5 Reasons Why Events Marketing Can Work for Small Businesses

Events for business promotion have increasingly gained importance. Major firms, whether local or multinational companies (MNCs), have become more highly visible outdoors, marching out into industry-wide exhibits or staging private initiatives of their own. But according to a 2015 joint survey of The UPS Store and Inc., a considerable percentage of small business owners, recorded at 42% of total respondents, likewise put their marketing budget to events.

Event marketing for worthy consideration of small business owners
Photo courtesy of purplegillian via Pixabay

As these small business owners may probably have realized, events to be effective don't require hugeness in terms of activities or attendance as long as they meet your marketing objectives. Find out more the reasons why events marketing can work the same or even more, not only for established, but also for small and startup businesses like yours.

Highly Targeted Audience. Tri-media is basically designed to touch base with the broad mass audience. With events marketing however, you could decide even for an extremely selected audience of your choice. You could devise ways to drill down and cut through the audience pie by putting in place activity qualifiers such as payment of entrance fees, showing up for attendance of specific family members from particular age segment, presentation of employment I.D.s for exclusivity on specific occupational group, and so on. These event screeners serve to guarantee that you generate the market with corresponding demographic or psychographic profile you’re targeting. With the assurance of high interest from event attendees since compliance with these activity safety nets is made voluntarily, wise marketing investment is on the works for your business.

Face-to-Face Communication. Nothing beats the rewards which personal communication can bring you. Beyond the actual message transmitted, personal communication also enriches interaction via non-verbal cues that you see from customers like facial expressions and body gestures. Based on these verbal and non-verbal communication signals you receive, you could make the best out of your conversation with clients by asking on wants, clarifying gray areas, soliciting suggestions, and probing further on possible product likes or dislikes, etc. If you’re on a trade exhibit that combines retail selling, you could adjust your negotiation binge based on these message signals to have better chance of closing a sale, or generate leads from contacts made. Overall, face-to-face communication grants you the chance to wrap up your customers' experience towards something pleasant and memorable, which they can attach to your brand and will make them buy when they see it at the trade.

Direct Feedback. Market feedback is very much valued in business. It's the only way you could know how your product is faring with your customers. This can help drive your business’ current performance and future outlook. The enriched, individual interfacing with clients during an event made possible by face-to-face communication may be summed up to a general trend on consumer behavior and attitude toward your products and services. This nudges you to return to your work station, to rethink, and to redraw your marketing plans, if the need may be.

Dovetailed Approach. When you decide to go with events marketing, you have the freehand on planning your event execution. Except for minor technicalities on audio, sound, light and other venue parameters, the sky’s the limit until where your wit and creativity can bring you for your event. You need to be clear though on your business goals for joining or hosting one to make sure your money, time, and efforts aren’t wasted on non-sense activities. For instance, if you intend to heighten awareness and education for your product’s new feature and benefit but you’re focused mainly on games and marketing collaterals distribution without conducting any product demo or sampling activities, you’re definitely much off the target, girl!

Better Control. A marketing event is like a live show, with your company, brand or product acting at curtain call upon the exhibit's opening and closing hours. Any changes to the program can therefore be done on real time without any lags. You, yourself can effect these revisions without going through or waiting on third party agencies. This definitely puts you at better control all throughout your event for any corrective measures to avoid wasted resources. For instance, if your aim is purely product retailing but you see on the first day that stock movement is slow, you may consider coming up with free goods promo like a Buy 5, Get 1 FREE to hasten sales off-take.

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