Think Like a Reporter When Planning Any Event

Think Like a Reporter When Planning Any Event

If you think back to your first journalism class, what was reinforced more than anything?  It was to make a complete story and that meant focusing on the 5 W's and 1 H.  The who, what, where, when, why and how.  The same philosophy applies to hosting a successful event to boost your business.  However, with events, you take this approach from two different directions or two different angles, if you will.

Those two different angles would be from:

You Should Make Fun of Your Business!

     

Make Fun of Your Business!

As far back as you can probably remember, businesses have been holding contests. Businesses have been putting everything from balloons, styrofoam peanuts to jelly beans in containers ranging from jars, bags all the way up to automobiles to get people to make their best guess at the quantity inside.  We've all seen the excitement over people trying to guess the weight of pumpkins at annual events.  Game shows would have been gone a long time ago but instead, we've seen a resurgence of old game shows.  People like to block everything out and go into a zone where they can forget about life for a while and at the same time, keep their fingers crossed.

What is the appeal of participating in a contest at a business?  It might be the prospect of winning something with little or no investment.  To some, the curiosity alone will get them.  I wonder when people put their names in the box filled with guesses, if they don't have it cross their minds at least a few times until a winner is announced.  It's fun to think of being the winner and most of us have said, at least to ourselves, "I'm going to win!  I'm going to win!"  If they do get the phone call informing them that they won, they will probably run rather than walk to claim whatever their prize is and then tell people about it.  Hmmm...could entering names in a contest be the oldest form of permission marketing? I don't know.

It's best to have a contest built around what your business does to pique their interest in your business.  It's also best that they have to win by a skill rather than just a drawing otherwise you can into trouble in some jurisdictions for gambling.  It can be a very simple skill to win but not merely chance in these situations to be legal.  There's probably a lot of interpretations and confusion in any jurisdiction, but it's better to not find out the hard way as to what is legal or what isn't legal.

There are some businesses that think they could never hold an event or contest because they have a home business or their office is too small.  As an event planner, I will tell you that is entirely false!  In future blogposts, I will also be bringing up ways that events can reduce the number of excuses people give for not being able to host a party.  Did I get your attention if you are in direct sales?  I will also discuss co-hosting.  I've seen business owners from accountants to chiropractors actually host some cool events when you might have thought they didn't have a creative bone in their bodies.

Here's what I won around the time of the Super Bowl in 2015!

If you've heard of the Seahawks at all, you'll know what the significance of "12" is!  

Sea.....HAWKS, SEA...HAWKS!!  SEA...HAWKS!

How Would You Like to Pay for That New Equipment?

How Would You Like to Pay for That New Equipment?

...or that new service you invested in with a large amount of money and time?

                            

Getting new equipment is a major decision.  You research, compare and plan not just for the purchase but also the potential benefits.  So how are you going to pay for that new machine that creates banners, engravings or widgets and thingamajigs?  Maybe you've purchased the latest technology that  revolutionizes the way a service is performed and thus makes your clients' tasks dramatically easier.  It might be something that enables you to cast your net out far and wide, but it cost you money and you need for people to know about your latest new toy or pride and joy.  You want to make it pay for itself.                              

As business owners, we've all felt that pit in our stomachs when someone who you've known or networked with for some time says, "I didn't know that you did that, too!"  In your mind you see all the opportunities that you might have missed or wonder if it could have led to a pivotal point in your business.  I'm reminded of what a Director of Development at a foundation once told all of us who were involved with fundraising under his direction.  He stated this very simple truth.  "You don't get what you don't ask for".  I think the same applies to businesses, too.  People won't purchase something that they don't know about if you haven't put the information out there.

So, about now, you're thinking "What in the world does this have to do with hosting an event?"  If I've said it once, I've probably said it a million times, for a successful event, you have to appeal to innate human trait of curiosity.  Hosting an open house to celebrate the new cool thing you're going to be able to do will make people think about how they can use your new product or service.  If you are introducing a monstrosity of a piece of equipment that creates something, have a contest to name the beast.  A live demonstration, samples made right on the spot, even giving out a prize drawing for your latest and greatest service will engage people unlike many forms of marketing.  Perhaps you would find yourself being able to give tours.  Think of this type of event almost being like a product launch.  

Think of giving a tour.  If you give your guests that feeling of them almost being in forbidden territory, they will love it!  Think of a child's curiosity when their family has been invited to a friend's home for a dinner party.  If the dinner is on the main level and there is an upstairs, it's only a matter of time until you hear a little voice ask, "What's upstairs?"  Perhaps, you only have to think of a five-year-old.  Everything you say is a response to a why this, how does that work, what does that mean or an I want to try it!  Thinking like a reporter is a perfect mindset when you plan this type of an event.  If you create that atmosphere around a change of products or services, you will not be forgotten.

As always...

Wishing you the greatest of days!

If you would like to learn more about our seminars that teach businesses to host successful events, please contact us!  We love to talk about events!

Grand Openings Should be Just That!

Grand Openings are a great way for a business to become known to a community or industry.  Usually they take place after things have been operating normally and have been stabilized for a while.  However, grand openings really need to happen sooner than later.  A grand opening should inform, entertain and create a memory like any business event, but on a grander scale.

A grand opening can offer a great first impression not only for new or potential clients but the community at large.  This alone is why a business would want to make the event feel grand, be memorable and a true experience to absorb.

A business will want to inform attendees at a grand opening of the following: 

1. What they do, 

2. How they do something better or differently, 

3. Why people need their services,

4. When the best time is for people to plan ahead to use their services.

Its important to remember that the purpose of a grand opening is not merely to educate the public about a business, but it is crucial to offer an experience that is memorable.  An event is the perfect opportunity to set up a business to not be victim of the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality.  The purpose is to make the event one that will be remembered by anyone and everyone in a community and hopefully come up in conversations after the grand opening. Swag bags aren't just for convenience.  We have all experienced someone coming home with a swag bag filled with goodies and soon, those items are distributed to other members of a household or friends with a business name on them.  

Future business events with a more specific clientele in mind would be designed differently to have a narrower appeal.  Compared to other types of events that a business could host, a grand opening needs to offer more variety in the activities with a broader appeal that can be tailored to educate and almost be a family-friendly event.  It's a lot easier for an adult to attend if their children are allowed.  This might not work well if a business poses a danger to children.  Special accommodations can be made so that kids could be entertained in a separate area and that might suffice. You can hire childcare companies who do nothing but provide childcare for events.  One option if it was too dangerous for children to be present, would be to promote that there will be things to take home to surprise your children.  It's the world we live in. 

A grand opening is really about an introduction to all the members of a community to help a business gather more ambassadors and foster more conversations around the community.  If a business incorporates a food drive with a grand opening, it is a great way to show that a business cares about the community.  It's the perfect time to make a great impression because a business' grand opening is remembered all unto itself.  Other events can sometimes be blurred with other companies events, but a grand opening is different because it is new to everyone.  A business can and should claim a grand opening as its very own in a unique way.  It is all about being different from the competition especially with hosting events.

You'll notice a common thread in my blog posts, seminars and presentations about events of any kind and that is that any event needs to appeal to the five senses plus one more I refer to as "Quiet".  That's an entire blog post on its own!

Stay tuned for more information on how you can boost your business with successful events!

If you would like to learn more about our live seminars, teleseminars, webinars or speaking engagements, come on over to our Greatest of Days website and we'll be in touch!

"Events are unlike other forms of marketing.

They cannot be deleted or thrown away because they create permanent memories".

Business Owners! Put Your Party Hats and Thinking Caps on!

This is just the beginning of showing you how you can use events to benefit your business.  I'm guessing that you wouldn't think there could be more events for businesses that there are types of typical social celebrations that your family or friends would host.  I'm going to let you in on a good thing!  Marketing with events is the 2nd most effective method of marketing, yet it is the least understood and most underutilized method.  That is great news for your business.  Isn't it all about doing what no one else is doing?

Let's think of it this way.  An event cannot be deleted or erased because events become a permanent memory.  Memories are first recalled as a visual image, yet there's a big secret to having events being remembered in the first place.  There's an element to an event that will help establish your event as a memory but that dives into your brain chemistry.  That's a completely different blogpost for another time.  (I want you to come back!)

Here's an introduction to the types of events you could either consider hosting or participating in for your business.  Have fun imagining how these events could apply to your business!  Future blogposts will cover how you would incorporate each of these types of events into your marketing.  There are even more subcategories of events not listed here.

Wishing you the greatest of days!

If you would like to attend a seminar in the Seattle area, please email me and I'll put your name on the list to be notified of the events for 2016.

Marketing by hosting events is still in the top two methods of marketing but partly that is because they are underutilized and under-optimized.  There are about 20 different types of events that businesses can choose from to meet their marketing needs.  Didn't think there could possibly be that many?  Find out how you might be missing this great opportunity in marketing and find out what it takes to host a successful event!

http://tinyurl.com/osxj75e

Learn how events are part art, science, logistics and psychology and they should involved 5+ 1 more senses!

Your Business Makes Me Sad

                                         

There's a good chance your business makes me sad.

Okay, that deserves further explanation!  I see a source for new clients, happy employees, happy clients, recognition of your hard work, showing off new equipment and a way to help it pay for itself!  I also see a way for you to show that you care about your community.  I see a way for you to look well-connected in your industry and be looked up to as a leader.  What is this source that seems to accomplish many things that has appeal to most business owners?  Hint, hint..we're talking about marketing if you didn't figure that out already.  What makes me sad is that so few business take advantage of this marketing method.

What is that method of marketing?

I hope I've begun to make up for the first sentence you read, but this source or method that can accomplish all of the things mentioned above and more is hosting events!  It's the second most effective method of marketing next to online marketing, but marketing through events has been around for centuries. I dare say that it's a lot more fun, too!

Apples and oranges.

Online marketing and marketing through events are like comparing apples and oranges even though it might appear that you are hoping achieve the same outcome.  People are beginning to crave the company of others rather than being stuck in front of a screen.  There really is no substitute for meeting face to face when it comes to marketing.  It's like the difference between two dimensional and three dimensional.  We all navigate through life with the help of the five senses. It makes sense to employ marketing where you can appeal to all five senses rather than only two.  

Part art and science.

What makes me sad is the fact that the vast majority of businesses do not utilize the unique opportunity to market through events.  Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that seldom do they know how to exercise the art and science behind successful events.  There's no reason why they would be in the know about hosting events.

If you would like to learn more about the types of events your business could host or even co-host, click here to send me a message about our upcoming launch of "How to Host a Successful Event to Boost Your Business" to help you optimize marketing with events. We will have webinars and live seminars.