It is only through uncertainty and troubling times that key partnerships forge and move forward with success. A recent survey (from Lasso, an Event Staffing company; you can check it out here) detailed comprehensive findings that might tickle your un-funny bone.
unsolicited tickles are never funny – via GIPHY
More than ever, we’re working in partnership with event planners — extending support and asking for the same — as we ride this rollercoaster of 2022. See our last blog post here for more on this.
In the meantime, here are key insights that we’ve taken away from the survey:
- Prices are increasing on all fronts — people, travel, freight etc.
- Clients are making decisions later in the planning cycle. With 59% of bookings coming in with less than a month’s lead time, and 92% of production leaders saying there is less lead time than 2 years ago, there is often a time crunch for vendors to be responsive and plan resource allocation (people and equipment).
- Clients are not making any long-term commitments. Only 8% of respondents say their clients are signing multi-year agreements. Uncertainty continues, making long-range planning for stability and event success a huge challenge.
Regardless of multi-year agreements, 90% of our clients come back to work with us. We credit our service for this.
Regardless, the AV industry is still very much in flux — the points raised above create the perfect little storm in a teacup. With shorter lead times, increasing demand, and costs going up, businesses are cautious about raising prices after 2 long years of depressed business results, but margins are being compressed and inflation continues to put pressure on us to pass that along to the client.
Let’s just say that rising prices may be an inevitability and who’s going to be shocked to see that play out? (Don’t answer that.) Maybe it’s something you’re already seeing.
Now, more than ever, we need to present a united front. Primarily, we’re asking planners to understand the pressure on our end –as we understand yours. As always, service is a priority here at Seamless and whether your event is booked with us or not, we’re here to offer a hand. Reach out anytime. Even with just standalone queries.
Regardless of what’s coming down the pipeline, what we do have is each other. We’re here now, wink-wink, to answer your questions and clarify any uncertainty.
