Marketing Today

Events are a powerful promotional strategy that can be utilized to heighten brand awareness, drive traffic, and close deals.

Events can be utilized by a business, company or organization to bring its brand to life with the purpose of demonstrating product- or service- offerings to consumers who are likely to subscribe, purchase, lease, vote, apply, advocate or influence. The goal of a properly planned event is to attract targeted consumers to the desired venue at a particular point in time and funnel them into the sales pipeline.

Event planning is time consuming and many marketers focus most of their time on event ideas that will entertain, excite or educate consumers. Remember, a productive event is one that drives sales. Even the most well executed event that attracts hundreds of visitors is a failure if it does not create consumer activity, or at a minimum, raise awareness among the target consumer group’s opinion leaders and influencers. Therefore, it is imperative that the event attract the right people.

To be successful you have to:
Get your target market’s attention by generating excitement.
Give them a call to action with an attention grabbing offer.
Create a lasting impression to build your brand with effective collateral material.)

Later this month, Kirkwood will publish a booklet, Secrets of Successful Events, that details the top ten secrets to planning successful marketing events. The printed version of the full-color booklet comes with a Budget Calculator that will enable event planners to develop and execute a successful event within the confines of a budget. Readers will also learn ways to offset expenses and generate income with Joint Marketing partnerships.

To reserve a free e-booklet in PDF format or to pre-order a printed full-color booklet with Budget Calculator, send an email to info@kirkwoodgroup.com.

Marketers and public relations professionals need long-term communication programs that facilitate the public’s acceptance of a project and lay the groundwork for future sales. So, what do you do during the months and possibly years between Project Announcement and Final Approval?

Here are 6 Ideas on how to Stay Connected While Moving Your Project Forward

1) Create and launch a three page website the day the project is announced. Include Home, FAQ, and Contact Us. Respond to every incoming inquiry.

2) Before entering the public approval process, identify stakeholders including neighborhood organizations, local business or merchants associations, universities, schools, and non-profits who will have an opinion about your project.

3) Make personal contact with each stakeholder group. Meet to discuss how your project may assist the organization achieve their goals. With some, you will agree to disagree. With others, you will discover powerful alliances, and opportunities for support.

4) During project approvals, create a blog where neighbors, business owners, citizens and stakeholders can express their opinions. Cross link to website. Add the blog address on all correspondence.

5) Stay connected. Read the local newspaper–both printed and online versions, and associated blogs, if any. Respond to any inaccuracies by writing a factual letter to the editor.

6) Would the perfect project please stand up? Admit the shortcomings of your project, while emphasizing the strengths. Explain how your project will benefit the community as a whole, even if it displeases a select few.

When developing a new product or service, are you product- or customer-focused? If you are product-focused, you will devote time to tweaking and refining the product so it works, can be manufactured cost effectively, and outperforms its competitors. If you are customer-focused, you will think about who will use the product, how the user will interact with your product, and what problems the product will solve.

There are hundreds of gadgets or service programs available in the marketplace. The true measure of success for a new product launch is: Does it sell? The only way a product or service will sell is if it benefits the user in concrete, measurable ways and if the product’s pricing can be justified. That is, the price needs to make sense to the purchaser, considering what she is gaining, and what she is giving up.

I’ve been thinking about what a new condominium elevator building is truly selling. On the face, these condominiums offer purchasers the opportunity to:

• Simplify their lifestyle (buyers want to start over, often after a life change) Benefit = Fresh Start without old baggage
• Downsize (buyers want to avoid lawn maintenance & house chores) Benefit = Less Work and Worry
• Freely travel (buyers can lock up and leave) Benefit = Freedom

Now, I translate these opportunities into measurable lifestyle benefits:

• For the Simplifier, the old choice had a monthly cost (principal + interest + property taxes + insurance) which was paid to the bank; there was also an emotional cost associated with it. Ask, ‘How much does a Fresh Start cost?’
• For the Downsizer, home maintenance costs time, money, and effort–either the effort to do the work, or the effort to manage the household. Again, the cost is measured financially and emotionally.
• For the Traveler, the old choice (probably a single family residence) hindered the owner’s ability to travel or visit family and friends. This is an opportunity cost that is difficult to measure. Freedom is priceless!

During the product development phase, it is important to keep customer-focused. With Customer Driven Design, a product evolves as a response to a stated or silent customer need. As marketers, it is our job to discover what really makes our customers tick. What really matters to them. When we understand this, and the value they attach to these issues, we are able to create solutions that enhance lives.

Have you discovered a silent customer need? In what ways have your products or services enhanced lives? Share it on the blog!