5 Simple Ways Small Businesses Can Shine at Festivals

Whether you’re in California for Coachella, bumping elbows with the hottest bands and tech startups at South by Southwest, or just enjoying a local gathering, springtime is synonymous with festivals. These events are big business - the top 3 music festivals in the world grossed more than a billion dollars in 2014. It’s a time to get outside, have some fun, and, naturally, think of ways to amp up your small business’ marketing and promotion. During spring and summer festivals take advantage of often-overlooked opportunities to promote your business. Here are five ways to get the most out of these events.

1. Know Your Audience Think about what kinds of events your customers will go to. If you market to senior citizens, a pop music festival or a surfing event may not be the best choice for you. Talk to the organizers of the festival for tips on their event and to get some statistics on demographics. If their attendees match your customer profile, you’re good to go.
2. Come Together Finding another company that sells to the same market that you do, but doesn’t compete with you, can help you in several ways. You can split the cost of a booth, and each company can potentially get in front of twice as many visitors.
3. You Get What You Give Nothing draws people to a booth like a freebie (If you read this post then you know this is true for employees too). Try to find something that’s inexpensive but unique. Pens and keychains have been done to death and won’t generate a lot of traffic. This is the right time to tap into your inner indiepreneur, and get creative. Think of something that can tie back to your business, and that you can imprint your name and logo on.
4. Get something back In exchange for the giveaway item, plan to collect names and email addresses. Make it as easy as possible for people to provide their information by having a form where they can jot down their information. If you’re selling products at the festival, make the transaction as easy as possible with a mobile point of sale system.
5. Analyze your results After the event, figure out what your costs were, how many leads you got and how many converted into sales. This will tell you if the festival was profitable and if you should participate again next year.

The bottom line is that spring and summer festivals can be a great way to drive increased sales and market your business to a new audience, so don't miss out! Get out to some fairs, festivals and events and watch your business grow this spring and summer. How will your business take advantage of summer festivals? Let us know, by sending us an email at [email protected].