      Clifford

      I concur with Loretta. I promote concerts and would be reluctant to guarantee a money back without some guideline or examples on how other promoters have done this. The concept is not a bad idea, but implementing it and not loosing your shirt by doing it is the issue.

      Reply
    5. Jolene Avatar
      Jolene

      Most of the documents from Eugene are assuming the events charge for pre arranged ticket sales. But in my area and most of my event planning involves free to the public events. Therefore, in the case of a money back guarantee, that would be absurd. Especially when planning an outdoor event when your attendance numbers are dependant upon great weather! The client would decide a random attendance number and then decide to leave the event planner holding the bag if the numbers weren’t there!

      Reply
    6. Ted Lewis Avatar
      Ted Lewis

      I say no, but consider this, the negotiation of either a letter of agreement or a contractual agreement that gives you enough money up front to carry out your negotiated or desired goal(s): however for you taking a chance of putting up the added monies yourself there is a risk involved that entitles you to a bonus which is also negotiated, with the last-out pay for performance. This way it is incumbent on each party to fulfill each of their respective duties duties. You are in a business, where the promise is to provide the best services and productions that your education and skills can offer, you are not a god, you respond to events and situation as they arise and address them with the tools of the trade to give winning solutions that the consumer is the winner and the business sustains a vigorous position in the community and the business world.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply to Ted LewisCancel reply

    Discover more from Get to SOLD OUT!

    Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

    Continue reading