What do you do if your event production failures are hindering your credibility and trust with clients?

Very tough situation! First apologize to your client and try to them understand that the previous failure is fixable and recoverable. Compensate your client for his cost if you fail to deliver. Try to look at the eyes of your client and ask for a second chance to deliver a successful product or service to his complete satisfaction. Pray/hope for a forgiving and calm/nice client...

Understand that rebuilding trust takes time and consistency. Consistently deliver on your promises and commitments, demonstrating reliability and competence in your event productions. By consistently meeting or exceeding expectations over time, you can gradually rebuild trust with your clients and restore your credibility in their eyes.

Actively seek feedback from your clients about their experience with your event production services, especially after a failure. Listen attentively to their concerns, suggestions, and expectations. Use this feedback to make necessary adjustments and improvements to your processes and procedures, showing your clients that you value their input and are committed to addressing their needs.

Implement robust quality assurance measures to prevent future failures and ensure the highest standards of performance in your event productions. This might involve implementing thorough pre-event checks, conducting rehearsals and simulations, and establishing contingency plans for potential risks and emergencies. By prioritizing quality assurance, you can minimize the likelihood of failures and demonstrate your commitment to excellence to your clients.

Celebrate successes, no matter how small, to boost morale and confidence within your team and reassure your clients of your capabilities. Recognize and acknowledge team members' contributions and achievements, fostering a positive work culture centered around continuous improvement and success. By highlighting successes, you can instill confidence in your clients and showcase your team's ability to deliver outstanding results.

One of the things that often surprises my clients is having a post event report that identifies what went welll, what did not go as planned and recommendations to improve these things. In many cases, a failure doesn't just happen. There are a number of steps that have led to that failure so being able to list these things and come up with a recommendation on how to fix it is a great idea. Note sometimes those failures are because of a client so having grace and showing them best practices is a win in my book.