Would my event interest you?

amother

Smokey

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 9:46 am

I'm newish to my neighborhood and I have a service business. I am thinking of making an event in order to get more exposure. It will be geared for kids with entertainment and free gifts. There is no obligation to hire me, but I will be shmoozing with people and showing my stuff. I'm curious how many of you would go to such an event on a sunday afternoon? Would you go even if you weren't interested in my business just as a fun thing for the kids to do? I don't want to give details but its a service most people use and usually people enjoy shmoozing about it. I just want to get a feel to see if its a worthwhile investment.

amother

Fuchsia

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 9:58 am

amother wrote:

If you have a free event for kids with entertainment and gifts, you will get a big crowd. Whether they buy your services, it depends on what they are. You will get exposure.

animeme

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 10:01 am

Really hard to say without knowing what it is.

It may depend how busy your neighborhood is. If I had no need for your service, I wouldn't rearrange anything to go, but I might if we had nothing else to do, unless the entertainment is a real draw.

amother

Seagreen

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 10:10 am

My neighbors once did a malava malka event in the winter. All neighbors that had home businesses showcased their products. It was nice because they didnt bring stock to sell, just had demos and samples. Some did give out a pricing sheet for reference. We all contributed to the food regardless because it was a social event for the neighbors.

Maybe team up with other neighbors and make it a neighborhood event so it will attract a bigger crowd.

amother

Blush

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 10:10 am

amother wrote:

If you have a free event for kids with entertainment and gifts, you will get a big crowd. Whether they buy your services, it depends on what they are. You will get exposure.

Not necessarily...it largely depends on what the service is.

amother

Apricot

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 1:15 pm

You're new to the neighborhood. I think a lot of these events are based on word of mouth, telling your friends, your friends telling their friends mothers cousins DILs neighbors aunts etc. If you are comfortable enough to create a crowd using your existing social network, then it might work (depending on what it is...) If not, I would work on the network and then reconsider in a few months.

Tziril Miriam

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 1:40 pm

I would take my family if it were in a very nice location. I would NOT go to someone's home or a random community center. Most recently I attended a Chabad event at a downtown luxury hotel, and an event in a public room at a very nice museum. When I sponsored a meeting I had it at a local university's faculty club, and got a very good turnout.

I prefer nice upscale environments to balance out the rest of my life. In my work life I do home visits, zig-zagging all over the city, in neighborhoods that wouldn't readily take the kids.

amother

Fuchsia

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 2:01 pm

amother wrote:

Not necessarily...it largely depends on what the service is.

No, unfortunately it depends on the entertainment. The message is the last thing. This is why TimeShare marketing is so successful. Very few buyers initially want to buy the vacation. They are drawn by the dog and pony promises.

amother

Smokey

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 4:27 pm

Tziril Miriam wrote:

Interesting, I don't have the budget for fancy. It would be in a private rented space but something simple.

amother

Smokey

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 4:33 pm

amother wrote:

I definitely have the network to spread it, the question is how many people will actually show attend.

seeker

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 5:48 pm

If it were convenient and I didn't have anywhere else to be, I'd go. But I can't imagine what kind of amazing and super-profitable service you provide that would make it worth your while to sponsor such a thing in the hopes of making a few contacts, many of whom probably won't end up becoming clients.

amother

Dodgerblue

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 6:02 pm

I'd most likely go to such an event. I'm always looking for free places to take my kids, ages 6 and under, on Sunday afternoons, particularly indoor places in the winter. (And it definitely doesn't have to be upscale. My kids aren't picky as long as they think its fun, and I'm happy if my kids are happy.) Would I buy your product? Unlikely, because I'm really tight budgeted. But I think it is actually a very smart way to gain exposure. I agree with the posters that said that free entertainment for kids will draw a large crowd - in my circles, most definitely!

Fave

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 6:11 pm

I personally wouldn't go- I hate mobs (is mobophobic a condition?) and "free family events" usually pull a crowd.

Depending on your location, overcrowding might be a problem. But hey - the more people, the more exposure your service/product will get.

amother

Smokey

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 6:26 pm

seeker wrote:

I'm not hoping to make a few contacts, I need my name out, the more people know about me the more they speak about me. The costs of such an event will actually will be cheaper than taking out ads in big papers. Also my business will sell itself when it is seen and it is much harder sell over the phone and email.

Fave

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 6:46 pm

amother wrote:

The costs of such an event will actually will be cheaper than taking out ads in big papers.

You will probably need to advertise in the papers in order to get the word out about the free event.

amother

Seafoam

Sun, Dec 20 2015, 7:22 pm

I think it depends on the neighborhood/city
I often see pictures in the papers of free events or grand openings in Lakewood and they look well attended (ex cotton candy moonwalk facepainting- carnival atmosphere)
I don't like to go to these things though.

notshanarishona

Mon, Dec 21 2015, 1:12 am

It would depend what free things you are giving out. I generally stay far away from anything which seems like a sales pitch.

amother

Taupe

Mon, Dec 21 2015, 1:38 am

Quote:

I'd most likely go to such an event. I'm always looking for free places to take my kids, ages 6 and under, on Sunday afternoons, particularly indoor places in the winter. (And it definitely doesn't have to be upscale. My kids aren't picky as long as they think its fun, and I'm happy if my kids are happy.)....But I think it is actually a very smart way to gain exposure. I agree with the posters that said that free entertainment for kids will draw a large crowd - in my circles, most definitely!

this exactly.

youre making me want to do this same idea for my business, but it would be a bit harder to display my service. go for it.. what's the worst that can happen?

debsey

Mon, Dec 21 2015, 9:59 am

Personally I don't like this type of thing because I feel obligated to buy. If the "no pressure" part of it is made very clear, I'd be more interested in attending. I just don't like that awkward feeling of meeting my neighbor who sells .................................. (arbonne, pampered chef, tupperware, mary kay....) and feeling like I should always be placing an order.