"Love is all we have, the only way that each can help the other."Euripides
|
| |
"A Frugal Budget – Make Friends With Your Bank Statement"
We've all been there. That time of the month when you begin to realise that your bank statement is due, and you purposefully avoid bringing the mail in so that you don't have to face up to how little is left in your account this month. Buying those six ...
Bling Bling on a Budget
A nice piece of jewelry can brighten up your entire day. It can bring together an outfit and make you feel great. Paying a lot for that piece of jewelry however, doesn't make you feel very good. There is a lot of variation in the jewelry industry, and ...
The Importance Of A Budget
Budgeting is an integral part of society. In today's hurry up and get it done society; every day we are trying to budget our time, our meals, our kids' time and our money. Unfortunately for many, most of this process is done mentally and never put on ...
|
|
|
| |
Are you planning an event or participating in a trade show any time soon? If so, consider the following 10 low-cost marketing tactics before mailing your payment.
Event Marketing Tactic #1 -- Is the purchase decision-maker attending the event? Are you certain? Let's say you sell gifts that help increase employee moral and you're considering exhibiting at the National Association of Human Resources annual conference. Is your decision-maker attending? Who attends this event -- HR directors, managers or VPs? Perhaps all, or a small percentage of all three attend. If your decision-maker is a human resources director, then you'll want to make sure the event management company can provide you statistics supporting what percentage of the participants have director-level titles. You need to drill down to your target audience. It's not good enough to say that it's a human resources related event; rather, is the job title you're targeting attending? And if so, what percentage of the attendees hold this title? I recommend at least 50-60% before spending any money.
Event Marketing Tactic #2 -- What value-added benefits is the venue [trade show organizer] making available to your business? Will they allow you access to the attendee mailing list so you can implement a premailing promoting your one-day trade show special, as well as the location of your booth? Well organized events, at minimum, provide a list of attendees after the event so exhibitors can follow up. More organized events provide participant contact information BEFORE the event as well as after. Other value-added benefits to inquire about include: being included in participant email distributions promoting the event, as well as an advertisement in the event show guide.
Event Marketing Tactic #3 -- Target your event qualifying questions around the "who?," instead of the "how many?."
Event Marketing Tactic #4 -- Giveaways should be relevant to your business. Don't give something away for free just for the heck of it. Who cares if you collect 10,000 names because you ran a really cool promotion giving away a free 48" TV. If you're a personal chef, what does a TV have to do with your business? Nothing! [Unless you're Emeril.] Therefore, you've just collected 10,000 NON-qualified leads. Instead, as a personal chef you could try, "Sign up to receive our special report, "How to Live Like the Rich; Tips to Hire an Affordable Personal Chef." One can assume the majority of business cards deposited in your fish bowl have an interest in personal chefs.
Event Marketing Tactic #5 -- Location, location, location. If prospects can't see you, then you're wasting your time. Don't be fooled into purchasing a cheap booth at a last-minute special, such as "One booth remaining at 50% off." Chances are no one will be visiting you, since your booth will be tucked away hidden from all eyes. The most ideal locations are found at the entryway to the event and near the pathway to the food stations and restrooms. Corner booths between major walk-throughs are ideal.
Event Marketing Tactic #6 -- Some of your most qualified event leads come from networking with other exhibitors. Therefore, secure the exhibitors' list several days before your event. At minimum, you want to know what competitors will be there so you can mystery shop. What's more, you want a plan outlining what exhibitors you intend to approach to either pitch your services, or secure an informal partnership. Prepare your plan and your sales-spin before the big day!
Event Marketing Tactic #7 -- Would you like to participate in more events but don't have the budget? Try approaching complementary exhibitors and ask if they'd be interested in sharing booth space with you. Split the costs. Moreover, you can cover for each other when you need a break. Or, look around for hidden advertising money. If you're a distributor, perhaps you've accrued MDF funds [Market Development Funds] a.k.a. advertising coop money, unbeknownst to you. Many companies will allow resellers to spend MDF funds to pay for event booth fees.
Event Marketing Tactic #8 -- Save yourself a lot of time and only approach event passersby who make eye contact. People who don't look at you or your booth are not looking for a reason. Remember, you can only speak to so many people at an event, therefore utilize your precious time wisely. Target those who make eye contact.
Event Marketing Tactic #9 -- Make sure you're allowed to display signs, posters, banners, etc. Treat your signs as miniature billboards. No more than six words and make sure it can be read from at least 10' away.
Event Marketing Tactic #10 -- Don't pay full price. Remember, almost everything in life is negotiable, including booth fees. Always ask for a price reduction; you'll be pleasantly surprised. Printed advertising and/or booth fees are just a starting point for negotiations.
P.S.....Stand up, don't chew gum and try not to talk too much to the other people working your booth. The latter makes you appear unapproachable. Finally, your attire should be slightly better than what you believe attendees will be wearing. For example, if you're attending an event whereby most of the attendees are engineers, don't wear a three-piece suit!
Sharron Senter is a New England-based marketing consultant, speaker, writer and founder of Senter & Associates, a marketing communications firm that helps small and home-based businesses deploy low-cost online and offline marketing strategies. She's well known for her free weekly emailed marketing tips found at http://www.sharronsenter.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Retailers offer deals, discounts on ‘Cyber Monday’ - Sharon Herald
NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers who saw Thanksgiving holiday sales drop off as the weekend progressed stepped up online promotions on the day known as “Cyber Monday” to try to get consumers tired of the crowds at stores to keep shopping. But after ...
Help! We're $80,000 in debt. What can we do? - ABC2 News
My husband and I have $80,000 in credit card debt in addition to a mortgage of $136,000. We are paying our bills on time but I do not see a way out of this if we continue making the minimum payments. He makes $80,000 and I make $20,000. He refuses to ...
Creative budgeting - Hattiesburg American
CHRISTMAS AND FRUGALITY ARE two words that often don't mix. We usually let the Christmas spirit loosen our purse strings and save our guilt-stricken, penny-pinching resolutions for later. Last year, according to the National Retail Federation, the ...
Boys & Girls Club Club offers budgeting seminar - Commercial News
DANVILLE — The Boys & Girls Club is partnering with Western-Southern Financial Group to present a free budgeting and money flow seminar. The seminar will be at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at the club, 850 N. Griffin St. The seminar will cover topics such as ...
Save Up To 96% on ECM with an Open Source Stack - Marketwatch
LONDON, Dec 03, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Alfresco Software, Inc., the leader in open source enterprise content management (ECM), today announced the release of a comparative analysis of ECM pricing. The Alfresco Total Cost of Ownership (TCO ...
|
