Designing the invitation is an exciting and creative aspect of planning an event. By hiring a graphic designer, you open the door to fresh visual ideas, innovative paper selections, and a professionally finished piece. Customized invitations set a unique tone for any social or business occasion; their individuality and style tell guests far more than where to go and when to arrive. A well-designed invitation provides guests a tantalizing peek into the festivities that lie ahead.

admin Event Essentials, The Wilsonwest Way culture, customers, design, partners

I took a quick trip to New York City last week, and while dining in some great spots I was reminded of a favorite guru of mine in the hospitality industry: Danny Meyer. Danny is CEO of the Union Square Hospitality Group and owner of famed restaurants such as Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern, Tabla, The Shake Shack, and many more.

I LOVE his approach to business which he calls enlightened hospitality and which serves as the foundation of his thriving restaurant empire. This business model, designed for long-term sustained profitability, embraces his key stakeholders in the following order: 1) employees  2) customers 3) community 4) suppliers, and 5) investors. Hmmm? Investors at the bottom of the list? Sound a bit backwards? Meyer argues that if you place the emphasis on the first four groups (in this order) you will find that it is their collective work and collaboration that fuels even greater and more enduring financial success which ultimately fuels the bottom line and makes for happy investors.

His businesses are known for outstanding employees, warm hospitality, strong ties with exceptional suppliers, and a solid commitment to playing an active role in the community. Investors are honored to be associated with businesses that generate not only profit, but good will and soul. There’s a lot to be learned from this business philosophy and I have enjoyed reading Meyer’s book Setting the Table, The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business.

Meyer understands that serving food is secondary to the experiences he creates for his customers and to quote him, “Business, like life, is all about how you make people feel. It’s that simple, and it’s that’s hard.”

Cindy Wilson

PS – If you’re heading to NY  there’s a few new Shake Shacks popping up in the Theater District and the Upper East Side.

PS - I know it’s been around for a while, but my daughter and I loved, loved, loved Billy Elliott The Musical and I hear it’s coming to San Francisco in the Fall.

admin Relationship Marketing, The Wilsonwest Way collaboration, culture, customers, employees, food, partners, relationships

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”

- Elwyn Brooks “E. B.” White

E.B. White penned, among other books, Charlotte’s Web – one of my all time favorite children’s books. If I had the opportunity to sit down for coffee with E.B. White today, I might challenge him to think that there’s time and space in the day for both saving and savoring. Thankfully, that notion has begun to work its way into our manner of doing business. Call it conscious capitalism, corporate social responsibility, or what you will – it’s a movement toward thoughtful leadership with a strong sense of mission and purpose.

Eighteen years ago I founded Wilsonwest on the simple principle that a respect for the quality of life for my employees (and me) directly contributes to the high quality work we deliver for our customers. At the time, I remember being challenged as to why my clients and future clients would care if I valued and supported a high quality of life for my employees. I never wavered, and now I know first-hand the wisdom of this decision and am honored to have contributed to the enrichment of the lives of my employees. Collectively, we work to contribute to the growth and well being of our customers’ businesses and employees by building and nurturing the relationships that are core to their business success. It’s a good cycle and one that affords us the opportunity to both savor and save.

If the wise spider Charlotte were here, my guess is that she’d weave those words into her web.

admin Relationship Marketing, The Wilsonwest Way collaboration, culture, customers, relationships

This is one of the underlying principals in what we call The WILSONWEST Way: our approach to the design, development, and execution of events. By following this powerful and simple strategy: we listen to our clients, ask lots of questions, and are careful not to impose our personal point of view unless it’s connected to our client’s event objectives. I urge our clients to follow suit and to keep their eyes and minds connected to those of the audience.

Of course, if it’s YOUR party..then yes, you can cry if you want to.

admin The Wilsonwest Way culture, customers, events

In the event world, environments are really important. You know: that feeling you get when you’re in a great restaurant, the lighting is perfect, the service unobtrusive, and the space well designed. All of these things support conversation and put your guests at ease. I had such an experience on a recent East Coast trip, where I had the immense pleasure of dining at the home of one of our clients. I felt at ease the minute I walked in the door. One of the many things that struck me that evening was the manner in which his art was arranged on the walls. Much like him, the arrangements were impeccably and artfully presented. Fast forward to my return to California where I read an article celebrating the expertise of Rob and Gaetan, owners of the Lost Art Salon here in San Francisco. I had previously paid a visit to their studio, a hidden gem on an otherwise anonymous city street. I began to better understand that there really is an art to hanging art and when properly done, the results are both seen and felt.

I decided to share this discovery and built a client event around the idea, turning my own home over to the guys from Lost Art for a make-over of sorts. We removed all of the art we had hung up at different times over the years and pulled a few more pieces out of the closet. While we caught up with some old clients and made some new friends over cocktails and food, two of my walls were transformed by Rob and Gaetan into beautiful examples of what is called a Totem Hang and a Salon Hang. Our clients enjoyed the lively discussion with the Salon owners who shared some of their secrets and encouraged us all to have an open mind. We worked with another partner, Lisa Eastlack, to design a small guide for our friends to take away. In fact, the Salon liked it so much, they commissioned a more detailed version. You can download it here.

We hope our guests were inspired to look at their art through a new lens and transform a home, office, or even event space of their own. Whatever the result, when you combine expert advice and an invitation to give your imagination free reign, only good things will follow.

admin Design & Decor art, customers, design, events, partners

Our business has been successfully built on referrals. Much of our P.R. has been relegated to the realm of our great clients and their networks. For me, Marketing is not only a foreign word but a little bit of a scary one at that. Do we need to craft some clever message and an even more clever way to tweet it to connect to our customers? Will our efforts be authentic and true to our brand?

I recently participated in a session entitled “The Customer Journey” and it helped me rethink our efforts through the customer lens. The Customer Journey is basic yet powerful. Ask these key questions and map your strategy from there:

As a result of your efforts (website, blog, events, etc.), what do you want your customers to:

THINK (Opinions)
FEEL (Emotions)
KNOW (Facts)
DO (Actions)

This approach is valuable in assessing all levels of customer engagement and is an easy and fun exercise to do with your team.

Sound simple? Most great things are!

admin Relationship Marketing customers, marketing, relationships