Cytiva not only survived our first user conference, but it was an unqualified smash hit according to all accounts.
After three days of networking, teaching, learning and generally having a great time, Cytiva employees and clients left the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco feeling energized and exhausted at once.
The opening reception Wednesday night went well past its end time and was marked with lots of travel weary clients who not only enjoyed a little party, but were excited to meet their account reps and other Cytiva employees in person. The attendee with the longest journey joined us from the Philippines. Cytiva CEO, Jason Moreau took notes all night long on his iPhone and has long list of client suggestions to pass on to product development to implement.
Thursday was packed with sessions ranging from Extreme Recruiting Makeover to Reports that Rock. Attendees particularly responded to Reports that Rock, leaving with plenty of new ways to look at their strategic recruiting data.
The Forbes Island dinner party was a blast. Forbes Island is a floating island/restaurant off Pier 39 and Cytiva shut the place down for a private “thank you” to our valued clients. Guests were ferried out to the restaurant, complete with lighthouse, sandy beach and below water dining room and bar. With stunning views of Alcatraz on one side and Coit Tower/San Francisco skyline on the other, guests enjoyed a balmy October evening on “the island.”
After a fantastic cocktail hour and dinner, Jason Moreau took what turned into a highly spirited straw poll to determine a location for next year’s event. The winner: Vegas, though Maui did actually get the highest response on the applause-O-meter.
Friday was packed with sessions and by the final client roundtable with Client Services VP Jennifer Fray, Vicki Kramer from Shelter Group and Janice McCollum from Jacobs Engineering, the entire crew of clients and staff were pretty exhausted.
Below are just a few of the comments we got from attendees:
“I have not stopped gloating about what a great time I had in SF and what marvelous team you all are. It makes me want to work for Cytiva. I am glad we have you as our vendor. I have also Cytivafied my office with all the goodies I got!”
“You guys in Cytiva are the greatest, never had a partner this great! I had a long flight but it was all worth it; I had the greatest experience and it is all because of you guys!”
"Thank you for a wonderful time! You work with a great group of people.
“I want to point out all the great aspects:
- Great Topics
- Energy!
- Awesome Presenters
- Size of class
- Energy!
- Questions asked and answered
- Energy!
- Location – great hotel and the food was excellent! (Go Lisa)
- Excel presentation – Michael totally rocked! I had no idea we could do all that stuff!
- Kevin – just a great representative of your company – gave us extra time and was a wonderful host!
I plan to share the notes with my office. I also loved the gift bags we received. You guys really took care of everyone. I hope we meet again in San Francisco (please – please! You can change it!) but if not I will see you in Vegas.”
“I really had a wonderful time at the Summit! The Sonic group made me feel very welcome and I walked away with lots of “to do’s”.
“The conference was truly informative and fun and we appreciate the opportunity to participate. Looking forward to next year already!
“It was so great to meet you and the rest of the team! We are honored to work with your company! You’re a fantastic group of people!!!”
“One big take-away was just the direct exposure to the great spirit of the entire Cytiva team: your collegial atmosphere, enthusiasm, and obvious customer care were very compelling. I appreciate the product, and now the company standing behind it, even more.”
“I had a blast at the conference last week! You guys did a great job at your first summit! Thanks so much for wining and dining us and I am still getting over all the food! Please let me know what if anything I can do to make your next summit just as successful!”
As we look back the event, it was more like a high school reunion than a user conference. Because Cytiva’s mission is to offer an enterprise level of product and service for mid sized companies, we develop deep relationships with our clients. And because the biggest part of our brand is the Cytiva culture that accompanies that service, clients and Cytiva services people sought each other out to “catch up” and deepen their relationships.
From the feedback, we know clients were ecstatic about the value they received from the conference. But beyond that, it was an event that energized the Cytiva team, who were truly blown away by the positive response and the warm welcome we got from our visiting clients.
The whole experience brings to mind an old saying:
“Vegas, baby!”
For more information about this year's and next year's SonicSummit, check out the
SonicSummit site.
