Innovate Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 10)

business development with open houses OPEN HOUSES • • • • • • • 10 TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL communicating a new market position, such as transforming from a marketing communications services provider from a print company; introducing new services and facilities; educating customers on topics like one-to-one marketing; celebrating signiﬁcant milestones; generating market excitement; presenting your business at its best; and doing all of the above. Blue Results Vice President Kris Davis addresses attendees at the company’s open house in September 2006. President Kate Davis is at his right. Whatever the program’s focus, the point is the same: to drive business. Following are 10 tips for organizing and running a successful open house. They come from the Xerox ProﬁtAccelerator Open House and PR Kit—one of the more than 60 Xerox ProﬁtAccelerator tools and resources available to help print providers build their digital business and market their services—and from the recent experiences of Blue Results and Creative Marketing Solutions. 1 Make it strategic. The way you stage your open house helps form your company’s image, so carefully consider your approach. Ed Warren, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, CMS, described his thinking this way: “We’ve been a production house forever, with a focus on getting the job done. In the last year, we’ve tried to shift our thinking to become a true marketing company and to show our customers how they can get a better return on their marketing investment.” So, CMS chose to hold its open house off-site, in the ballroom of a chic country club, moving the program’s focus away from equipment and toward the new marketing messages. 2 Find a new twist. Do something memorable to set yourself apart. CMS featured an address by an independent industry expert. At Blue Results, the program’s six presentation stations included several memorable displays: a blindfolded “guess-the-paper” contest, a quick lesson on spot color and ICC (International Color Consortium) proﬁles, and a personalized URL based upon preferences expressed when attendees signed into the event. 3 3 Put someone in charge of planning. For optimal accountability and organization, appoint one person as manager A tried-and-true technique for revving up your business | By Gina Testa W BY GINA TESTA Innovate spring 08 hen Blue Results, Bonita Springs, Florida, held an open house for its new digital color production press in September 2006, 192 people attended, 26 became new clients and 34 subsequently increased their business. A similar event at Creative Marketing Solutions (CMS), Charlotte, North Carolina, in December 2006 drew 100 customers and contributed to 24 percent growth at the company over the last two years, leading to the acquisition of a second digital color production press, scheduled for installation by the end of 2007. Open houses like these are among the most effective ways to build awareness and consideration among new and current customers, generating customer interest and sales activity. This triedand-true marketing technique provides an excellent platform for: 10

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Innovate Magazine - Spring 2008

Innovate - Spring 2008 Table of Contents 10 Tips for Successful Open Houses The TransPromo Path Escape the Complexity Putting a Price on Value A Welcome Boost to Hospitality Team Approach Earns Accolades Bound Together New Highs in Image Quality Transforming the Business of Processing Photos Predictive Maintenance Making the Right Choice Diving into Digital Book Production Doing More With Less Distributed Document Creation

Innovate Magazine - Spring 2008

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