Seminar Event Forces Attendees to Meet Vendors
October 29, 2009 by Mary Ellen · 2 Comments
Seminars and trade shows take an inordinate amount of time and energy, so gauging return on investment takes careful scrutiny from everyone involved.
The Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence, a not for profit founded by the Northern New Mexico chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) sponsored an event for existing business owners event last week.
Sponsor tables lined the room. Attendees were required to collect signatures from every vendor present to qualify for the grand prize, 10 hours of one-on-one consulting from the keynote presenter. (NOTE: In following up with vendors, I discovered most prefer this method as it helps get traffic to the booth.)
I observed:
Conversations were interrupted as people thrust their dance card and pen into our midst and requested the obligatory fulfillment.
Vendors launched into a spiel with no prompting or interest from participants. (Some just wanted a signature.) NOTE: One vendor explained: “We take two booth workers to every show; that way, if one is tied up the other can sign attendee cards.” She also noted this tactic of forced booth visits has been growing in use.
Brochures were thrust at me. Each was full color, representing expensive collateral. Because I hadn’t requested any of these materials, they found their way to the recycle pile immediately after the show. NOTE: When I did my follow up, one vendor said that she offers handouts by request or simply allows participants to pick them up from the table.
Follow up has been non-existent. To date, I’ve had only one email follow up from the booths I visited. (The vendor had promised a special report to those who submitted a business card; since that wasn’t my experience, I hit delete.)
Unusual? Not really. This experience is probably better than some. Every vendor I spoke with gave this event a thumbs up for the money involved. One even enthused: “This was exactly targeted to where my business is now.”
The question remains the same for every promoter and the sponsors they attract: how do you generate involvement? Some of my ideas include:
Survey this year’s attendees to discover what they would like to see/hear in 2010. (In my discussions, I discovered this was not an option as there was no list from last year. In a volunteer, not for profit organization, this happens.) Plan now in order to make next year stronger.
Survey this year’s attendees on a variety of items, including presenter names, presentation titles, and event timing. Specifically:
“Getting a Second Wind to Run Your Business…Adjusting to the Landscape” titled the afternoon’s program. Two presentations provided content:
- “The Economy Sucks, So What Now?” (This presentation discussed current economics from a historical perspective and provided perspective.)
- “What Now? A Program for Business Owners after They’ve Launched their Business” (This presentation addressed marketing in its broadest sense, offering stories about the overview of marketing tools and their implementation. Handouts were unrelated to materials discussed.)
For the second year, this afternoon offering was scheduled just ahead of the NAWBO meeting. A number of women expressed concern with the “long day” such back-to-back events entailed. Would more members attend if these opportunities were presented separately? Could the Foundation attract other, non-NAWBO members if they scheduled at a different time or in a different venue?
Finally, consider a few well-placed interviews of participants to yield information for use in years to come. The organization may have a formalized debriefing program. If so, additional interviews now would add to the impact of future programs. This is called “Getting a Second Wind to Run Your Seminar.”
Other ideas? Post your responses here and I’ll pass them along.
Panel of Dogs Approves Pet Food
October 21, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Customer research has gone to the dogs. Literally.
Roby Wallace, former president of AIBA and co-owner of A & R Fresh Foods, manufacturers of Rawthentic, an all-natural fresh frozen dog food, game me the heads up on a podcast in which David Wolf, owner of SmallBizAmerica, interviewed Roby and Amy Budd, his partner.
“What are dogs saying about Rawthentic?”
Amy referred to a panel of dogs and dog interviews. For those of us who care (a lot) about pets, this is not news. We know pets communicate in a variety of ways.
As someone who has talked with Roby about marketing and planning for Rawthentic, it was fun to see connections to a Facebook fan page and Twitter now on the website.
My challenge to Roby and anyone else entering the world of social media: determine what you really want to do with your program. Then, assign someone in the company the responsibility for it.
Right now, Rawthentic’s fan page includes only its logo. Okay, I confess I fanned it anyway. Here are 10 suggestions (admittedly some of them a bit on the crazy side) for the fan page:
1. Put pictures of dog “interviews” on the site. (What an opportunity for caption creativity.)
2. Show your dogs (disclosure needed) eating Rawthentic.
3. Invite users to post their comments and pictures.
4. The notes page might contain articles from proud owners and long-time users of Rawthentic. Since the product was launched earlier this year, long-time might be 90-days. Remember, it’s relative.
5. Share testimonials on the wall. Start with the friends and family who’ve used the product. We want to know more.
6. Include a link to the SmallBizAmerica interview.
7. Include pictures of Roby and Amy, preferably with the dogs.
8. Start a new tradition with Rawthentic pet birthday parties. Show pictures of the events.
9. Since the list isn’t in the thousands yet, include every store – by city – that currently distributes the product.
10. Build a group…in a quick check I discovered more than 500 pet food groups on Facebook!
Given the influence of Facebook, more than 250 million users active within the past 30 days, it makes sense for Rawthentic to beef up its presence on this dominant social media site. Add useful content and go for it.
Related post: Can Social Media Generate Visibility and Sales for Your Company?
Can you top the paw of approval? What can you add to this list?
Signs Deliver the Ultimate Testimonial
October 19, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
The miniature billboards showed up all over the town of Elephant Butte, New Mexico. I saw them in front of the Butte Inn, at the side of a small restaurant, in front of the Turtleback Mountain Development and at other locations as I drove around the community.
Stagner Landscaping signs showed up clearly, partly the result of professional printing and partly due to the bright yellow background.
What a great sales tool. Each sign, approximately 8” x 10”, offered a live demonstration of Stagner effectiveness. How cool is that? The signs were placed in the midst of landscaping the firm completed.
Customer testimonials, one of the most effective ways to sell, come in many forms, shapes and sizes: conversations, case studies, letters of endorsement, quotes within press releases, third party endorsements, newsletters, kudos letters and more.
Stagner Landscaping customers not only gave permission to use their name, they displayed signs for the company. They provided live, large testimonials. You can’t get much more effective than that.
What could your customers do to showcase your work?
Closing the Gap Between Passionate Participants and Members of the Silent Majority
October 13, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
I see it over and over in organizations. People/members/participatants profess to care passionately. Yet, the majority fail to participate.
For example: in one such organization, statistics show 30% open rates for emails. Email, due to low delivery costs, is the primary marketing channel for this group. The silent majority – the 70% that never opens a missive misses announcements, information, and special offers.
Because one marketing channel can’t serve everyone, I began to think about improving outreach efforts overall. How do you get the word out to a diverse following?
Here are some ideas. Feel free to add your own thoughts in comments below.
- Use collaborative efforts. In my example, the organization teamed up with a major vendor to offer a benefit to all members. As part of the plan, the vendor took a member list and made a commitment to contact everyone. In this case the vendor’s salespeople acted as outreach partners. Flyers approved in advance by the organization touted the partnership and its benefits.
- Focus on alliance partners. Many members of the organization have memberships of their own. A message about the promotion to their membership list might attract a different audience and thus increase exposure. The message could be a collaborative announcement in a newsletter, for example.
- Create messages for other channels. A blog post on the originating organization’s website augments its efforts. Like email, this web-based portion of communication may miss some members. In hindsight, my advice is for the organization to add different channels such as:
- Direct mail. An effective campaign involves a postcard mailing series using spaced repetition. Different postcards are mailed weekly to the targets.
- Telephone. One of the most effective outreach efforts for a small organization includes phone contact. Build a telephone tree where each member contacts one other member.
- Public service announcements. Local radio or television stations might collaborate to publicize a coordinated theme impacting the community.
- Public relations. With enough lead time, stories about the upcoming promotion could inspire membership and participation. Where are the juicy tidbits or the fun photos? Weekly newspapers or community-oriented magazines could be interested in these ideas.
- Social media. How about invitations from the Facebook fan page? Another effort involves postings from each member of the board of directors. Because of the diversity of the organization, each member of the board has a unique network and together everyone impacts different networks. With social media, follow up includes getting help from the masses so the message is retweeted, reposted, rebroadcast and forwarded again and again.
- Track your results. Follow the results for each of your channels. And remember, no ONE method gets to everyone. Multiple impressions ensure the reception of your message.
Ignite any campaign with one or more of these ideas. Warning: success isn’t automatic. It requires ongoing, focused efforts. So pause for just a minute and remind yourself of what you’re trying to accomplish. You’re trying to reach the silent majority, right? Good luck.
One of the great obstacles facing every organization these days is the time famine. In order to close the gap between the passionate 3o% of participants and the silent majority of 70%, you must cut through the clutter.
The right message paired with the right channel will carve out some additional participants from the silent 70% majority. I’m confident of it.
Count 21 Reasons to do Business With Your Company
October 1, 2009 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
One smart marketing strategy involves your employees. How do they view your firm?
I conducted a brainstorming meeting for a local accounting firm this week. Employee participants listed the reasons why people did business with the company. Let this list catalyze your own brainstorming session.
- We are a small firm which means family-like relationships… you probably know all of us.
- We provide individualized service, so you get accounting you need the way you like it.
- Your confidence is well placed; you receive expertise of the highest caliber.
- We have fair market prices for the services we offer which means value for your dollar spent.
- We are a woman-owned firm of all women, so you support women.
- It’s who you know (everyone knows about 200 people), so you likely know us as New Mexico people.
- We participate in community organizations like NAWBO – National Association of Women Business Owners, so we’re actively involved; you may associate with us at our Church or in the cancer walk, because we’re community-minded people like you.
- We’re located in a green building to show our stewardship for the planet.
- We serve +/- 100 clients from Corrales and +/- 100 from Rio Rancho, so we’re convenient.
- We love client referrals and take good care of them, so you know your trust is well placed.
- Our Eldercare program, another specialty area for our firm, could responsibly administer finances for your loved ones.
- Our non-profit work, especially audits, opens the door to other work, because we provide consults, tax services, and bookkeeping for members of non-profits as well as the organizations themselves.
- We are pleasant, with warm, caring personalities, and our office reflects that fact, so it’s easy and fun to do business with us.
- We educate you about your financials, so you learn as your business grows and get better at reading the financial signs of your business.
- Our proprietary software provides information about your industry, personalized for you by our team, so you receive additional value at no additional charge every month.
- We offer high-content newsletters and information of use to your firm, so you continue to get additional resources and value from us.
- We remind you of deadlines, tax rates, etc., so you stay on track.
- Each of our professional personnel adds to our offerings and to our team synergy which helps you get more for your money.
- We succeed if you succeed – that’s our philosophy – which means you come first.
- We are a non-traditional accounting firm that works as a team, so you benefit with better service.
- We walk you through the steps of accounting for your business – expertise for your needs so your business is well-served.
If you’re concerned about putting your list “out there,” don’t fret. This exercise focuses your team. The synergy derived from everyone thinking on the same page results in better execution within the company, thus creating a competitive advantage difficult to beat.
