60 seconds with…Alex Hewitt, CEO – AOK Events Ltd

How was the re-opening of your business and how was it carried out in line with safety procedures put in place to allow social distancing? 

Very easy. When we re-opened, we only had 9 staff working in offices designed for 70.  1 toilet per two employees, separate kitchens and at least 3m between desks

How is the general feeling and feedback from your team members and your customers now the lockdown is over? 

The staff who have not been made redundant are obviously very pleased to have a job and are working their butts off to try & “sell” AOK Events out of our predicament. They are optimistic but also realistic about the current & future state of play.  Our clients have been supportive, but they have no idea of when live events are going to happen again, and many are only just starting to consider virtual events as being an alternative

What market trends are you seeing since re-opening? 

Even the most conservative of companies are considering innovative & untraditional ways to engage with their customers & staff. Short lead times. Client loyalty is around in spades thank goodness.

What techniques have you used to build sales and re-engage customers?

We have created amazing marketing material which we are pitching as often as we can using Zoom & our social media channels. Likewise, we are seeking referrals more than ever before & happy clients seem more than happy to do this, particularly at this moment in time 

What positive lessons do we need to learn from what the industry has been through?

It’s a relationship business and if you have nurtured those relationships previously, they ought to stand up. As an agency you need to be nimble, innovative, inquisitive and honest