It may be hard to believe, but now is the time to be planning for your end-of-summer marketing event. I know we are still in the midst of winter, but now is the time to pull your plans together. Many companies like to throw customer appreciation events, such as golf outings and cookouts to impress their customers. Why not? It allows you to interact with them in a relaxed environment and express your gratitude for them. However, if you want your customer appreciation event to have a better twist than it has in the past, consider doing something different this year.

In marketing, we are always looking for the extras that will keep an event like this memorable in the minds of the customers. Since these types of events typically get organized by the marketing department, why not get the most bang for your buck? Everyone does a summer golf outing with a cookout. Although customers appreciate it, especially if they are into golf, one golf outing can look like all the others. Why not try something new this year. Here are ten unique event ideas that are not the typical golf outing.

1. Create a scavenger hunt. Depending upon where you live and work, this can be as simple as finding items hidden around your area or as big as a road race from one city to another. Think of the TV show The Amazing Race.

2. Have a fishing tournament. This is a family event where young and old can interact with each other. If you don’t know how to fish, have someone give some tips (and maybe even bait the hooks and take the fish off the line.)

3. Go karting! I have seen events where teams are formed and each person takes a turn on a track. There are karting groups that will even come and set up a temporary track in your parking lot.

4. Create a softball tournament. You can even have a small fee for each team that is split 50/50 with the winners getting half the pot and the rest going to a charity. Charitable causes typically get people out. Even if you don’t play, you can watch and cheer on your coworkers.

5. Go to the zoo. The local zoo offers great entertainment and most are equipped with picnic areas for larger groups.

6. Rent a boat. I have known companies that have rented houseboats for the day. They offer multiple water sports, including tubing (if you tow a speedboat), fishing, or just relaxing on the water. Most houseboats are equipped with a grill to prepare food for the excursion.

7. Go to an outdoor concert. There are multiple venues that offer musical entertainment during the summer.

8. Go ziplining. The new craze in outdoor adventure is nothing more than swinging along a cable strung high above anything, from forests to rivers to large buildings. I have heard of ziplining in caves. It is likely there is a zipline near you.

9. If you are into culinary delights, create a tasting party. Coffee tasting has become quite a thing in parts of the country, especially among young professionals. So have sweets, such as cake tasting events. There are also competitive cooking events, such as chili cook-offs and build-a-better-burger grilling competitions.

10. We often don’t think of hands-on charitable work as a customer appreciation event, but it is more and more common to have a day in the summer where companies have a community day. Why not ask your customers to join you? Organize your event around giving back to someone who needs a hand. For instance, organizations that help disadvantaged families have a home, like Habitat for Humanity need volunteers to come together to build houses… which they have down to a science. No experience is necessary. They will teach you to swing a hammer and, in the course of a few hours, you will have a house framed, roofed and ready for finishing. Then hold your cookout in the shade of that new home you just built for someone else. There is power in giving back alongside your customers.

Like any event, this will take some planning. But the results will be worth all the work. Start the conversation with your team now. Whatever you do, make sure the customer remembers it and feels appreciated for being asked to join you.