Businesses live or die on event attendance so don’t let rain, cold or heat blow the day.
Weather is a part of any event so plan, plan, plan for ALL temperatures and weather.
Advertise your destination reward for coming out in the weather AND a great deal in your pre-event promotions.
Attendees will consider getting wet, enduring cold or heat if you offer something to help them through it….because your advertising promised they’ll be rewarded.
Pre-Promotion
You did promote the event, right? Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Website, word-of-mouth, in-store, oevent fliers. Fine.
But that only covers people you know. What about the target consumers you don’t know?
Reach them with radio, TV. Use it all. Get it out there at least a week, preferably two weeks, in advance.
Instant Gratification Rewards
Tell everyone what they’ll get when they visit in your advertising so that prospective customers will want to come out just to get what you have offered. Think big and offer drawings of your top products.
Drawings Every Hour
Giveaways draw a crowd! Announce your drawings and put the next one on a chalk board. Be creative and go beyond fish bowl drawings.
It should be a product, but it could be a food item relevant to anyone at an event: water, fruit, chips, snacks, in a bag.
Discounts and Deals
Offer CLEAR discounts with CLEAR value attached.
Keep the offer simple and immediate.
25% off. 50% off. Buy one, get one free is probably the most popular.
$1 for 1 hour only.
$2 Tuesdays.
Free on Fridays: Free pens, free keychains, free, free, free.
Giveaways
Provide product or giveaways with every purchase. Market and event shoppers want a DEAL.
Make it relevant to the rain. Invest in umbrellas or rain slickers and brand them with your logo so customers can stay and shop.
Then, they can carry your brand name around every time it rains.
Destination Promotions
Reward, reward, reward your clients.
Free gift for every new customer.
Buy two get one free.
Sample, Sample, Sample!
You have to let people try your product. They need to taste it, try it on, feel it on their skin, put it in their hair, wear it with other clothes.
Food: Make it at least a mouthful. You want your food to be enjoyed and relished.
Don’t be stingy or you’ll turn potential clients off. Don’t offer a meal or you’ll be out of food fast. But be generous in your portions so people can fully appreciate your food. One bite may do it for chocolate, but not necessarily for a pasta or a salad.
Be Sample Selective
If you’ll have more than 1,000 attendees, you may want to sell your meat products and sample your salads. Sample body lotion and sell moisturizers.
Put aside a certain amount of product to sample…always sample.
And let them try it. They need an amount that is relevant and full. If you sell Jam, put the product on a tray and have a staffer walk it around.
Keep It Fresh
Literally. Keep your samples fresh. Freshen sample jars. Freshen fruit so it’s not dried out.
Whether it’s food, clothing, lotion you have to be very, very clean. Have napkins and hand wipes. Clean cups, silverware, plastic ware, plates.
Use very easy taste containers. Don’t make people dip into a jar. It’s not appetizing to dip and re-dip.
Offer personal sampling containers that are easy to grab and pick up.
The immediacy and the value reward drive them. Reward them for buying AND for stopping by. Be creative with what you give away!
The sun will eventually come out but you have everything covered if it doesn’t.
