7 Ways to Make Vendors Feel Valued at Your Event (Part 2)

In Part 1, we covered how to set vendors up for success before the doors open: knowing your audience, locking vendors in early, a smooth arrival, room to breathe, refreshments, a helping hand and a thank-you at check-in. Missed it? Start with Part 1.

Now for the part your guests see: the event itself, and everything that happens after. After 11 years of pop-ups across Toronto and the GTA, these are the 7 things that turn a one-time vendor into a repeat partner.

1. Make It Easily Shareable

Your vendors want to promote your event. Make it easy for them.

Create a Google Drive folder or a Canva template that vendors can duplicate and edit to say, "Hey, here's where I'll be!" Include the date, time, address, a ticket or RSVP link, your event hashtag and the accounts to tag. Add a few sizes, like a square post, a story and an email banner.

It takes an hour to set up once, and it turns every single vendor into a promoter for your event. Their communities become your guests.

The One of a Kind Show here in Toronto is a great example. They provide vendors with social media templates ready to share, so every maker can tell their followers where to find them. That buzz brings in shoppers who come looking for specific vendors.

2. Prime Your Guests to Shop

In my 11 years of doing pop-ups and selling goods, there's a marked difference in results when guests are primed for buying.

Feature your vendors in your emails and on social media before the event. People will look them up, research what they sell and decide what they want ahead of time. Those are the guests who come straight to your table, wallet ready, excited to finally meet you.

On the day, put up clear signage to pull in foot traffic, so nobody misses the vendor area. If it's a private corporate event, make sure staff actually know it's happening, through emails, internal messenger blasts and volunteer runners who walk the floors to remind people to stop by.

I do a market at Tridel for International Women's Day, and the vendors always have a great turnout. Their staff and support team actually go to meeting rooms and people's workspaces to remind everyone to come down and check out the market.

At Deloitte's Black History Month market, they had a steel pan player, music and great food to draw people in. It turned the market into the place to be, and the vendors felt it.

3. Give Every Vendor a Mic Moment

If it's a smaller event, give each vendor up to 60 seconds on stage to introduce themselves and what they sell. It helps guests understand what's in the room, creates a personal connection, and piques their interest before they ever reach the table.

Speaking at Revival. A few minutes on the mic turns a table into a conversation.

For bigger events, a shout-out in the MC script, a vendor map and signage do the same job. Build time into the schedule for guests to shop, so the vendor area is part of the experience instead of something people walk past.

After the event, include a link to each vendor's website and social media in your thank-you email to guests. People often remember a product the next day and go looking for it. If a vendor offers an affiliate program, this can become an added revenue stream for you, too.

Related: How Do I Improve My Public Speaking?

4. Check In, Dammit

A lot of people think that once you've checked a vendor in and shown them their table, that's the end of the interaction. It isn't.

I once did an event with abysmal results because of a lack of marketing. The event coordinator didn't come by to say hi once during the day. She didn't check in while we were packing up. There was no thank-you email afterward. The only time I heard from her again was when she reached out asking me to pay double the vendor fee for a brand new event she was running.

You can guess my answer.

Come around during the day to see if anyone could use anything, like change, water or a quick table watch. Check in again at load-out to ask how the day went. Then send a thank-you email. It shows you care about our results, not just our fee.

5. Welcome the Honest Answer

There have been way too many events where someone asks, "How are things going?" If I say "just okay," mention I was expecting something a little different, or even offer a suggestion, the coordinator or support staff get huffy and frustrated that I'm not saying it was fantastic and amazing.

Feedback is a gift. Ask for it in person and with a short survey afterward, then receive it gracefully. Being able to accept that feedback makes a huge difference for your success. It shows vendors you're listening and growing, and that's what makes us want to come back.

6. Capture the Magic, and Share It

Bring in a professional photographer or videographer, and share the photos and videos with your vendors at no cost. We use that content on social media, and a lot of vendors post recaps of events, which promotes your event all over again long after it ends.

Professional headshots and action shots of vendors selling and chatting with guests are especially valuable to us. They're the kind of photos small businesses rarely get of themselves.

shutterb is a great option here. They do great work at events, showcasing the event itself while supporting vendors in getting shots that sell, and they deliver content quickly to an online gallery.

Revival by Liat Horovitz is a great example. They bring in shutterb, and vendors walk away with photos they can actually use to sell, plus a beautiful record of the event.

A great vendor shot shows the person, the products and the energy, all in one frame.

7. Close the Loop With a Recap Email

Within a week of your event, send vendors a recap: attendance numbers, a link to the photos and videos, what's next, and a real thank-you.

It helps vendors measure how the day went, gives them content to post while the event is still fresh, and shows them you're invested in a long-term relationship. It's also the perfect moment to invite them back.

Bonus tips

• Offer table-sitting breaks. Have a volunteer cover a table for 10 minutes so solo vendors can grab food or use the bathroom.
• Reward guests for visiting every booth. A stamp card that guests fill at each table and turn in for a prize or raffle entry gets people moving through the whole vendor area.

Frequently asked questions

What do vendors expect from event organizers?

Clear load-in and parking details, help carrying things in and out, real marketing support, check-ins during the day, and an organizer who welcomes honest feedback. Photos and a recap email afterward are a big bonus.

Should you add vendors to a corporate event?

Absolutely. Corporate markets like the ones at Tridel and Deloitte give employees a fun break, support local small businesses, and create a memorable experience. They work best when staff know about the market well ahead of time and get reminders on the day.

The bottom line

When vendors feel valued, they sell more, they talk about your event, and they say yes the next time you ask. That's how your event grows.

Catch up on the first 7 tips in Part 1.

Want PleaseNotes at your next event?

I'm still available as a vendor. These days, I'm more often booked to speak or lead a workshop, with a PleaseNotes table set up alongside so guests can take the experience home. If that sounds like a fit for your event, visit CherylSutherland.com and let's chat.

Do you have any tips or things you would like to share? Comment below!

About the author

Cheryl Sutherland is a confidence coach, keynote speaker, and the founder of PleaseNotes. She helps women own their worth through workshops, keynotes, and personal growth tools that make confidence something you can practise every day. Her work has been featured in Forbes, InStyle, HuffPost, Fast Company, and Thrive Global, and she's partnered with organizations like WestJet, Intuit, CBC, and Dress for Success. Want Cheryl to speak with your team? Visit CherylSutherland.com.