Are you ready to work on your marketing event calendar for coming months? With the appropriate planning and a strategy, there is business waiting to meet you.
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Develop a budget. A marketing budget can be somewhat like an endless pot. There are no limits to how much you can spend. You probably do not want to spend more than 5 to 10 percent of your revenues on your marketing. But first, take a look at all of your “must and constant” expenditures, and then see what you have left. You will realize that if you begin selling a new product line, you may need to have additional money in your marketing budget.
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Review last year's events. Complete a list of all the events you participated in last year. Note the health fairs, dinner events, conference exhibits and sponsorship activities, then place next to each the cost of attending. Meet with key staff who attended and rate each event: those that are a must attend, those that you would like to attend but are not a must, those that you would attend if there is extra money around and the “do-not-bother-with-again” events.
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Look at your giveaways from last year. Have you given away something people can actually use? Do you have a giveaway that gives you the visibility you are seeking? How many did you use and what was the cost? Can you buy more of the product and receive a discount? Consider the value of forgetting about all those toys and develop a small but definitive brochure about your company. Consider different giveaways for different audiences.
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Purchase an erasable calendar to post on the wall. Mark your calendar with plans for the next year. Let everyone on your staff see what is coming up. Salespeople will want to let customers know what events they will be attending and, possibly, how involved the company is in your community.
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Ask all staff to submit suggestions for meetings that should be attended. Develop a complete list of every possible event you could attend. Define who would be attending and whether the audience will be right for the products you sell.
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Determine the registration or sponsorship fee for the events you are considering. How much staff will you need to participate? Once you have calculated all of the costs connected with each event, you will be better able to develop a budget. You want to invest your marketing event money carefully because you cannot attend everything.
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Consider events that will help you meet customers and referral sources interested in various segments of your business. Think about all of your product lines, and look for events and programs that will give further exposure to what's new in your business.
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Develop a final but flexible calendar. When the final calendar is complete, do not etch the dates in stone. Continually revise and reschedule. Encourage staff to let you know of new events they've heard about that may be more valuable to attend than those already on your list. Your marketing event calendar should always be a work in progress.
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Consider the work that is needed to participate in each event, i.e., educational event, luncheon, a new convention display. For each event, develop a planning form outlining all the tasks that need to be completed, like submitting the registration form, requesting the check, checking that you have enough marketing materials, making sure a sales representative is free to attend, etc.
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Write a closing report. Write a few paragraphs about how each meeting went, how many people attended and the value of returning again next year. Your staff may be quick to say, “We need to be at this meeting.” In reality, you do not need to be at every meeting in your community. Sometimes it is best to use your money to make a small donation to a charity, have lunch with a potential new referral source or save what's in your budget for the next unexpected event. While there is tremendous value in attending conferences, exhibitions and health fairs, spend your money wisely.
Finally, make sure you have gathered those names and business cards in a safe place.
Louis Feuer is president of Dynamic Seminars & Consulting Inc. and the founder and director of the DSC Teleconference Series, a teleconference training program. He can be reached at www.DynamicSeminars.com or by phone at 954/435-8182.
