October 2006

Become More Visible in the Community

People are more likely to purchase products and services from businesses they recognize and know. Thus, a major goal of marketing is making yourself known. If your business doesn’t become visible and recognizable, the rest of your marketing message will be in vain.

In today’s highly automated business environment, businesses tend to focus their marketing efforts using phone, fax, email, websites, direct mail, and other relatively impersonal forms of business communication.

In comparison, face-to-face marketing and relationship building is more time consuming and typically costs more on a per contact basis. Yet, who can deny that face-to-face contact is often much more effective in getting the sale?

Consider, then, how your organization might become more visible, less impersonal, and increase “face time” while keeping costs reasonable. One way to do that is to create or take advantage of opportunities where you can put your organization in front of lots of people.

Here’s an example

Betagraph’s owners are members of our local kennel club. The club hosts dog shows and participates in a number of community events. Recently, our town sponsored a Chili Cookoff competition as part of its annual Fall Festival. The kennel club was invited to participate, which it did. Thousands of people attended the event and sampled chili prepared by us and a number of other local groups. Most of these were people who probably had never heard of our organization.

We decorated our space with a large, attention-getting (stuffed toy) dog wearing a cowboy hat and bandana. The kids loved it and parents took photos of their children standing next to the dog. The parents also tasted the Club’s chili, asked questions about the organization, and took the various literature items provided.

Sure, it was a lot of work to organize and execute the club’s participation. But the club accomplished its goals of 1) becoming more visible in the community, 2) promoting its message of responsible dog ownership, and 3) being a resource for information about things related to dogs. Winning two prizes (judge’s tasting and people’s choice awards) was a pleasant bonus.

Go where the fun is

Every community hosts fun oriented public events where you can “get your name out there” and meet new people. Festivals, carnivals, fairs, sporting venues (cycling races, 5K and 10K runs, fun walks, golf tournaments, etc.), holiday and seasonal events, etc. are great opportunities for setting up a booth or even just helping out as a volunteer and making your presence known.

Keep your involvement low-key, fun, inviting, and personable. Get to know people as people, not merely as potential customers. Avoid the sales talk, but have business cards and literature on hand in case someone wants more information. The idea is to simply become more visible by using a venue where people are having a good time.

Who knows? Your next customer might say, “Yes, I remember you folks. You’re the ones who make that great chili!”