So your small business has gotten off to a good start – you’ve registered it, set up a location (a commercial space or your home) and commenced trading. But you’ve decided you want to push it out further. In addition to online marketing, a great way to bring your business to people’s attention is to run a Small Business Event. This event can take many forms, be it an educational seminar or a simple networking event. Either way, running an event to promote your business will not only bring your business to people’s attention, but it will also connect people in your industry.
1. Have a plan (budget, time, venue, etc)
Having a plan is no doubt important when starting a business. However, you also require one to run a business event. Firstly, draft a budget. How much are you willing to spend? Where can you cut costs? Hiring a venue can be expensive, so if you know someone who has a space they’re willing to rent out, you may get a discount. A financial planner or business finance lawyer can help you draft a realistic and cost-effective budget. You also need to come up with a time that will suit your clientele. Holding the event outside of business hours will likely mean that more people come, and even more so if you hold if after work at a venue that isn’t far from people’s workplaces. Be aware that it’s not uncommon to go over budget when planning these sorts of things. Also make sure that you account for all the different types of costs you may incur running an event.
2. Organise and promote your Small Business Event
Once you’ve got the basics out of the way, now’s the time to promote the event (and your business) and make sure that people show up! In the planning stages, you will have identified who your target audience is. Now think about how you will get them to your event. If you have friends in the industry, get them to spread the word through their professional and social circles and encourage others to attend, or you can use online ticketing services to keep track of RSVPs and network even more people into the event’s reach.
After this, you can start working on your social media strategy. Beyond sharing the event invitation on social media, you can also run a promotion to get people talking about it. This could be by offering a prize in a lucky draw for people who share the event invitation on their social media, or a caption competition for a photo.
3. Be flexible
Running a business successfully requires a degree of flexibility. This also applies where you host events for your business. As much as you can plan, be mindful that things can and do go wrong. Tackling problems head on and flexibly will put your business in a good light, whilst also being good for your sanity in dealing with the stresses of running an event.
4. Ask for feedback
After your event has ended, be sure to ask your guests for their feedback. This can be specific by asking that attendees fill out a short survey (you could also incentivise this by awarding a prize through a draw for people who fill out the survey). Alternatively, you could ask people at the end what they thought about the event and how they would improve it. Feedback will let you know what went well for your guests and how to make it bigger and better next time. This also shows your guests that you care about their experience at your event.
Running a Small Business Event is no mean feat. However, once you do it for the first time, you can learn and make your events even better in the future. Running a Small Business Event engages your clientele while promoting your business in a new and exciting way.
Have more questions? Contact a LawPath consultant on 1800 529 728 to learn more about customising legal documents and obtaining a fixed-fee quote from Australia’s largest legal marketplace.
