Casual Living

Cindy Cragg

Create a BUZZ With Special Events
September 25, 2008

I’m heading to Wooster, OH next week for the 17^th annual WILLIAMSBURG Festival at Pine Tree Barn. It's the third year that I have presented at this festival and when it comes to promoting your business through an “in-store” event the folks at Pine Tree Barn have it dialed in. People come from near and far for this event that has all the makings of a colonial-style good time!

In-store special events are a great way to encourage long-time customers to stop by while enticing new customers to come in and see what you have to offer. Here are some tips for creating a successful event at your retail store.

First, figure out if you want to tie your event in with a holiday or season. Sometimes it’s best NOT to do this because those are already busy time for people. Themes can be created around products, interests or other local activities. Try to pick an event theme that can be incorporated annually. Then check around in your local area and make sure your date of choice does not conflict with any other major event in your region (colleges and universities are big ones to watch out for).

My demo area in the big tree barn at Pine Tree Barn. They bring vendors, artisans and presenters into the barn for the event.

Second, decide what’s going to be the “life of the party”. Are you going to bring in a special vendor or expert to do demonstrations? Maybe there is a local artist who compliments your product and could do a signing. Don’t overlook your local community and the people that work for you. You might be surprised what talents or special skills they have that could be an added benefit to your event. Presentations and demonstrations that relate to your product should have the coordinating product displayed nearby.

 This is the vendor area when they sell many of the items that I use in my demo. It is directly adjacent to my demo area... isn't that smart?

Third, reach out to the community and local media. Community members are often looking for fun things to do and newspapers are always looking for a good story. Almost all papers have local events calendars, both printed and on the web. Make sure your event gets on them. Start contacting local media several months in advance to start making a connection and then within a month of the event get the details firmed up. When appropriate, include activities for kids and advertise the event as ‘family friendly’.

Lastly, for your core group of loyal customers it is a nice idea to host an after-hours event by invitation only as a way to show your appreciation. Send out invitations three weeks before the event and make sure you have something special to offer them that will also encourage sales, like a product preview or pre-event discount.

Most importantly… have fun and so will your customers! 

Posted by Cindy Cragg on September 25, 2008 | Comments (0)