Spring is in the air, summer is almost here and this is the time to start thinking about creating an event that a whole community will see and rally behind. There are hundreds of worthy ideas and causes that you can create a charity event for. And make no mistake about the impact that doing such a thing can have.

This is a tip that takes a little more time and energy than others, but can be a great branding tool for you and your company. It is best suited for small companies with a few employees. But you can also get together with other companies and co-host the event, which is also a great networking opportunity. If you are unable to create your own event, don’t miss an opportunity to sponsor one with either your special skills, or your products.

You will:

- Send a very powerful message of Civic engagement
- Get connected with new people that can function as a future network
- Build new business and strengthen your customer relationships
A few years back I helped a small company organize a soap box derby. The goal was to raise money for a children’s hospital. They had other companies donate necessary items like the safety barriers. They also sold the advertising space on these barriers to advertisers.

Community organizations stepped in and helped with manpower.

The positive community image that resulted was incredible. The company was featured on the front page of the local newspaper three times. State media picked the story up and broadcasted the name of the business and interviewed the owner.

The trick is to ensure that you really are focusing your efforts on the charity or cause that you are supporting. You can and should of course make sure that you use available space to place your logo, but by actually doing something for someone else, media will be much quicker in giving it coverage than they ever will if they assume that you are doing it for the publicity.

Make sure that you craft a strong press release and media package, having this ready for the initial announcement is crucial to make the most out of your coverage.

Event Ideas could include: Soap Box Derby, Outdoor concert, Flea Market, Chili Cook-off, BBQ competition, Movie night in a park, Rubber Duck Race, Raft Race, Golf or Tennis tournament, Bingo Night, Silent Auction. The list is endless.

There is a cheap and simple way to build relationships with a company. The so called little people carry a whole lot more weight than most realize, not to mention utilize.Think of the receptionist at a smaller company for instance. He or she is responsible for “gate keeping”. They screen calls for executives and owners - they stop solicitors from getting appointments, Most importantly, they have their bosses ears most of the time.

Next time you deal with a company, don’t just focus on your target person in there, find out who works around them. These are the people you should take extra care in treating well. Be nice to these people and make sure that you treat them with the same respect you would the executives. You will stand out, and this will improve your chances of getting them to help you in the future, this can be bringing up your name, helping you get in touch with the right person in the company.

If we like someone, we help them. - It’s really that simple.

This is the beginning of my marketing tips of the day.
No I’m not going to give you crappy advice and tell you to give me your email address to get 10 more bad ideas. Or try to sell you the 4000 ways to make a gazillion either (I hate those sites as much as the next person). So I am going to do the apparently unthinkable… I’m going to post a simple, tested marketing tip every day that you can use to improve your marketing. And all you have to do is read and decide if you want to try it.

The Business Card

In “Get the right business card” I discussed the prime real estate on the back of business cards; this blank canvas that can be used for so many things.

The tip is to put something on the back of the card that will make the customer contact you. A coupon is perfect. Come up with what service or product you can give a new customer for free or at a discount, make sure it has value and watch the calls come in.

Benefits

1. Often the business card is hard to track how useful it is. (Especially if you hand out a lot). With a traceable metric like a free product or service given, you will quickly learn how effective your canvassing is when you hand them out.

2. You get in touch with the customer. This is the key issue to get future sales, once the ice has been broken. You have the potential for return business. Providing that the customer got the experience he or she was expecting from the coupon.

3. If you collect the card, you can have the customer give you their contact information on the back of it.

Drawbacks

1. You’ll have to get new business cards - This is an expense, but actually not a very high one considering the return of investment I’ve seen using this technique. You can get 1000 double sided cards printed for just under $70 if you look around a little.

2. There is a cost involved in giving something away for free. However, providing you do a little homework we can beat this cost. The trick is to come up with a product or service offering that is either discounted to break even at worst. Or have something that will yield a high conversion rate to return business.

 3. The customer loses the business card if you collect it. Overcome this by either just stamping it, or better yet replacing it with a new one without the coupon. But maybe something else on the back that will bring them back for more.