Marketing fundamentals, while they vary in scale of execution, typically remain revolved around target audience, geography and message content.
The marketing process for an event starts long before the event takes place, as you must ensure there is a mechanism in place to capture leads and allow your customers to opt-in to a lead capturing device. For some, this happens on the website you maintain; a visitor has the opportunity to opt-in to newsletters and notifications and stay abreast of the goings-on of your business. For others, you may utilize a CRM tool to store customer information and export data for such a task. No matter what you are using to secure leads, this segment will be imperative when it comes time to market for an event.
1. Consider your target audience. Who do you want to attract for this event? What topics will be the most well-attended or be of most value to the target audience? In essence, you are forming a commercial – a call-to-action – for this target demographic you seek. Put yourself in their shoes and contemplate what wording and event content would prompt you to make this a must-see! Current methodology of lead storage and social media will give you the capability to geo-target, find groups and meet-up organizations whose interests are closely aligned with yours and will also give you a platform with which to submit your information. Furthermore, everything you need to know as you market this event is centered around adding value to your target audience.
2. Examine your methods of outreach. Sending a newsletter that can be personalized, utilizing social media groups, using meet-up organizations that are available in your location, liaising with local networking groups like Chambers or BNI or affiliations that are in line with you or your company’s goals – there are a litany of different ways to get your branding and message in front of the right eyes. Success can certainly be found a number of different ways by not discriminating against any of the potential portals of participants. Think about where your target audience is viewing information and where your desired customers are looking for events and plant yourself there. You have also accumulated a number of leads and will continue to do so; having a newsletter that goes out to them can spread the word, but many of these will also provide analytics so you can see what topics are highly regarded and where your customers are engaging the newsletter – this assists you in the future as you continue to market more events and solutions.
3. Invest in your message. You want to make your message really speak to your audience. Is it something very specific and niche to a select group of people, an industry or an area of specialization? Then your messaging will reflect that – spelling out and fine-tuning the verbiage specific to that group. Are you trying to cast a wide net to attract a larger audience? Utilize appropriate wording to entice large groups to take interest; be relatively broad about the topic – feel free to spell out any specific items that will be covered, but give a more general message so that the curiosity of your recipients will be piqued.
Continue to evolve this process as well. Often, it takes time to build a following – just like building a sales funnel. In reality, you are building a community around your brand. Depending on where the recognition currently lies of you, your brand and your events, you can be at a starting point that will require consistent application of the aforementioned principles in order to thrive. As word spreads of your events, you continue to add leads who are on the receiving end of your newsletter, and you figure out what really works and what doesn’t in these events and your outreach, the momentum will grow and you can reach optimum levels in effectiveness and productivity – and value for all!
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Carson V. Heady has written a book entitled “Birth of a Salesman” that has a unique spin that shows you proven sales principles designed to birth in you the top producer you were born to be. If you would like to strengthen your sales skills, go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ICRVMI2/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_yGXKtb0G
Heady posts for “Consult Carson” serving as the “Dear Abby” of sales and sales leadership. You may post any question that puzzles you regarding sales and sales leadership careers: interviewing, the sales process, advancing and achieving. You will also be directly contributing to his third book, “A Salesman Forever.”
Question submissions can be made via LinkedIn to Carson V. Heady, this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carson-V-Heady/125078150858064?ref=hl , Twitter via @cvheady007 or e-mail at cvheady007@yahoo.com or you may post an anonymous comment as a reply to my WordPress blog at the bottom of this page: https://carsonvheady.wordpress.com/the-home-of-birth-of-a-salesman-2010-published-by-world-audience-inc-and-the-salesman-against-the-world-2014/
The Life and Times of Carson V. Heady 