Innovate Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 11)

of the event. At CMS, a sales administrator was in charge. Blue Results made open house planning a permanent position—ﬁlled by Marketing Manager Brooke Tomlinson—for an ongoing program with two or three luncheons per week for small groups of 10 to 20 customers. “The Xerox Open House Kit is her job description,” says Kris Davis, President, Blue Results. 4 Budget several thousand dollars. Most of the budget goes for catering. CMS also paid a fee for the off-site space. Speakers sometimes charge, as well. Costs can be controlled by keeping a tight invitation list, holding the event on-site and considering options for food and event timing—breakfast, lunch, hors d’oeuvres and so on. 5 Develop a compelling program. Getting customers to your facility is one thing, engaging them once they arrive is another. Your content should tell your company’s compelling story and pave the way to future dialog and sales calls with useful information that generates enthusiasm and interest. CMS offered a topical presentation on the business value of oneto-one marketing by Peter Muir, President of graphic communications training company Bizucate. His talk also sparked interest in advanced CMS services, while positioning the company as a market leader. Blue Results lacks a large presentation space at its facility, so organizers set up six stations, each of which told part of the one-to-one marketing story. Visitors who had their cards punched at every station were eligible for a drawing. “The content really lent itself to this approach because we had so much information that breaking it into smaller pieces helped us show them all of the sizzle,” Davis says. 6 Enlist partner support. Why go it alone when your vendor partners may be willing to help? Many can bring valuable experience in staging these affairs as well as the expertise to serve as highly credible presenters. Both Blue Results and CMS made use of the Xerox ProﬁtAccelerator Open House and PR Kit to help them plan and run their events, and both turned to vendors for additional support. Blue Results enlisted about 10 representatives from several vendor partners to staff various stations at its event. CMS worked closely with their Xerox graphic communications representative, Scott Titus, who recommended the seminar approach and helped source the speaker. 7 Provide memorable giveaways. Providing attendees with something tangible that reinforces the event’s theme helps ensure that your message has legs. Blue Results had visitors ﬁll out a questionnaire as they entered, asking for their favorite color and three things they would like to bring to the beach. Later, they received a fun, branded print piece reﬂecting their preferences. CMS provided guests with personalized calendars and pocket folders that they can use in their ofﬁces. 8 Invite customers, prospects, friends, family and media. Different audiences get different values from your open house. Prospects are introduced to your services. Customers can learn about the wider range of your offerings and have a special experience. Friends of the business share your celebration and can virally communicate your messages to others. Including a session for family members can help build company morale by communicating that the company has a clear vision for the future. And inviting the local business media will keep your business on their radar and—if you craft a compelling story for them—can result in editorial coverage that extends the reach of your event exponentially. 9 Follow up. Following up is as critical to your overall success as good planning. Begin at the event by checking attendees’ names as they pick up their badges, so you have an accurate attendance record. The day after the event, review key visitor reactions with the sales team, determine if actions are required—such as literature fulﬁllment and follow-up appointments— and assign actions. Within 10 days, thank you cards should have gone to all attendees and all follow-up activiThe Blue Results open house invitation. 3 ties should have been initiated—including following up with people who said they would come but didn’t. 10 Re-use it. The materials you create for your open house can become part of your ongoing marketing program. Share some of the materials you created with no-shows to entice their interest. Re-use presentations for smaller plant tours and one-on-one sales calls. Build on your open house experience by opening your doors on a regular basis. Both Blue Results and CMS continue to use open houses and luncheon seminars to develop their status as thought leaders and to maintain a healthy dialog with customers. Gina Testa is the Vice President, Channel and Customer Business Development, Production Systems Group, Xerox Corporation. She can be reached at Gina.Testa@xerox.com. Innovate spring 08 11

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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