VerticalResponse for AppExchange Blog

Events to Grow Your Business

So you're already an email marketing pro, what's next? Events! You may have heard VerticalResponse recently added event marketing to our existing services. Now you can easily market your events. With the event marketing tool you can quickly create, send and track event invitations and promote attendance and sign-ups with social media. Below we've outlined some simple ideas on how events can help you grow your business and provided tips to get started with event marketing!

1. Events = Exclusivity - Events are a great way to get people excited about an idea or a new product. An event invitation to a fundraising dinner or new product launch can be more effective than other methods of promotion because it evokes a sense of exclusivity. Invitees are more likely to contribute to a cause or get behind a new product when they know not everyone has been chosen to attend the event or support the cause.

2. Events Build Loyalty - When our comments are heard and we feel appreciated as customers, we are more likely to remain loyal to a company and recommend a business or refer a service to others. A user seminar or client appreciation dinner will not only build loyalty amongst current customers, but it will also give you an opportunity to gain valuable customer feedback. Give a little back to your customers and your investment will be returned tenfold. 

3. Expand with Events - Host a guest speaker, professional development class or industry seminar. These types of events promote business development, as well as personal and employee growth and education. An industry seminar can provide methods for growing your business, expanding your services and informing yourself on competitors. Putting on an educational event or hosting a guest speaker not only displays a sense of appreciation for your employees, but will also help to promote collaboration and loyalty in the office.

Now that we've given you event ideas, we'll also help you promote them! With the VerticalResponse event tool you can easily share your event through social media and email. You can also quickly create an event webpage, get a link to your event and generate a widget or button to embed on any website. Checkout our event help page for more resources and event how-tos.

We want to hear your ideas!  What creative or successful events have you had? Comment and let us know!

Savannah Stewart is the Partner Marketing Coordinator at VerticalResponse and blogs here about all things related to marketing and B2B communication. Connect with her on Twitter at @savannahstewart.

How to Rock a Tradeshow

VR had the pleasure of attending Dreamforce last week. And, we're proud to say it was a   great success thanks to our wonderful staff, friendly neighboring booths and comrades, and of course our fun attendees and AppExchange users like you! Dreamforce was a particularly successful tradeshow because, we quite literally rocked the booth. See below for more on our Dreamforce rock theme and find tips on how to rock the booth at your next event! We've compiled a list of successful tradeshow strategies we hope you'll find useful.

1. Break out of the monotony - In a sea of booths stocked with mini sized candy, branded pens and those all too familiar handouts, it's important to stand out and even more important to avoid boring your visitors. Rather than attempt to bring visitors in with the usual tactics attract them with a game, contest or competition! Spinning the wheel to win or holding a raffle or Twitter competition will help to set you apart from the rest and give you something to offer in exchange for your attendees' attention.

Example: We rocked the booth at Dreamforce with a Metallica Rockband setup and raffled off an Ibanez acoustic/electric guitar (happy winner Brandt Page pictured to the right) to those who Tweeted a pic at our booth using a special hashtag.

2. Dress for Success - We dress our best for tradeshow events, but an even more effective strategy is to coordinate booth staff attire. Wearing shirts with your logo or branding at events is a great way to promote your business and create a sense of solidarity and professionalism in the booth.

Example: At Dreamforce our "I Rock VR" shirts (pictured left) were a hit - and played off our theme. Attendees stopped to ask about them both inside and outside of the booth.

3. Look Around - Don't forget to take the time to look around at other booths to find which strategies work and which don't. Imitation is the strongest form of flattery right? Make a mental note of the most effective data sheets or the most enticing give-aways for your next tradeshow.

Example: Dippin' Dots, flashing sunglasses, earbuds and iPads were some of the most coveted giveaways we noticed at Dreamforce. Who doesn't want flashing sunglasses to accompany their attire at a Metallica concert? (p.s. Metallica was the Dreamforce headlining band).

4. Prepare for Your Arrival - Send an email to your current customers and contacts informing them of your upcoming tradeshow attendance or use geotargeting to let nearby residents know you will be at a tradeshow in their city or state. This will not only help boost visitors but you may even get to meet some of your loyal customers.

Example: We included a Dreamforce blurb in our monthly newsletter letting customers know they could come by our booth to speak to a VR for AppExchange expert. 

5. Strategize - After you've promoted your event and created innovative ways to attract visitors don't forget to come up with strategies to record and remember your attendees. Gathering attendee information is one of the biggest payoffs in tradeshow attendance. It allows for communication with new individuals and can lead to more revenue and new sales for your business.

Example: Use the lead retrieval device at events, collect business cards and create codes to categorize leads, interest levels and customer status.

6. It's All About Timing - Once you've compiled your list of booth visitors you'll want to send a follow-up email. It's important both to be conscious of your attendees' travel schedule and to recognize all of the other tradeshow communications they may receive. You'll want to connect as soon as possible, but not so early you get lost in the post-show inbox clutter.

Example: Follow-up sooner with attendees of local shows but wait a few days for things to settle before connecting with out of state visitors.

We hope these tips will help you rock your next tradeshow and make the most of your attendance. Tell us! Do you have any rockin' strategies you've found effective in your booth?

Related Posts:

7 tips for Using Email to Promote Webinars

Create a Successful Postcard Campaign

Posted by Savannah Stewart

Savannah Stewart is the Partner Marketing Coordinator at VerticalResponse and blogs here about all things related to marketing and B2B communication. Connect with her on Twitter at @savannahstewart.

VR for AppExchange Event Marketing Is Here!

  It's truly been a labor of love these past few months behind the scenes at VR for Appexchange, and we're proud to announce that VerticalResponse Event Marketing is now available! With this new product offering comes the ability to easily create event web sites, sell tickets, and promote events through your email and social media networks in a matter of minutes. We hope you'll be surprised and delighted at how quickly you can create and market your events, all through your VR for AppExchange account!

Review Event Marketing pricing and then take advantage of this exciting new product! Event marketing can be found under "Resources and Tools" in the "VR Email" tab of your VerticalResponse for AppEx account.

Related blog posts:

• Event Marketing is Coming to VR for AppEx - Stay Tuned!
• Coming Soon! Sell Tickets and Promote Events through VR
  

Posted by Jason Whittenberg

Jason Whittenberg is a Product Manager at VerticalResponse and blogs about enhancements and new functionality.