The new section of the “Event.ru” magazine is called “Event as a business” and is addressed to the heads of event companies. It will talk about the features of management in the event business and technologies for promoting event services.
The regular author of the column is event marketing consultant Alexey Nazimko. Alexey Nazimko is a freely practicing consultant on event marketing and personal branding, director of the Center for Applied Humanitarian Research “Science for Life”, a member of the Moscow Network of Organizational Development Consultants ODN. Author of the book “Event Marketing: A Guide for Customers and Performers.” Author of the trainings “Yogurt is pouring from heaven: the basics of constructing an advertising myth”, “A hero for your advertising and PR campaign”, “Technologies of myth-making in organizational management”, “An event is a tool of change”, “How to save a corporate event?” Professional motto: “The show is business, business is the show!” Professional credo: “Business is like a person. A person should be beautiful, rich and smart, a business should be aesthetic, profitable and rational.”
A true master is born when he turns his technologies to himself. History knows many cases of cynical detachment from the subject of one’s own professional activity. You can be a barefoot shoemaker, a hungry cook, an athlete-drug dealer, or give lectures about the dangers of lectures. My profession is event marketing consultant. When people ask me how I find clients, I answer: “You live alone. Who washes your socks?” A true marketer cannot help but know how to “sell” himself. It is logical to assume that direct marketing specialists will sell their services using direct mailing tools, IT companies - through banner advertising, indexing in search engines and viral marketing on the Internet, etc. Of course, all means are good, but I prefer to sell event marketing services using event marketing.
There are several types of events that can be used as a channel for promoting event services:
Event company's own events.
Some event companies create their own event brands. These could be exhibitions or festivals. This business model is convenient for two reasons. Firstly, our market’s traditional dependence on seasonal conditions is being eliminated. Secondly, a brand event is an intangible asset and can be sold after successful operation. I will certainly write about brand events in future articles, but now the following rule is important for us: one project should always sell another, and one event should promote subsequent ones.
For example, if your company owns an exhibition or festival brand, make sure that your banner is present in the event space, information about the organizers is on the website, and subsequent events are announced in the booklets. If you own several branded events, divide them into groups. Perhaps several events are aimed at the same or similar target audience. Use your contact database repeatedly and gradually expand it. There are also events that the event company makes to order. These could be corporate events, promotional events, business conferences. Try to post information about ongoing events on your website in a timely manner. This gives the impression of active work. An image of being in demand in the market will benefit you, because clients prefer to deal with leaders rather than outsiders. News information must contain several components: the presence of a reference to time and place; the name of the company that ordered the event; a few words about the idea and concept of the event; visuals. Attention: the placement of this information on the website must always be agreed upon with the client. In some cases, photographic material from corporate events posted online is undesirable. The presence of news information on the site creates the effect of the reality of your company’s existence in the eyes of the user and takes you out of the virtual space into the space of off-line relationships.
Professional exhibitions.Another tool for promoting event services. As a rule, such events are held in early spring and early autumn. When deciding to participate in an exhibition, clarify your goals and the audience you are targeting. Many exhibition events in our industry have long turned into get-togethers. This is not a problem if you are subcontractors. For example, if your company is engaged in catering, floristry or supplies technical equipment. But if you are targeting customers for special events, participation in a specialized exhibition is not always justified. Try to find out in advance from the organizers the quantitative and qualitative composition of visitors, focusing on the results of the previous year. At the same time, it is not just the formal declaration of the organizers that is important, but the argumentation based on the availability of channels for attracting the target audience, as well as statistics based on the analysis of visitors’ questionnaires.
Non-core exhibitions.So what if you will be a black sheep when participating in a sports exhibition. But if your company has experience in sports marketing, you will be ahead of the rest. Just imagine: your stand in the exhibition hall, and not a single competitor nearby. Fairy tale! But it will become reality if you take this recommendation into account. It is very important: when participating in non-core exhibitions, you need to “reconfigure” the company’s presentation for a specific segment of the target audience. This applies not only to stand design and image materials. In your conversation with a potential client, be prepared to demonstrate your knowledge of a specific market and your willingness to provide your services there. The language of certain industries is almost a foreign language. If you don’t know it perfectly, use a phrase book and study the basic terms. Promotion through special events will require additional effort from you:
Availability of memorable presentation material.Of course, it’s strange if you don’t have it yet. But take a closer look, do your business cards and brochures differ from the business cards and brochures of your competitors? Good presentation material should not only inform about the company’s services, but also make a strong emotional impression. This impression can be achieved through design, paper texture, and non-trivial text. You should not count on a potential client visiting your website, because this is a situation of delayed communication. A special event is needed to make an impression here-and-now. And this already requires communicative competence, which will be discussed further.
Off-line communicative competence.In any relationship, two things are important - reciprocity and equivalence. If you were given a business card, respond in kind; if it’s the other way around, tactfully remind your interlocutor of this sign of reciprocal politeness. Likewise, if you are an exhibitor and a visitor comes to your stand, invite him to sit down or stand when he is standing. Check yourself often for reciprocity and equivalence of relationships in various communicative situations. Select communicatively competent employees to participate in special events. Often, heads of organizations consider it necessary to work independently at exhibition stands. But not many people can do this effectively. Meeting with the head of an organization at an exhibition is sometimes reminiscent of visiting the reception room of a major official. However, this does not always happen. There are many pleasant and communicative leaders in our industry. Avoid the situation of interviewing your interlocutor at a special event. This resembles an interrogation and always creates a zone of conflict. Try to transform your interlocutor’s strategy from “I’m just looking” to “how we can collaborate in the near future.” But don’t put too much pressure, because consent to cooperation received today can easily turn into refusal of cooperation tomorrow. Remember that the benefits of communication may not have a direct monetary expression. Every industry has party characters. They do not bring new orders, but largely thanks to them, information about you and your company circulates.
Optimal visual self-presentation.Remember the context of the event - its format, timing, specifics of the audience, etc. d. Personally, I love a measured display of shocking appearance. But you shouldn’t overuse this at a business event, especially at the first meeting with potential clients and partners. For the first contact, it is better to choose an extremely neutral style and only later “tune in” to the specific interlocutor. You need to pack for a special event like going to space. This is me in the sense that everything needs to be foreseen. Wherever you are, you should always have several dozen business cards with you. But even if the event is large, do not allow yourself to hand over a business card by pulling it out of a thick pack wrapped in an elastic band. People love it when you show them attention, and leave “wholesale” communication to networkers. So, get a good business card holder. The business card holder should be branded with the company logo if you are a middle manager, but it can be neutral if you are a top manager or company owner. More about branded accessories. You can sew special corporate clothing for employees working at the stand. In this case, everything depends on their function. If an employee answers simple questions from visitors, distributes promotional material, and then forwards the client to the manager, corporate clothing would be appropriate. If an employee must conduct substantive negotiations, his appearance should be more respectable, and in no case should be associated with a hotel receptionist or promoter. One way or another, the person representing the company at a special event must stylistically fit into the image of the brand. To do this, you don’t have to get a “I won’t forget the Beaver Event” tattoo on your forehead. It’s enough to ask yourself what your company’s image is in the market, and then take a good look at yourself in the mirror. However, any particulars will only work if the company has good overall marketing.
Sincerely yours, event marketing consultant Alexey Nazimko
Based on materials from Event .Ru magazine
