The more the merrier
By: Linda Picone
Last year, a number of Greg Ziegenfuss’ clients reduced their holiday entertaining. “I’ve got a very good friend who’s president of a company,” says Ziegenfuss, vice president of operations for Butler’s Pantry in St. Louis. “Last year he told me he wasn’t going to do a holiday party; he would just take 20 of his people and go to a restaurant.”
This year, Ziegenfuss is giving clients a chance to entertain customers and/or staff even within a tight budget. Butler’s Pantry will offer existing clients the opportunity to buy tables of 10 for a splashy holiday party at a new venue the catering company is opening in November. “We’ll have a great party band, an elaborate cocktail hour and a buffet,” he says. There will be dancing, décor and the opportunity to meet new people. Although it’s not designed as a networking event, Ziegenfuss sees that as a nice plus: “It’s kind of like a big mixer, an opportunity to mingle and perhaps network, even though it’s a social event.”
Butler’s Pantry is trying to keep tickets in the $30-$40 per person range, which means a client can buy a table for $400 or less. Ziegenfuss has been doing email blasts to clients, alerting them to the party, and plans to work with the local business journal in a nice trade—a few tables of 10 in exchange for a series of ads.