Author: blogger

How To Run A Successful Event To Build A Better Business Network

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How To Run A Successful Event

Events are a powerful tool for marketers to truly engage their consumers and leverage their brand. No matter what type of event you plan to run, there are a few points you need to remember to ensure your event is a success.
A successful Event Marketing Campaign is one that:

* Meets your brand objectives.
* Delivers a meaningful message directly to the target market.
* Complements your overall marketing plan.
* Provides a talking point amongst consumers.

The Strategy

Choosing the right event strategy for your product or service requires a thorough understanding of the brand objectives. You may require an experienced event agency partner if you do not have sufficient in-house resources to help you to achieve your goals. Look for a good team of experienced and creative minds who are ready to analyse every element of your product and service and its current position to design the best possible strategy. The following points should be considered:
Event Outcome

Clarity and agreement around the issue of event outcome is imperative. Key stake holders will have different views and perspectives of what they want out of an event. Defining and agreeing the desired event outcome means that the correct approach is taken. It means that the creative development of the event and the content to all work together to produce the right results. Ask yourself the following questions.

* What is the outcome you want for this event?
* What change do you want to effect?
* What tangible changes do you want? Eg Increase in sales, lead generation?
* What is the best thing/outcome that could happen as a result of this campaign?
* When the road show is over what do you want the guests to be saying about the event over coffee to their friends?
* What would be the ultimate sign of success for the event?

Target Market

Your target group are your guests. They could be prospective or existing clients or they could be staff. Again ask yourself: Who are they? Where are they? Why do you want them to attend? What do they like to do? How do we get their attention? What do they think/know/feel about your company now? What do you want them to think/know/feel about your company post the event?

Think about what events they have experienced before either with your organisation or with your competitors. What is their age group, are they an even mix of male and female? Understanding your audience is a good first step in the event planning process.
Message

A clear message is critical to the success of any event. Knowing exactly what you want to say is imperative. Its about what you want to say rather than how you want to say it at this stage? What is the main story you want to tell? What is imperative that they know when they leave? Communication of the message needs to be clear and concise. Consistency is key and your message needs to be included in each step from the invitation to web marketing campaign, to the event, the marketing collateral and the carefully planned post event strategy.
Brand Positioning

A good understanding of your brand position is crucial in building an event strategy. Is the event about a new product or service? Is it the launch of a new variable product or service? Are there set sales objectives for the product or service? Your brand position will assist in clarifying the best type of event your company needs and the most appropriate communication vehicle to engage your audience.
Creative

The creative development of the event can vary enormously. Considering the questions above certainly points you in the right direction to as to what kind of event will provide the most powerful result. It could be a national road show with international speakers or it could be a half day relationship building experience with key clients. A golf day, seminar series, exhibition, conference, experiential marketing campaign or any other various type of event should focus on leveraging your brand and provide a forum for you to connect with your target audience. Ask yourself how do we best represent the brand? How do we support above-the-line marketing strategies? How do we make it a memorable experience?
Planning

Finding your market and connecting with them in a memorable way is more than just guess work. It is staggering how many events are run with the minimum of planning. People are willing to invest significant money putting events on but they tend to overlook the need to invest in planning and smart thinking.

Planning is crucial to any event not matter how small and intimate it may be. Critical paths, risk assessments, measurable results, budget control are essential tools when planning a successful outcome. You need to plan on maximising the number of touch points with guests. Plan on results or you can guarantee you are planing on a disaster.
Implementation

With the correct planning the implementation of an event is the easy part. Ensure that every member of your event team have a run schedule of the event from start to finish so they aware of all timings. Rehearsals are imperative and why not consider professional speak training for all staff that will be presenting. An overall risk assessment is probably in the back of everyones minds but unless it is written down you are open to disaster. A good event company will also supply you with a thorough mitigation strategy to ensure you get a good result from your event no matter what.
Outcome

And weve come full circle. The results of your event should be measurable or how do you know if you have achieved good value for your investment. Events are all about building strong long term partnerships with your prospects and clients. When all of the above factors work together they create a truly powerful experience that not only moves people but motivates them to act. Remember your customers and staff holds your future in their hands. They control your revenue, your profitability and they are the central point on which your economic performance balances. Events are a powerful opportunity to leverage your brand and promote your services to this influential group.

Got some more queries? Why not check out the team at JH Events?

JH Events, Sydney Australia

Forecasting Tent And Marquee Hire Sales

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Predicting possible sales for your Tent and Marquee Hire business is a very worthy process; you should have a strong idea before you commence your business of your likely sales. It is doubtful you will be right on the money but if you do not make a realistic attempt your Tent and Marquee Hire business will likely not succeed; forecasting is an essential component to your business stratgey.

Your sales forecast is the financial projection of the quantity of revenue your Tent and Marquee Hire business will create from the sales of its products or services. Your sales forecast can stand alone, but it will be closely connected to your Tent and Marquee Hire business plan. It is an essential and fundamental piece of the planning process and it will be a major part of your profit and loss account and cash flow forecast.

So why do you need to forecast sales?

It is needed so you can

1. Plan cash flow – that you will need to include in your business plan when seeking funding, and to avoid out of the blue cash flow problems by establishing if and when you will need to inject capital or have access to funds.
2. Manage Cash flow – central to the success of your business, it is essential that you recognize how sales forecasting contributes to the computation of the cash flow forecast.
3. Plan future resource requirements – for example, the quantity of personnel needed to manage your orders and provide a certain level of service.
4. Plan marketing activities – and the consequent fiscal strategies arising from these.

Whatever the situation, it is critical that you investigate your expected sales frequently and realistically, and take proper action to re-examine your strategy. Your sales forecast is the standard alongside which you should frequently quantify what truly happens in your business in terms of sales and the important thing is to recognize the variances and why they transpire, and to incorporate what you have learned into yet to come forecasts.

So what do you need to consider?

It’s usually considered you should look to the next 3 years of your Tent and Marquee Hire business for your sales forecasts – the first year being detailed on a monthly basis

Things to think about

1. Are there any related products or services already being provided in the region?
2. What is the extent of the market?
3. Is this an growing/contracting market and if so; by what percentage?
4. What are the major factors that are at this time influencing that market?
5. What may well affect it in future?
6. Is your business cyclic?
7. What trends or fashions are appropriate to the sector?

Who are your customers going to be?

1. What percentage will purchase?
2. Will they desert a different supplier to come to you?
3. What is your pricing strategy and how will it affect sales?
4. Can you actually supply the products and services that you are predicting?
5. How many other businesses like yours are out there?
6. It’s not likely your business is the only one of its kind – what happens to your customers when fresh businesses enter the market?

You must be transparent about how your products or/and services match the marketplace. Practically every business has some competitor(s) – how can you hoover up your competitors customers? How can you prevent your competitors taking your customers? Just how adaptable with regard to pricing and the assortment of products or services to be had can you be?

Preparing your Tent and Marquee Hire business forecast

All Tent and Marquee Hire businesses need to base their forecasts on certain assumptions regarding potential changes that may take place in the future. These can be quantified and could include:

1. Sector growth/decline by a certain percentage e.g. 5%.
2. Staff increase to increase production or sales – maybe 25%.
3. Different location – more customers – 30% increase in sales.

Preparing your forecast

You should prepare a sales forecast for each product you sell,and forecast:

1. By volume
2. By value
3. By a combination of both volume and value.

So what are the pitfalls when forecasting sales?

1. Make sure your forecast is based on certifiable,realistic and unbiased information.
2. Do not be tempted to pay no attention to your research if it showed bad results.
3. Don’t make predictions only on historical results. Keep looking at what else might impinge on your sales in the future and amend your forecast appropriately.
4. Understand what volume of goods you can produce. Can you produce the amount of sales being forecast with the equipment,personnel and financial resources available to you?
5. Are your prices realistic?, or conversely, have the prices been set too low down or too high so that either way your forecast is potentially unrealistic?
6. If you have just started up in business, your business may take longer than you imagine to get established, and have you set accordingly realistic sales targets?
7. Have you allowed for the possibility that high sales based on an opening promotional surge may drop off, leading to a need for more intensive marketing and higher ongoing expenses once initial interest has peaked?
8. Can you identify and justify the assumptions you have made in reaching the forecast, and explain them to interested parties if necessary?

The Foundation Of The Hrm-model

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Before describing the HRM model, it is important to define the assumptions and attitudes towards HRM and strategy, which the model is based on. The objective is to ensure a critical evaluation of the model and to decide whether the entire model, or maybe only certain elements, can be used in the specific organisation.

The model provides a framework for a HR strategy process and splits the process into seven steps. It is not significant whether the model is applied in a specific organisation, in an exact manner or in an adapted version. The importance is to use the same framework consistently throughout the organisation. When all sections/managers work strategically based on the same model, the management is able to follow the performance of each section/manager and take action when the business strategy is not followed.

Paul Kearns has written numerous books within HRM and he has extensive experience within HR. Based on his knowledge about HRM, he believes that an HR strategy should be based on the following principles:

– “A business strategy should give you a competitive advantage”.

– “A human resource strategy turns the way you manage your people into a competitive advantage”.

– “An HR strategy is a business strategy”.

The strategic basis of the model is that the organisation and its surrounding environments are dynamic and subject to change, which is why the HR strategy should not be expressed as a linear strategy. There are too many uncertain variables, which is why the strategy has to be flexible towards these. The HRM model is a holistic model that seeks to include as many variables as possible. This is connected to a basic assumption about the high degree of complexity in most of the causal relationships, which makes it impossible to objectively predict what happens to activity B if we make changes in activity A.

In terms of strategy, it is more sensible to use a systemic perspective, which entails that an organisation should be viewed in consideration of the system, in which the organisation operates, e.g. more or less all internal and external factors that influence the organisation. In practice, considerations in relation to the strategy may include political decisions, economic conditions, consumer trends etc.

According to the HRM model, an HR strategy should aim at considering all known variables and possible scenarios. This is obviously an idealistic target that is impossible to reach completely. Nevertheless, it should be the ambitious objective, characterising the approach to HR strategy.

There are many possibilities to get a further education in the field of HRM for example through online courses from PROBANA Business School.

Benefits Of A Business Economics Major

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The Business Economics major is a great complement to another major or minor in business, political science, history, accounting or marketing. Economics not only studies economics research and economics financial systems, but also social issues like poverty, pollution, inflation, unemployment, recession and economic growth.

Top market economists are analytical problem solvers who are useful in almost every major industry. They study how the optimal amount of production can be achieved to meet society’s needs. They study market forces that shape financial decision making. They look at how politics affect the commerce marketplace. They look at data to forecast, analyze trends and apply their understanding to a whole range of public issues.

To get an undergrad degree in Business Economics, students attending an accredited economics university will need to take courses like macro economics, microeconomics, financial accounting and reporting, calculus, economics statistics, econometrics, money/banking/credit, business writing, the stock market, labor economics, monetary economics, international trade theory, law and economics, industrial organization, economics and business strategy, organizational psychology, formal organizations and politics and the economy. Students should have a good understanding of math, politics and business. People often choose this major because they want a good job, they want to make a lot of money, they want to be a manager or CPA, they want to have a secure job or they want to get into a good graduate school.

The common starting salary for economists is $38,000 for a bachelor’s degree, $48,000 for a master’s and $70,000 for a PhD, according to a 2002 National Association of Business Economics survey. Those with an economics major enjoy the highest median income compared to other majors, experts say. Economics research also suggests that economics majors earn 20% more than business administration majors, 19% more than accounting majors, 18% more than marketing majors and 15% more than finance majors. When a potential employer sees this major on a resume, he or she immediately understands that you have a solid foundation of math, politics, business and economic theory. Your degree also shows that you have the capacity to process complex subjects and it highlights your problem solving skills, which is valuable in any field.

Individuals with a degree in Business Economics have been recruited by employers like the California State Controller’s Office, Cerner Healthcare Information Technology, Coca-Cola, Consolidated Graphics, Deloitte Services LP, Edward Jones, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Ernst & Young LLP, General Mills, Inc., Insight, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Liberty Mutual Insurance Group (MA), Medix Staffing Solutions, PetSmart, Raytheon, Sherwin-Williams, Travelers Insurance and Wells Fargo Financial. The economics field is expected to grow 7% by 2016, adding another 16,000 workers. People with bachelor’s degrees can get almost any entry-level job in business. Master’s degree holders generally compete for sales and management trainee positions. Those who hold PhD degrees often go on to teach or become top market analysts in their fields.

Youtube Seo Strategy For Business Sectors

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There had been much discussion on the ways and the strategies to optimise the videos for the YouTube channels. The strategy and the formulation adopted by the experts to optimise the YouTube in the best way possible. Its a proven and tested formula, by optimising the videos on the YouTube; it enhances the chances of being shown up on the organic Google search results. I would like to point out here more importantly; the role of Google here is just to drive the very specific video-based search result directly to the YouTube and not to the corporate websites or one can say in a way crisp, directly to a companys landing page.

Lets discuss or rather give a thought on the specific clever ways by which the corporate can easily get the visitors directly to the companys landing pages.

You are Profile on YouTube

Your SEO-setup to achieve that promising optimization of the videos for particularly your corporate website, any bidding advertiser can ensure that well aimed strategy and planning, by making it sure without any fail to incorporate the companys URL in their particular YouTube profile section.

SEO targeted keywords in the Title

By including, the particular targeted SEO keywords; in the videos is another important part of that well envisioned strategy and planning of the SEO for benefitting from the YouTube videos.

Focus on the Description

SEO has to be very particular about the kind and the quality of the video description. Its usually been kept short and crisp within the range of 27 characters. Be sure that you add your companys URL in the very first part of your description. One can include their marketing program link as well. The description will be an excellent carrier of the visitors to your corporate website, if you are certainly including the follow me links directing to the blog section and the twitter account.

Be categorically specific

Yes of course, the category that you are choosing that one category that will allow your corporate video to be well fitted to turn the tables around. There have been a limited category options available on the YouTube. One smart act you can certainly do is to keep a check on what your competitors are doing. You can certainly consider the categories that your competitor has selected.

That best appealing Video Thumbnail for your corporate video.

We know that mostly YouTube users stay limited towards the selection of the video thumbnail images. You make it sure that you chose the one of the most appealing and the best image which inculcates the corporate logo.

Tags, be limited.

Tags are undoubtedly important for making your corporate video in a way more chances of being found. I am talking about the specific point that you should have been using the minimum of only almost 10 descriptive tags for your video each. You should have multi-word tags as just one word tag, which is always a better strategy as per the latest web analytics. Minimum of the 10 descriptive tags for each video is what you need to do. Web-Analytics have been in much favor to this point. You can also mirror the tags with the specific word order on YouTube.

Tagging for the Locations

I will put it straight; tagging the location once your corporate video is uploaded is another master stroke for the SEO. This will help your corporate video well streamlined with the Google Maps and the specific Google places. Yes, top of the all, your Corporate YouTube video will be right there on the Google Earth searches.

Captions & Subtitles to get that linked text.

Lets talk about the importance of the captions which are any time important, if you upload the closed caption texts and the specific subtitles as the texts are searchable. The very of auto transcription has never been accurate. A closed caption text being selected for the videos is always a good option. SEO dont necessarily have to get each and every word matched with the video, the additional target keywords specifically in the closed captions works wonder. You better be using the words like its or our addressing the companys brand and the name.

Thumbs up from the Subscribers / Community

When you get the comments and the thumbs-up from the specific group of the subscribers and the people well targeted, is another well laid planning for your specific Digital marketing campaigns. It is going to give great thumbs up for the search ranking for the corporate videos in the YouTube. You should have to be careful in identifying the relevant subscribers, to be following your corporate video on the YouTube.