Perfecting Your Small Business’s Promotional Event.
May 26, 2016 by Staff
Filed under Money/Business, Tech/Internet, Weekly Columns
(Akiit.com) Promotional events are an amazing way to boost awareness of your product or service. It’s also essential for networking purposes. If your business takes place mostly online, it’s also a great way to meet some of your customers or fans face-to-face!
What’s the goal?
You probably have some general goals in mind. Meet people. Spread awareness. Get more business. Have a good time. But you may want to be a little more specific. The more specific your goals are, the better you’ll be able to achieve them. Consider, for example, the kind of personality you want to show to the attendees.
Do some networking before your event
Want the big business names and potential investors to come to your event? Of course you do. For many business owners, this event is the perfect place to get some networking done with them. But if you’re just inviting names out of the blue, you may find that the attendance from these types isn’t what you hoped.
Don’t rely on your event for all the networking you need. You need to be networking before your event. Get to know your targets better and then bring them to your event!
Safety is your priority
Yes, you have a lot of goals with this event. Things like having a good time and making money are going to seem like the most important things about it. But in reality, your number one priority is making sure everyone is safe! As the host of the event, you’re responsible for everyone’s safety and comfort.
Make sure the venue is at the right temperature and has plenty of drinking water. Ensure that everyone knows where the exits are. And have someone with first aid training at the event!
Keep your brand visible throughout
Are your employees going to be wearing shirts with your brand logo on them? If not, you might want to consider it. And while you’re at it, why not offer similar shirts to attendees? If you’re handing out bags of goodies, make sure your logo is on the bags, too. And if you’re using event wristbands to mark people who have arrived? You can look into getting customized silicone wristbands to get your logo on those, too.
Marketing the event
If your event is open to the public, you’ll want to put your online marketing skills to use. Spread the word on Twitter. Create an event page using your business’s Facebook account and leave it open for people to check out. Put as much information on there as possible. You can also look into other tactics for spreading the word further.
Catch up with attendees after the event
Once the venue has been tidied and the cake has all been eaten (you had cake, right?), it’s all over. Right? Not exactly. The best hosts always make time to ask attendees about their experience.
One thing you should consider is making sure your guests leave with contact information. Don’t just link them to the “Contact Us” page of your website. Give them a special email address they can use to contact you directly! This will help you nurture the relationships you hoped to build through this event.
Staff Writer; Charles Poole