Small businesses are always looking for new ways to grow or promote their products, services or offering. And events help us do just that. Hosting an event is a great way to promote your business to an existing or new audience. By providing customers with a tangible experience and face-to-face interaction with your brand, events offer a variety of opportunities for small businesses to grow.
Doing these five things will help to ensure your event is successful.
1. Capture attendee data
Data collection is extremely important in determining the success of your event and growing a successful business. Traditionally this information has been collected manually on arrival, but newer technology simplifies this with online tools such as post-event email surveys. This information allows event organisers to track attendee behaviours and trends, and will help small businesses plan ahead effectively for things such as new product launches and current demand.
2. Partner up
An event can be costly and a partnership is a great way to reduce the costs and maximise investment. However, it’s important to consider the opportunities outside of dollars alone. Always partner with an organisation or individual that aligns closely with your brand to ensure they add value to your event and appeal to your shared target audience. Selecting the right partnership can reduce expenses as well as expand your reach by tapping into their extended network.
3. Showcase your product or service
Make sure your product or service is a focus at the event by ensuring it’s visible and accessible for attendees to interact with. There’s no better promotion than giving guests the opportunity to use and experience your product or service personally and see its value first hand.
4. Know your audience
Always make sure you know who will be attending to maximise the impact of the event. People are often time poor these days, so carefully consider what you’re offering to get their attention. Maybe you’re providing them the opportunity to learn something new, to improve their career or reach a personal goal. By truly understanding your audience, you will be able to tailor a valuable experience.
5. Engage with attendees after the event
Always try to establish a relationship with attendees and work on maintaining those new personal connections. Remember to consider the main motivation for having customers connect with you and make sure it serves this purpose. The key to success is to engage with a targeted audience and foster relationships with event attendees and stakeholders in a way that has clearly defined goals that are achievable. With so many tools readily available, you don’t need to be a professional event manager to put on a great event that delivers results and drives business growth.