Related Articles on Starting an Event and Meeting Planning Business:
- How to Start an Event and Meeting Planning Business
- Starting a Career in Event and Meeting Planning
- How to Start an Event Management Business
- Startup Costs and Pricing an Event and Meeting Planning Business
- Market Segments of the Event and Meeting Planning Business
- Marketing an Event and Meeting Planning Business
- 10 Ways to Market Your Event Planning Business
- How to Succeed in the Event and Meeting Planning Business
If you have an event planning business (or planning to start one), here are 10 ideas on how to market your business and get clients:
1. Hook up with big event planning companies.
Some will give their overflow work to their subcontractors or they may even ask you to work with them on their projects. Good relationship with competitors can be beneficial to your new event planning business. For information on how to do this, read the article How to Work with Competitors.
RELATED: How to Start an Event and Meeting Planning Business
2. Find organizations in your area that conducts a lot of events and seminars, and offer to arrange it for them.
Contact all the local clubs, sports clubs and churches and tell them about your service. For example, you can offer to plan an event for FREE, for your Chamber of Commerce, or any networking organizations to show your skills and talents.
3. Network, network and network.
Get involved in local business organizations, examples: Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, Rotary Club, etc. Discuss your business with other business leaders to help ensure that you’re on the top of their minds when they need an event planning organizer. On the Web, join professional social networking sites such as LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com.
4. Contact every large business, restaurant and hotel in your area and tell them about your services.
Cold call these businesses, doing research beforehand how the business handles events and who is in charge of contractors. Request for a meeting and meet them in person, rather than simply sending in a direct mail piece or brochure.
5. Participate in trade shows
Attend all the wedding fairs and other trade show opportunities where you can appropriately participate.
6. Use your local media
Contact all the local radio stations and magazines and make friends with the editors and journalists. Explore opportunities where you can give advice on how to organize parties and events — from radio talk show guestings to writing articles for local newspapers. Read the article How Local Media Can Help You Grow Your Business.
7. Make it a point to ask referrals from your customers
Don’t just assume that your customers and previous clients will refer you to their friends. Ask them to recommend you to anyone else they think could use your services
8. Use the Web
Create a website and make sure that it ranks well in the search engines. It may be tougher to rank to main keywords such as “event planning” but you should work hard to rank for local keywords such as “event planning provider in Sacramento, California.” Your potential customers are more likely to search for event planners in their local area.
RELATED: Market Segments of the Event and Meeting Planning Business
Be sure to tap the social media as well, especially professional networking sites such as LinkedIn.
9. Advertise your business.
There are a number of directories and business listings on the Web where you can advertise or have your business listed. Consider Yellow page advertising, as a significant portion of the population still looks at the yellow pages to find local service providers. Be sure to test the effectiveness of each advertising venue to determine which one can give you the best return on your investment.
10. Provide excellent service and customers are very likely to recommend you to other people.
Word of mouth is an important marketing strategy for an event planning business, that you need to ensure that your clients can become ambassadors of your business. Ask your satisfied clients to post favorable reviews of your services in various local directories and sites such as AngiesList.com
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