Be A Marketing Beast

Event Return on Investment

2009-08-31T10:44:00.003-04:00

Many of my clients ask how they can maximize their investment during a trade show. Many think it is the organizers sole responsibility however that is not the case. Clients need to take initiative as well to get the most out of a show. Here are some tips to ensure a great ROI:

1.) Have the right people working at your booth. The person needs to be outgoing and energetic not the passive person in the office.

2.) Advertise on your own that you will be at the show and offer an incentive for people to visit your booth. Also, have an attractive booth. The more pizazz it has the better.

3.) Collect leads at your booth and follow up with them as soon as the show is over. Don't wait a month because most likely they may have found someone else to provide that service.

4.) Measure your results from your leads. Did the leads pay for your booth space?

5.) Schedule a follow-up meeting with the organizer to see what worked and what didn't. This will help the event organizers as well as your business.

The key to any show is to work hard, get out there and make some sales!

ROI on Sponsorships

2009-07-27T13:27:00.004-04:00

One of the top questions I get from clients interested in sponsoring an event is what is my return on investment? This is a great question and the answer is two fold. The organizer needs to take responsibility to educate the client on ways to maximize and activate a sponsorship while the client needs to know how they will define success. Is it the number of leads generated? Is it Point-Of-Sale during the event? These are questions critical to determining success.

Other questions to ask are how much effort is the client willing to invest in their own sponsorship success and what are their ultimate goals and objectives? Find out what the organizer is doing to help make the event and your sponsorship blossom.

My best advice is to have a conversation with your organizer and work out a plan to measure your ROI.

Cool new site for event marketers

2009-06-02T07:30:00.003-04:00

In a tough economy it amazes me that more people are not jumping on the event/trade show band wagon. It truely is one of the most effective means to met qualified prospects for businesses. If you are an event marketer and are having difficulty finding sponsors I recommend visiting sponsorpitch.com.

It is in a beta version and has some kinks in it, but the idea behind it is fabulous. Basically, it matches clients interested in sponsorship with events. Check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Top 5 Reasons Event Marketing Works

2009-05-11T10:02:00.000-04:00

People often use their advertising dollars in traditional media only. While traditional media is good, businesses can also benefit from being part of events. My top five reasons are listed below.

1.) Events put you in front of prospective customers. There is nothing more valuable than in-person contact to promote you product or service.

2.) Events are great places to introduce new products or services into the marketplace and get instant feedback.

3.) Event marketing establishes your presence as a competitor in the marketplace.

4.) By participating in events, you receive marketing and advertising support from the organizers.

5.) People will inevitably talk about the event and if you have a dynamic display people will talk about you and we all know there is nothing better than word-of-mouth advertising.

Why sponsorship is the best marketing tool

2009-05-08T07:56:00.000-04:00

I have been in the sponsorship business for over 10 years now and can honestly say there is power given to companies that actively participate in event sponsorships. How you may ask? Well the primary reason is that it creates a dialogue with the consumer rather than talking at them. According to a recent study by IEG, sponsorship is the most direct means of communication. It reaches people in their environments rather than intrude upon them like telemarketing and is not passive which it can be in other mediums. With the current economic uncertainty, business are smart to put their dollars into sponsorship.