Overview
Are there annual local events that your company should celebrate and participate in? Annual Christmas Fair? New Year’s Celebration? City or National Holidays? Many of these events already draw customers and tourists to the area.
Look for opportunities to sample your products and to drive this traffic into your store. Additionally, find ways to make these relevant within the walls of your business.
Details
Use your list of customer groups you created during your Community Assessment. You can find instructions for Community Assessment within the Step-by-Step Sales-Building Guide.
There are two approaches to Community Events & Festivals…
- activities you can do within your location to celebrate, and
- participating with a booth or kiosk at the event.
What events could you participate in that would be compelling for tourists, business professionals, parents with strollers, or area residents, etc.?
A few thought-starters include:
- Art Festivals
- Community Festivals
- Sporting Event (offer options for kids & adults)
- Charity Walks & Runs
- Community Parades
- Tree Lightings
In-Store Events
If your city is celebrating a major anniversary, an annual event – do things in your store that tie-in to the locally relevant event. Create a special product offering or bundle of products with a special price.
Out-of-Store Events
Use these events as a chance to sample or demonstrate products. Invest in materials to host a booth. Understand what other booths or kiosks look like so you can match the set-up and quality. This may be the first impression potential customers have of your business.
Bring your best and most-friendly employees to these events.
See the Sampling and Demonstrations Guide for more great support on this topic.
