Tag: marketing

Get Ready For The Trade Show Season

Trade show season is almost upon us!  In fact, for some industries, it’s already begun.  Toy Fair took place last month, Auto Shows are already taking place, and next month will see the Gadget Show Live along with the first of Europe’s major Games Festivals.  If you want to make an impact this year, you’d better start planning your booth, and contacting trailer producers and poster printers now!

trade show tips
Are you ready for 2012 trade show season?

Trade Shows or Festivals?

The state of the economy right now means that many business owners can’t afford to attend several events per year, so they have to plan their events strategy carefully, taking their display trailers only to the events with the biggest impact.  The trick is figuring out what kind of impact you want, and who you’re trying to reach.

Sponsoring festivals and sporting events is a good way to raise brand awareness and generate goodwill.  If your message is a simple one, such as “Come buy your guitars from our music shop”, or “We sell football kits”, then generating awareness in this way is a good start.

If your message is more complicated, or you want to reach a wider range of people than you would at a local event, then you should consider attending a trade show.  Some trade events are industry only – such as the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.  This event is attended by international press, investors, video game publishers, and buyers for stores from all over the world.  If you’re preparing to launch a product, and want to generate a lot of buzz, this is the place to do it.

Other events are open to the public.  At public events, there are a lot of companies competing for the attention of the visitors, and in many industries there’s an ever-increasing battle to produce the flashiest display trailers, offer the best swag, and pull the biggest publicity stunts.  If you’re on a tight budget, getting into this kind of battle is a bad idea, unless you’re sure that you can create a lasting impression.  People who visit your booth for a free inflatable sword and shield or other crazy gift set won’t buy your product – but people who visit your booth to demo your product and pick up a catalogue might well turn into customers later.

Keeping Costs Down

Trade shows are great for networking.  Ideally, you should try to attend any shows that are local to you, and also try to find room in your budget for a major, highly respected show elsewhere.  The power of being able to say “As seen at the Frankfurt Auto Show” should not be underestimated.

To keep costs down, start negotiating with trailer producers early, and show space as soon as you can to take advantage of early bird discounts.  Try to get bulk discounts for posters, business cards, and other essentials.  While you’re at the show, take advantage of any networking opportunities – get out there and hand out cards to people at other stands, and take the time to see what other people are doing.  Trade shows aren’t just good ways to spread the word about what you’re doing – they’re good ways to find out what’s happening in the rest of your industry too.

Image: Yodel Anecdotal / Flickr

5 Things Every Business Owner Needs to Include in a Strong Marketing Plan

So, you are about to start your own business. How exciting! Alternatively, perhaps you already have a part-time business and you would like to see it blossom into a full time venture. Well, every business – no matter how small or large – needs a strong marketing plan in order to succeed. Here are five tips that will help give you a leg up on the competition.

Specialty

What makes you unique among your competitors? Is it your personalized service? Your pricing? What does your business offer that people cannot get elsewhere? If you do not know what you makes your business unique, then you need to come up with a specific angle that sets you apart. Be creative and think outside the box. Your specific niche is what you need to know in order to successfully market your business.

Branding

Your business needs to have an identity. A good logo design and a catchy slogan go a long way in helping give your business a “face” that people will remember. Do not just slap together a piece of clip art and some text on your own. If you do not already have one, hire a professional designer to create a logo and use it consistently on all your company materials like business cards, letterhead, etc. Good branding will ensure that people take your business seriously.

Growth

It seems simple enough that businesses have to grow in order to be profitable. However, how much should you expand? How quickly should you do it? The best way to answer these questions is to set reasonable goals for your business. Don’t let your ambition over exceed your resources. Set attainable monthly or quarterly goals for your business and keep striving to meet them. Once you start meeting your goals on a regular basis, then it is time to raise the bar.

Promotion

Advertising and marketing go hand in hand. Where are you going to sell your product? Who are you selling it to? The days of just being able to buy ad space in the phone book, then sit back, and wait for the customers to roll in are long over. There are other options like online marketing, radio commercials and attending business networking events. Set a promotional budget you can afford and then figure out which ways are the best ways to reach your target audience.

Goals

Not only do you need to have goals for your business, but you have to set personal marketing goals as well. You have to commit to doing a certain amount of marketing each month. It may be that you attend two business-networking events each month and send out five sales letters, or you write three weekly blog posts and leave ten comments on other blogs. Whatever your preferred methods of promotion are, you consistently have to keep marketing your business.

Marketing does not have to be a chore; in fact, it can actually be a lot of fun to go out and spread the word about your business. Additionally, it is exciting to see your efforts pay off when you see new customers start coming. A strong marketing plan will help your business prosper and allow you to keep doing what you love.

About the Author: Jamey Vazguez is a marekting specialist who enjoys working with small businesses. She particularly enjoys working with entrepreneurs who are in the healthcare field.