Local Targets
Community Events Spark Business Opportunities
By Daryl Kulak
Originally published in Skin Deep, August/September 2005. Copyright 2005. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.
Community events are great ways to ingratiate yourself to the public while marketing your business. When determining what events make sense for you to be a part of, ask yourself the following: What do I really care about? What events and causes can I connect with most deeply? Where is the greatest concentration of my target market, and where do my potential clients spend their time?
Following are a few ideas that can help you get connected while sparking your business with free or low-cost marketing.
Walk your dog. If you happen to be a dog lover, enter yourself and your dog into a community dog walk. Many areas have frequent dog walks to raise money for various shelters and charities, such as the local Humane Society chapter. Decorate yourself and/or your dog with information about your business, and join in. Just make sure your dog is well-groomed and well-mannered.
Sponsor a block party. Consider sponsoring a block party in your neighborhood. Your sponsorship can be nothing more than offering a few appetizers next to your business cards and brochures. Or perhaps organize with other neighbors who may offer business services and have a drawing or contest, with one of the prizes being a free facial.
Write a column. In addition to large city papers, many towns have their own neighborhood newspapers or websites. Offer to write a short, monthly column on skin care for these venues. The editorial staff is often seeking content, and you can get free publicity for your business.
Join Service Day. A program popping up all over the country, Service Day is an outgrowth of community leadership training programs. It entails a large number of volunteers, often hundreds, who spend the day cleaning and conducting yard maintenance and fix-it projects around town. Leaders of the community often
volunteer their time, and the projects come in from the elderly, the disabled, and others who could use a little help. You'll feel great for participating, and you'll make a lot of solid connections with people, too.
Plant a tree. If you have a storefront, consider hosting a tree-planting ceremony on Arbor Day. The National Arbor Day Foundation will even throw in free trees for you to plant if you buy a membership. Be sure to have a few flags or balloons and information about your business prominently displayed. Invite your friends and clients, and have a party. For more information, visit www.arborday.org.
Team up with a local artist. Consider converting your waiting room into an art gallery. Invite a local artist to display her work in your waiting room, and have an art opening to celebrate. Invite your clients and business neighbors, and serve some cold drinks and a few appetizers. Discuss with the artist beforehand how you will sell her work, what the prices are, and if there's any commission for you. Note: Don't necessarily require a commission and certainly not a hefty one. Remember, you're doing this as a promotion for your business, so you don't have to make a lot.
Hold a free talk at your local library. Every library has a way for local experts to host free talks for patrons. Arrange with them to talk about skin care tips from which everyone can benefit: the importance of sunscreen protection, easing dry skin during the winter months, healthy nutrition for glowing skin, etc. This is not the time or the place to "sell yourself." You are to be seen as an expert offering valuable advice. This way, you'll build trust with your audience, and if there's enough trust, they will come to you afterward and ask for your card.
Drive a classic car in a local parade. Local parades are a great way to spread the word about your business. Rent or borrow a classic car or truck, and join in. Everyone loves to see these beauties drive by, and what better place to have a few hundred sets of eyes fixed on a nice company banner hanging off both doors?
Connect with your local fitness centers. Fitness centers, especially women-only centers, are always looking for ways to spice up their membership offerings. Choose a locally owned club, or at least a locally owned franchise, and pitch some promotional ideas to the owner. Think about offering a half-price body wrap or other package exclusively for the club's members. You get an opportunity for new clients, and the club gets to offer exclusive opportunities to its members.
The
Pay-Off
Your community involvement efforts should reflect who you really are, both personally and in business. Spending a few hours a month with one or many of these endeavors will pay off in marketing exposure.
Daryl Kulak is the president of the Simplicity Institute, an online business school for the holistic healthcare community. For more information, visit www.simplicity-institute.com, or e-mail
daryl@simplicity-institute.com.
Community events are great ways to ingratiate yourself to the public while marketing your business. When determining what events make sense for you to be a part of, ask yourself the following: What do I really care about? What events and causes can I connect with most deeply? Where is the greatest concentration of my target market, and where do my potential clients spend their time?
Following are a few ideas that can help you get connected while sparking your business with free or low-cost marketing.
Walk your dog. If you happen to be a dog lover, enter yourself and your dog into a community dog walk. Many areas have frequent dog walks to raise money for various shelters and charities, such as the local Humane Society chapter. Decorate yourself and/or your dog with information about your business, and join in. Just make sure your dog is well-groomed and well-mannered.
Sponsor a block party. Consider sponsoring a block party in your neighborhood. Your sponsorship can be nothing more than offering a few appetizers next to your business cards and brochures. Or perhaps organize with other neighbors who may offer business services and have a drawing or contest, with one of the prizes being a free facial.
Write a column. In addition to large city papers, many towns have their own neighborhood newspapers or websites. Offer to write a short, monthly column on skin care for these venues. The editorial staff is often seeking content, and you can get free publicity for your business.
Join Service Day. A program popping up all over the country, Service Day is an outgrowth of community leadership training programs. It entails a large number of volunteers, often hundreds, who spend the day cleaning and conducting yard maintenance and fix-it projects around town. Leaders of the community often
volunteer their time, and the projects come in from the elderly, the disabled, and others who could use a little help. You'll feel great for participating, and you'll make a lot of solid connections with people, too.
Plant a tree. If you have a storefront, consider hosting a tree-planting ceremony on Arbor Day. The National Arbor Day Foundation will even throw in free trees for you to plant if you buy a membership. Be sure to have a few flags or balloons and information about your business prominently displayed. Invite your friends and clients, and have a party. For more information, visit www.arborday.org.
Team up with a local artist. Consider converting your waiting room into an art gallery. Invite a local artist to display her work in your waiting room, and have an art opening to celebrate. Invite your clients and business neighbors, and serve some cold drinks and a few appetizers. Discuss with the artist beforehand how you will sell her work, what the prices are, and if there's any commission for you. Note: Don't necessarily require a commission and certainly not a hefty one. Remember, you're doing this as a promotion for your business, so you don't have to make a lot.
Hold a free talk at your local library. Every library has a way for local experts to host free talks for patrons. Arrange with them to talk about skin care tips from which everyone can benefit: the importance of sunscreen protection, easing dry skin during the winter months, healthy nutrition for glowing skin, etc. This is not the time or the place to "sell yourself." You are to be seen as an expert offering valuable advice. This way, you'll build trust with your audience, and if there's enough trust, they will come to you afterward and ask for your card.
Drive a classic car in a local parade. Local parades are a great way to spread the word about your business. Rent or borrow a classic car or truck, and join in. Everyone loves to see these beauties drive by, and what better place to have a few hundred sets of eyes fixed on a nice company banner hanging off both doors?
Connect with your local fitness centers. Fitness centers, especially women-only centers, are always looking for ways to spice up their membership offerings. Choose a locally owned club, or at least a locally owned franchise, and pitch some promotional ideas to the owner. Think about offering a half-price body wrap or other package exclusively for the club's members. You get an opportunity for new clients, and the club gets to offer exclusive opportunities to its members.
The
Pay-Off
Your community involvement efforts should reflect who you really are, both personally and in business. Spending a few hours a month with one or many of these endeavors will pay off in marketing exposure.
Daryl Kulak is the president of the Simplicity Institute, an online business school for the holistic healthcare community. For more information, visit www.simplicity-institute.com, or e-mail
daryl@simplicity-institute.com.
