Personal experience is the best teacher—at least
that's the driving principle behind the new wave of
"experiential marketing." Real-life experiences shape our
opinions and buying preferences more profoundly than merely hearing
about someone else's. Experiential marketing uses events to
bring customers into one-on-one contact with a product or brand to
create memorable experiences. This year, at least half of all U.S.
marketing executives surveyed by marketing agency the Patrick
Marketing Group plan to increase their spending on events. And new
research finds that events may be more influential than TV or
direct mail in affecting customers' purchasing decisions.
The "Experiential Marketing Survey" conducted by
Sponsorship Research International (SRI) for Jack Morton Worldwide
found that 43 percent of women said experiential marketing was most
likely to cause them to purchase a product or service quickly,
compared to traditional advertising channels (20 percent) and
direct mail (37 percent). What's more, after participating in a
live event marketing experience for a product or brand, almost 9
out of 10 consumers agreed they would be more receptive to future
advertising for that product. Even Generation Y respondents ages 18
to 23 rated experiential marketing their medium of choice for
influencing purchases.
Are you looking for a terrific way to connect with your
customers? Here are four important tips for creating memorable
experiences:
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1. Choose the best
location. Unlike traditional events held primarily for the
sake of creating goodwill, experiential marketing requires giving
your attendees hands-on experience with your product in a way
that's interesting and memorable. Any number of venues will
work, including malls, fairs, retail stores and restaurants, just
so long as they support the theme of your event and foster
interaction. If the optimal location doesn't exist, create one.
For example, one entrepreneur who invented a small, new toy knew it
would be overlooked in major retail stores, so he began taking
booths at craft shows to allow children to play with it. That
strategy worked so well he added additional experiential marketing
venues, including Girl Scout meetings and other kid-friendly events
across the country.
2. Attract the right
crowd. Keep in mind that you can have a highly successful
event yet produce an unsuccessful marketing experience. Imagine
you're a budding fashion designer who has created a new line of
accessories. You could pack a party with models sporting your
accessories, along with a hundred happy revelers; but if the
attendees are the wrong age, gender or economic group, you
won't advance your marketing cause. Effective experiential
marketing requires you to carefully craft your event to attract
your best prospects and customers.
3. Make it
fun. In SRI's survey, respondents in all demographics
favored events that integrate entertainment with the opportunity to
test a product. This is what separates experiential marketing from
basic product sampling. Which would be more memorable: receiving a
sample bar of soap in the mail, or attending an aromatherapy event
where you could try scented soaps and other products along with
your peers? Hands down, the event would be more enjoyable and most
likely to entice you to make a purchase.
4. Avoid a
crush. As a business owner, you're in an ideal position
to use event marketing to get close to your prospects and
customers. In fact, face-to-face dialogue and the ability to share
the experience with others were the two top factors SRI's
respondents said make an event most interesting to them. Just keep
your event size manageable to maximize one-on-one interaction and
keep the attendees happy, since smaller events in intimate settings
are preferred over large events with too many people. Smaller
events cost less, too, so that's good news that will show up on
your bottom line.
Contact marketing expert Kim T. Gordon, author of Bringing Home the Business, at www.smallbusinessnow.com.