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| | The Strategic Marketing & Planning Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | wanted some suggestions and lots of advice from you.. | Views: 596 | | Dec 02, 2006 9:03 am | | wanted some suggestions and lots of advice from you.. | # | 
Aditi Agarwal | | hi everyone..
wanted some suggestions and lots of advice from you..
as you know i have a computer training institute and we deal in multimedia and animations..
ther is a book fair coming up in the last week of jan in calcutta..
this book fair is supposed to be the largest in india every yr..
it takes place for approx 10 days.. and gets foot-ins of abt 10 lakhs ppl together..
so i m planning to take stall in IT sector..
wat i need is - i want to knpw how shud i plan out so dat i get minimum 5o registration each day..
y i m counting for such a small number is bcoz calcutta is nt aware of such kind of careers..
and they wont be willing to pay a gud amt for such courses..
i need to attract ppl to my counter with sum discounts and offers..
and get them register with a minimum charge of Rs 100/-
so plz suggest me how to go abt it..
- regards,
AditiPrivate Reply to Aditi Agarwal | | Dec 02, 2006 2:09 pm | | re: wanted some suggestions and lots of advice from you.. | # | 
Joni Garcia | | Hi Aditi,
Unfortunately, there is no (what we call) "silver bullet" when it comes to getting people to sign up when they don't even know you exist.
Marketing is a process. First you have to have something the people want. Then you have to make the people aware that you exist. Then you have to communicate well what is in it for them and also why they should choose you over your competition. Then you have to be able to close the deal. All this takes time, sometimes years (the awareness part, especially).
Being at the tradeshow is a very good idea, if only to get your name out there in the marketplace. But I would keep the following in mind:
1. Trade shows are generally for lead generation. Attendees generally do not sign up or buy there unless they already know what they want. The most I think you could realistically hope for is to get qualified leads (but that is a very important part of the process!).
2. Having said that, the people have to find you easily. That means good signage in the right place with the right message.
3. The right message would be something that would get them to stop.
4. Once they stop, you have to be ready to communicate what's in it for them; why they should buy your product or service. Show VALUE.
5. You should take the time to qualify leads so you don't waste your time or materials on people who really aren't interested.
6. For those that are interested, make it easy for them to leave their contact information (for further marketing purposes).
7. It's a good idea to have some kind of take-away for them: at least a brochure on what you offer, but also some kind of useful thing. A poster they would hang up or a gadget they would keep attached or near their computer so your logo is always in front of them reminding them you exist.
8. After the tradeshow, have a plan in place to follow up on those leads and that's when you will most likely get people to sign up.
I'm assuming you do have a logo, business cards and marketing materials. If not, you absolutely have to have those first. All marketing materials should emphasize what's in it for them from your audience's point of view, not yours. Therefore, knowing your audience is crucial.
Private Reply to Joni Garcia | | Dec 02, 2006 2:59 pm | | re: wanted some suggestions and lots of advice from you.. | # | 
George Mathai | | Hi Aditi
You need to generate awareness and present a compelling "calling card" at the Book Fair.
Just a top-of-the-head suggestion - Can you speak with the organisers to continually run a "world-class" 3D walk-through of the Book Fair, developed by you, on the CCTV network, to help visitors find their way through the various stalls at the Book Fair.
Obviously, the walk-through will also give details regarding your institute and guide interested people to your stall at the Fair, where you will need powerful presentations and print literature to ensure registration.
Hope tis helps
Cheers
GeorgePrivate Reply to George Mathai | | Dec 02, 2006 6:29 pm | | re: re: wanted some suggestions and lots of advice from you.. | # |
Aditi Agarwal | | hi,
thanks to all of u for the guidance..
i have my brochures ready and now i m also gettign CDs ready with an AVi that wud tell the candidates all abt animation industry along with few of our works..
sign boards- shall have them at the earliest..
wat other material do u suggest ?
and also i wud like to know - wat are the qualities of a good marketting guy..
- regards,
AditiPrivate Reply to Aditi Agarwal | | Dec 02, 2006 7:21 pm | | re: re: re: wanted some suggestions and lots of advice from you.. | # |
Joni Garcia | | Those materials sound good (the CD and the brochure). Another way to attract people to your booth is to provide a really cool bag for them to put all their "stuff" in as they are walking around the fair collecting materials. Something that attracts attention so people ask, "Hey, where did you get that bag?" :D
As for qualifications of a marketing person, I would suggest someone that has experience in your industry, someone who can show you successful projects they have done before.
Also, here is some information I think is important regarding the difference between marketing and sales. You need both:
When in a marketing mode you are concerned about:
1. understanding your offerings;
2. identifying target markets;
3. using research to achieve the most effective exchange possible;
4. assessing your services and offerings as perceived by potential
users (target markets);
5. determining user needs and wants;
6. timing;
7. pricing (if actual money is to change hands);
8. promotion;
9. determining where the exchange will take place;
10. positioning your services amongst competitors (in the minds' of
target audiences).
When in a sales mode you are concerned about:
1. determining what the user needs to help in making a positive
decision about your offering;
2. making sure that appropriate information is available to assist the
user in the decision to "buy" (participate);
3. communicating with the user in the most effective ways possible;
4. determining "feedback" about your offerings and those of
competitors;
5. closing the deal.
As you can see from these lists of concerns, sales and marketing go
hand in hand. However, the functions of a marketer are quite different
from those of a sales (consultative) representative. Each has foci for
specific activities. Things work best when sales are used in
conjunction with marketing. Sales tend to be more personalized.
Marketing's job is to winnow out target audiences and individuals from
large audiences based on their needs and wants.
One way to think of this entire process is to think of a funnel.
Marketing operates at the wide part of the funnel. Marketing's job is
to refine and reduce large numbers of people to smaller, more
homogeneous groups. The sales function is to convert the smaller
groups to actual "sales" (commitment and actions).
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Excerpt from: http://www.marketinged.com/library/newsltr/1302mhe.txt
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