Case Study: How TrivWorks Exceeds Client Expectations

It’s been a busy week here at TrivWorks, with four corporate trivia events happening – three in New York City, one in Orange County, California. Seeing how I’m located in Los Angeles, I took on hosting the SoCal gig myself. It was a ton of fun as always, held poolside at a 4-star hotel for about 200 people.

When the event wrapped, my client contact came up to me and said, “David, this was SO great – we went in with a certain level of expectation, and you blew it all away!”

Of course I was flattered, but even more than that I was so happy to have not just delivered, but overdelivered. Not to blow my own horn, but this is something that happens often. Particularly for new clients who have never hired me before, there seems to be an unspoken consensus that trivia events are lame. Truth be told, many are. It’s incumbent upon me, then, to prove the critics wrong. I do that by consistently exceeding expectations.

Here’s a brief lesson in how I do it, using the gig I hosted this week as an example. Read on!

Own the Occasion or Theme

I’m often hired a festive, celebratory spirit, meaning the event is celebrating something: a holiday, a milestone, or perhaps some kind of special theme. As a corporate entertainer, once I’m onstage with a microphone in my hand, I become “the guy” – meaning I’m the one who’s the face of the event. I not only represent the client, but I’m the physical embodiment of that theme as well. The audience is taking their cues from me as far as how to act, how to feel, even.

It just so happens that the event I hosted this week had a “yacht rock” theme.

First of all, umm…awesome? How great is yacht rock? For those of you unfamiliar, it’s a loosely-defined music genre consisting of breezy hits from the late 70s and early 80s. However, it’s also a lifestyle, if you will: captain’s hats, open collars, flowing dresses, boat shoes, and clinking glasses full of booze. The entire idea is that it evokes a feeling of relaxation, of carefree vacation aboard the yacht.

I was told that this would be an end-of-day social/networking event following a full morning & afternoon of conferences, and that the goal was for folks to unwind. As such, I was encouraged to “lean into” the theme. And boy, did I ever! Rolling into the gig like a boss, I was sporting my white pants, blue short sleeved collared shirt patterned with anchors, blue & white Sketchers, white-rimmed sunglasses…and a mustache I’d been growing out for a week. The client took one look at me, and doubled over in joy/laughter. I had yacht rock-themed music playing throughout, to further set the mood. Off to a great start!

(For further reading, check out “5 Keys to Successful Conference Socialization & Networking.”)

Arrive Early, Arrive Prepared: Setting Up Equipment & Materials

Back in my pub quiz hosting days, I used to roll in mere minutes before the gig was supposed to begin. And why not? I had everything down pat, knew the format, and all I had to do really was turn on the microphone and go. When people hire a bar quizmaster to host their corporate trivia events, I imagine they’re expecting the same.

Well, that’s not how I do it. My fellow emcees and I arrive at least 30-60 minutes prior to the audience arrival time. Why? Two reasons. For one thing, it’s better to have more time for setup to manage the unexpected. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve arrived onsite, only to find that something – or many things – were inadequate, missing or wrong. In these moments, having extra time to troubleshoot is what you need the most, and it’s entirely within the host’s control to arrive early. Because…

Setting the Client’s Mind at Ease Early is Key

The second reason I always show up early is because it gives the client peace of mind. If you’re hiring me to entertain your colleagues or clients, you want to know that I’m onsite. It’s human nature, people just breathe easier knowing that “the guy” has arrived. I don’t want you stressed; I want you relaxed and happy, so to encourage that I’m going to arrive early.

For my gig this week, I showed up early enough to realize that there was a huge distance between where I could park my car, and where I needed to bring my gear. I brought my “big rig” PA system to this one, so I had a lot of heavy stuff to schlep. Fortunately, since I arrived early I had plenty of time to figure out a solution with the bellhop desk, to get my stuff over to the pool area and set up before guests arrived. My client was truly relieved to see me there and setting up, stress-free. She was also ecstatic that my sound gear was working perfectly (and loudly); apparently, the last time they did this with another vendor, that wasn’t the case. Exceeding expectations!

(I go into this in more detail in another recent article, “What Makes a Great Corporate Trivia Host “Great?”)

Go the Extra Mile with Customization/Personalization

I always customize every trivia event I produce. Be it a big crowd or small, a high-budget event or low, when you bring TrivWorks aboard, you’re getting a tailored event. There are different levels of customization, to be sure. However, with me the content is never generic, or “dialed in.” I always find ways to make it feel personalized to the audience and goals.

For my event this week, the material was supposed to be minimally customized. By this, I mean instead of arranging a dedicated customization call with the client, researching and writing original trivia questions, etc., I just sent a basic questionnaire. This is enough to give me a good sense demographically of who will be participating: age range, nationality, etc. It’s also a way for me to learn the types of questions to include, and what to leave out.

I got my questionnaire back, and could have simply drawn the appropriate material from my database. But instead, I decided to go a step further. The trivia night was part of an educators’ conference, so all of the attendees were teachers/school administrators. I included a couple of yacht-themed questions, for sure. However, I took the added step of including a question in the first round for each major discipline of study: English, science, history, etc. When announcing each question, I asked all teachers of that subject area to cheer – which they did, and thoroughly enjoyed! It was a great way to kick things off, and helped create a raucous energy which only grew as the night moved on.

Surprise Everyone with Seamless Engagement

People who hire a professional trivia host expect him or her to read out questions and answers, and that’s about it. At the bars, that is indeed what most often happens. But not with me, as my client this week found out. After the first round of questions was announced, I had everyone hand their answer sheets in. But instead of turning the music back up and having “dead air” until the tallying was done, I engaged the crowd in a series of interstitial games.

First was a 1-on-1, head-to-head trivia “bout” between two volunteer contestants. I held brief laugh-filled banter with each, then dived in to see who could first answer three of my six themed “mini game” questions correctly. Both contestants then got prizes – including one who received a stick-on mustache, further embracing the “yacht rock” theme! In between other rounds throughout the night, I alternated between mini “bouts” and minute-to-win-it style semi-physical challenges and games, each of which was a huge crowd pleaser. Neither the client nor the audience expected any of this, which made it all the more fun and special!

Conclusion: Always Aim to Exceed Client Expectations

I learned a long time ago that the best way to deliver a great experience is to go well beyond what’s expected. That’s true for anything, not just corporate trivia events. But specifically with my business, I do take great pains to ensure that every single event I do doesn’t just meet the expectation. I want to exceed it, so much so that people are still talking about it at dinner, the next day and, hopefully, at the next event committee meeting, when deciding which vendor to hire!

For more on this topic, check out another article I found, “Fueling growth through moments of customer delight.”