For a retail business (furniture, white goods, electrical appliances) what could be a best valentines day promotion?
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Jay’s Answer: The best promotion depends entirely on two things: (1) your store’s branding and (2) your customers’ needs.
To start with, are there products that you expect to sell more of for Valentine’s Day? If you were a florist, a jeweler, a restaurant owner, or even a candy shop owner, that would be an easy “yes”. If not, then what’s the association you’re trying to make with a holiday that your customer wouldn’t naturally think of. For example, “show your love with a new sofa” or “Flowers last a week. Our appliances have a lifetime warranty”.
Maybe you offer free kitchen makeover for the first person that proposes to their boy/girlfriend in your store (that you can video). A well-edited video of the proposal might make for some good viral marketing of your store for the weeks after.
Or, maybe you cross-promote with another business that is more Valentine’s Day focused or create an event ($10 raffle tickets – winner is picked on Valentine’s Day – winner gets a bedroom makeover valued at $$$$).
Before you start spending lots of time creating slides or shipping your props across the country for your speech, you need to do your technology homework first and know what the audience will be seeing when you’re on stage.
What does the backdrop look like? A simple black curtain with perhaps a slash of color, elaborate colored curtains, or perhaps even a built-up “set”? Your beautiful piece of artwork (or even choice of clothing) that you want to showcase on stage might simply disappear if the colors are too similar. Will there be a screen that images can be projected onto? Where is it located relative to where you’ll be talking?
How will the stage be lit? You might be squinting through bright lights (and unable to see your audience), or staring into a spotlight (that follows you around the stage), or perhaps the house lights will be up and little or no additional dramatic lighting will be added. The lighting affects not only how you look, but also how visible your slides and/or props will be. If you’re depending upon some dramatic lighting during your presentation, you need to give your show’s producer ample notice to see if your vision and their lighting abilities are a match.
How many people are likely to be in the audience? If there are hundreds (or thousands) of people, will the cute prop you’re bringing onstage be visible by more than the people in the first few rows? If not, will a camera be able to zoom in on what you’re holding and show it to your audience or recorded for later playback? If your personal goal is to have a great presentation for video for example, then it doesn’t matter if the audience can see your prop.
Slides or not? For many presenters, it’s not a question – it’s an assumption that they’ll show their latest PowerPoint deck. From your audience’s perspective, why do they need to see the slide? Is it to show proof of what you’re talking about? Is it visual “eye candy” – something to break up the talk? Is it a requirement that they read along with what you’re saying?
If you do decide to use slides (and/or video), ensure that either: 1) you can bring your laptop (and associated cables) to connect to the projection system or 2) that your show producer has a version of the software that you used to create the slides on-site. If you’re going to use the producer’s software, then ensure that you have version compatibility (their software can read your files). Next, use slides that fit your audience size. The bigger the audience, the simpler the slides should be – since not everyone will be able to read the slide – just get a “gist” of what you’re trying to point out. But just because smaller audiences can read words on your slide, doesn’t give you permission to write down more than a few key thoughts. Be sure that if you use slides, you leave ample time to practice running your slides in the venue with show-like lighting. You might find that your slides don’t stand out nearly as well they did on your computer’s screen.
The microphone. Will your presentation be amplified? Will your presentation be recorded? If there is a microphone – will it be a handheld, on a stand, a lapel mic clipped to your shirt, or a headset mic that hooks on to your ear. Whatever the system, get comfortable with it so you’re not adjusting it during your talk. Also – if there is a microphone, don’t choose to ignore it. The audio might be vital for a video recording, and if you’ve wandered out of range, the video will suffer dramatically.
Remember that your speech is ultimately a live performance. You don’t want to add unnecessary complexity to your performance (that might be a distraction). But if you do choose to make things more complex, practice your presentation as much as your speech.
I want to know know good SPA AND SALON packages for seasonal promotion for my salon and spa through which i can build good sale of my salon and spa.
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Jay’s Answer: There is no such thing as an ideal promotion package that will work for every spa/salon business. That’s because the ideal package needs to address YOUR target audience’s needs and be compatible with your business positioning. For example, let’s say you operate a very high end spa/salon in a high-rent/exclusive district for VIPs. You wouldn’t want to offer a discounted price, since that would cheapen your exclusive image. Instead, you might offer a special service from a world-class traveling expert. Likewise, if your spa/salon is for the average person in an average location, a discounted price might make sense, or a bundled package (bring a friend for a discount), etc.
If you’ve been in business awhile, you probably already understand why you clients come to your salon. Your job is to figure out how to entice more clients like these to come in using your promotions.
Now here’s an idea worth replicating (from Marin IJ). It lets people choose to donate to a local charity in a way that everyone wins:
Quarters gobbled up by Sausalito parking meters in December go a long way to helping those in need.
During the rest of the year, a quarter will buy you 15 minutes of time for your car in the city. But in December, it will buy you a bit of good karma.
During the Christmas month the city waives all meter fees for the public with the hope people will come to shop in Sausalito.
But to each meter is affixed a sign letting people know that if they drop money in anyway, it will go to a good cause. And despite the recent tough financial years, the quarters drop.
“Surprisingly enough, people do,” said Adam Politzer, Sausalito’s city manager. “It can be anywhere up to $14,000 in donations collected from the public.”
It’s an annual city tradition that goes back a decade.
“What that allows the City Council to do every year is to look for service providers and nonprofits that help the less fortunate and the underserved during the holidays,” Politzer said. “It helps folks here in the city and in the county that need help.”
Last December, roughly 24,000 quarters were deposited into the meters. That means the city had $6,000 to distribute to good causes this year. Quarters being dropped right now will be distributed next December.
Three programs benefited from the city’s and public’s good cheer as they were each awarded $2,000 at last week’s City Council meeting.
Homeward Bound of Marin, which addresses homelessness in the county, was one of the recipients.
The Ritter Center, which serves low-income people in the county, also received money along with MarinLink’s Project Warm Wishes, which once a year distributes “street packs” stuffed with new gloves, hats, scarves, socks and rain ponchos to homeless men and women.
Mary Kay Sweeney, executive director of Homeward Bound, applauded the city’s program.
“This has to get the award for creativity in fundraising,” she said. “This is a wonderful way, a painless way, to raise money for very important causes.”
Jay’s Answer: The key to promoting anything is understanding who exactly would love your offering, and describe how/why they would love it. Here are 5 tips to help you get started:
1. “Who” isn’t “everyone who’s visiting in your area”. It’s what type of people enjoy your resort the most. Age? Travelling alone? Budget? Luxury? Convenience?
2. Based on people’s experiences in the past, why did they choose the resort? No doubt there are some logical reasons, but the emotional reasons are even more important (color, room size, staff helpfulness, specialty food prep, etc.).
3. How do the people you’re targeting research resorts in your area? Online? Travel agent? Magazine? Word-of-mouth? Put your advertisements where the right people look.
4. Interview your (prospective) guests. Find out their needs/expectations. If you can meet/exceed them, do it. Positive word-of-mouth is the best marketing. If you ask at the end of your stay “was everything okay?” it’s too late.
5. Close the loop. Follow up with your guests (you have their contact information, right?). Find out how their travels went (not just your resort) and find out what other local merchants/services they used. Co-market with these local businesses in the future.
I work for one of the biggest travel agents in Ireland, we sell package holidays to all the sunny spots in Europe, Med, Greek Islands etc. We are launching our national ad campaign in January, I am relatively new with the company and want to make a big impression with this. One initial idea i had was a big of flip flops laying on a beach with the tag “Step into Summer” hasn’t been ruled out yet but I could use a few more options, any suggestions much appreciated. The focus this year is on family holidays.
When you consider how to tell your story, you’d do well to follow some of the more popular storytelling formats. Using these age-old formats helps to shape expectations and therefore easily have people know how to receive your speech.
The sales speech is basically a long advertisement for a product or service. It’s goal is to have the listener take a specific action. Sales speeches generally showcase the risks of not buying and the rewards for buying your offering. These may combine elements of biographical speeches, but instead of simply connecting with the listener’s emotion, you want to connect with the listener’s wallet.
A lecture demonstrates how to solve a problem. A college lecture, for example, will start with a question, and offer best practices for solving the question. A cooking demonstration shows how to make something delicious. The format of the lecture is a “cookbook” for solving the problem so that you can go home and reliably reproduce their results.
The inspirational speech is best exemplified by Martin Luther King’, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Inspirational speeches are ideal for when you want your audience to share your vision. The format is a series of short contrasts: this is what life is like today, but this is what life can be like. The contrasts showcase the divide, and your speech can focus on the steps the listener can take to obtain your vision. These speeches need to be kept relatively short, otherwise they become sermons that people will tire of (too many contrasts become repetitive and few speakers can enthrall their audience for a long time).
The biographical speech shares your personal history with the audience, using specific anecdotes to highlight key points you wish to make. Biographical speeches are great for showcasing how a series of events contributed to the learning you’re imparting, and the stories help the audience remember your “teachable moments”. These speeches can be much longer, but can suffer from the “Yeah, that was your experience – and it doesn’t relate to me at all” feeling. It’s important to somehow take your specific story and generalize it for others to learn from.
The fairy tale is the most ingrained form of storytelling, since these are the stories we heard when we were young. Fairy tales have both a specific format (every day…until…and because of that…and because of that…and ever since then…) and an underlying moral. A fairy tale is a powerful storytelling structure since it allows you to combine fantasy and reality in a simple package with a powerful punch. Crafting a fairy tale is hard – since you really need to distill the characters, their actions, and reactions to their essence to make it truly fairy tale-like. Otherwise, you story becomes a biographical speech, which doesn’t pack the childhood innocence-like feeling you’re trying to evoke.
While it might be tempting to mix-and-match the structures (a fairy tale that’s also a sales speech), be very careful doing so. Your audience won’t know what you’re trying to convey, and are likely to internally have resistance to enjoying your story. Instead, if you want two structures, put them back-to-back, creating a separate “chapter” of your speech.
By matching your speech goals with the right storytelling structure, you make it easier for your audience to “get” your message.
For some great examples of some of the speech structures, I suggest watching Nancy Duarte’s TEDxEast talk:
Can you give me some tips to help me promote my resort?
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Jay’s Answer: The key to promoting anything is understanding who exactly would love your offering, and describe how/why they would love it.
1. “Who” isn’t “everyone who’s visiting in your area”. It’s what type of people enjoy your resort the most. Age? Travelling alone? Budget? Luxury? Convenience?
2. Based on people’s experiences in the past, why did they choose the resort? No doubt there are some logical reasons, but the emotional reasons are even more important (color, room size, staff helpfulness, specialty food prep, etc.).
3. How do the people you’re targeting research resorts in your area? Online? Travel agent? Magazine? Word-of-mouth? Put your advertisements where the right people look.
4. Interview your (prospective) guests. Find out their needs/expectations. If you can meet/exceed them, do it. Positive word-of-mouth is the best marketing. If you ask at the end of your stay “was everything okay?” it’s too late.
5. Close the loop. Follow up with your guests (you have their contact information, right?). Find out how their travels went (not just your resort) and find out what other local merchants/services they used. Co-market with these local businesses in the future.
I work for one of the biggest travel agents in Ireland, we sell package holidays to all the sunny spots in Europe, Med, Greek Islands etc. We are launching our national ad campaign in January, I am relatively new with the company and want to make a big impression with this. One initial idea i had was a big of flip flops laying on a beach with the tag “Step into Summer” hasn’t been ruled out yet but i could use a few more options, any suggestions much appreciated. The focus this year is on family holidays.
When you start crafting your speech, start with the end result you wish to achieve. Your audience is likely to only remember 3 things about your speech: the beginning, the ending, and how it made them feel.
Think about a recent movie you enjoyed watching. Now, imagine trying to share the movie with someone who hasn’t seen it. Can you remember the plot’s twists and turns? Can you remember the feeling of the movie? Can you concisely review the movie to encourage others to see the movie?
You want your speech to be like a well-recommended movie. You don’t want someone in your audience to tell about this great speech that moved them – but forget why they were moved. If your audience can’t remember the point of the speech (because did remember they were entertained) – you’ve missed a key chance to spread your message.
What is it you want your audience to feel? Empathy with your story? Anger at a situation? Hope with their life struggle? Excitement through vicarious exploits? A talk without feeling is called a lecture. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with lectures, by their nature they tend to be dry and unremarkable. Remember that people came to hear you talk because they want to feel something new. What feeling can you share to both entertain and inform?
What is your repeatable message? Think about that movie recommendation. If you enjoyed the movie, but can’t put words to specifically why you enjoyed it, the person you’re talking to is unlikely to see the movie (despite your enthusiasm). Each listener needs to know what the point of the movie (or speech) is to decide for themselves whether they also want to experience what you had. So, if you can’t succinctly state your message before you write your speech, how will your audience be able to spread the word (and create “buzz” for you)?
By ensuring your speech is designed around a heartfelt and repeatable message, you’re making it easier for your audience to both remember your speech and to share it with their community.
For a retail business (furniture, white goods, electrical appliances) what could be a best valentines day promotion?
