I’m looking for some winter time into early spring events for a retail garden center. What are some wintery events you have tried that were hugely successful that could be a big hit in a retail garden center? And what are some that bombed that you’d never do again? What have you done event-wise — from workshops to wine & cheese parties — to get people in the door during cold winter months when gardens — and customers — are frozen?

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Jay’s Answer: It depends on your budget and your demographics. In general, the key is to excite people about enjoying garden.

For example, you could have a slide show of local gardens remodels (before/during/after), with experts on hand to describe how they did it as well as how you could do-it-yourself. Have people bring in pictures of their gardens, and the experts can provide free advice for a redo. A door prize winner would get gift certificates for plants, tools, and/or consulting services.

An essay contest (kids and parents alike): “What my garden is missing”. Let people dream big. All entries are in-store. All customers get a free vote for the best dream. Winning entry gets $X towards making the dream a reality.

Or even, how to bring in the garden into your home (creating garden rooms/effects) lecture/give-away.

Our company holds a yearly customer appreciation event and we ask our vendors to help sponsor. This year, we are holding two events – one in each of our market areas. With the economy being what it is, I need a compelling reason for our vendors to sponsor these events. What can I offer that would provide the highest value to each sponsorship level?

Typically I offer 3 different levels ($1500, $2500, and $5000) and each level gets certain things. Each level gets their logo on the signage, introduction during welcome announcement, and logo/link/description on follow up email….along with the ability to network with our top customers.

What else can I offer that would make our vendors want to go for the highest sponsorship level? Right now the only differentiation is that they will receive a list of attendees.

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Jay’s Answer: What you really want is a long-term relationship with your sponsors, not just a one-time payoff (and your sponsors would likewise want a longer term opportunity to talk with your customers).

Therefore, how about:
…a rental of your customer database?
…a VIP reception?
…an article written by your sponsor in your eNewsletter (on a regular basis?)
…an opportunity to develop customized solutions for your customers in concert with your company?

We are an integrated marketing company that participates in various tradeshows/conferences as an exhibitor throughout the year, specifically in the healthcare realm which normally is very heavily attended by women.

We did paraffin hand wax treatments (play on our organization’s name) at a recent show and it did REALLY well, attendees loved it! But it was cost prohibitive so want to do something a little less involved. Someone at my office suggested oxygen bars or massage chair these seem so overdone.

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Jay’s Answer: Foot massage. Instead of trying to give one to everyone, have people submit their contact information for an hourly drawing. Contact them by cell or post name on board (or require them to be present for the drawing). You’ll need fewer masseuses, and having a relief from walking is always appreciated.

I am starting up my own event/wedding planning business. I would like the tagline to reflect the fact that I have the resources to create eco-friendly events but at the same time not draw any non-eco clients away. The name of the business is Mulberry Events.

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Jay’s Answer: You’re trying to do too much in too little space. Let me explain.

First, wedding planning isn’t the same as event planning from a client’s perspective (from your perspective, an event is an event…). When I think of event planning, I think more corporate events than a simple party. A business client has different needs than a bride/groom.

Secondly, either you specialize in eco-friendly events or you don’t. While eco-friendly is a concern for many people, it’s not a primary benefit they care about. They want a great party. Great food. Great music. No headaches. At a great price. Oh, and it’s eco-friendly? Bonus points. It may well be the niche you go after to differentiate yourself from the other planners. The problem you may have is in perception: If the event is eco-friendly, is it less fun? Less tasty food? Less spectacular?

Here are a couple of ideas to get you thinking:

• Specializing in Earth-Friendly Wows
• Spectacular Event Planning From The Ground Up

Hi, we are a small clothing label setting up a stand at a clothing event for the first time, how can we stand out other than just displaying the clothes?

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Jay’s Answer: Don’t think that your primary goal is to sell your clothing. It’s to start finding out what people are looking for, how your clothing compares to others, and what would make the casual shopper into a raving fan. Also, if you have a story to tell about your clothing (how a <specific demographic> are HUGE fans, or how your clothing helps disadvantaged youth, or how you’ve been designing clothing for years for other labels, etc.), tell it. People may not remember the clothing you’re showing, but they will remember a remarkable story, and share it with others.

Also, make sure you at least have a simple website so people can continue to look at your clothing post-show (or for their friends to see, etc.).

I am creating an eNewsletter for a resort targeting the corporate retreat business. With this economy they would like to focus on Value. But also focus on the fact that the company will gain actionable results from the off site retreat.

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Jay’s Answer: You need a reason for people to choose to have their meetings at your site, not just off-site.

If they’ve been to your resort before, tell them how other business owners have benefited from your business services (testimonials). I’m sure you have great food, beautiful rooms, and an attentive staff — and so does your competition. What does your resort offer that they can’t get (easily) in your area?

Consider making your e-newsletter tip-based, for example: http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/employee-development-leadership/11139-1.html

Position yourself not just as a host, but also a facilitator of effective/memorable meetings.

We have a beautiful new health club in a community of approximately 500,000. It is an upscale club, but not too pricey. Our climate offers extended outdoor activities. Any suggestions to encourage new members to join before winter sets in?

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Jay’s Answer: Have a (series of) open houses – where people can experience your club w/o pressure.

Donate some memberships to needy families in your area – or even have an essay contest for free memberships. Both can generate some great PR, but will take time to get the word out.

Adopt-a-family for the holidays. For every N people that join, you’ll donate 1 membership to a family in need. This could be a great co-promotional activity with a service organization in your area.

Also – join now for free, and only start paying after Jan 1. That will give the taster and build your numbers quickly.

I am having problems finding new leads for new customers and have tried flyers and other things.

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Jay’s Answer: Find local (highly visible) homes that have large side areas. Offer to paint their home for free (or deeply discounted), in exchange for the following: You use the side of their home as a billboard, initially painting your message (perhaps changing weekly), and slowly covering it up as you finish up. A clever message (that changes) could be a great way to get people talking about you.

I’m stuck — On our campus we have just finished building a new student housing complex. As with many campuses students have a meal plan and eat at a dining hall. This new community is by far the most expensive living option.

Are you aware of some kind of published research that gets at what I’m calling the two apples problem? If I give someone the choice between one free apple or two free apples most will choose two apples even if they only want one. Without factoring in price the opinions gathered that way are (in my mind) useless. Is there by any chance a term for this kind of problem that might clue me in on where to look for info?

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Jay’s Answer: This topic is described well in Chapter 1 of Dan Ariely’s book “Predictably Irrational“. It’s hard for people to deal with an either-or situation, and you can artificially manipulate people’s biases (or simply learn how to pitch the offer) by introducing a 3rd choice into the equation. People can’t cope with A vs. B well, but A vs. B vs. C allows them to feel like they can make an informed choice.

The one vs. two free apples is covered in another chapter as well…

We market a comprehensive IT outsourcing solution and as such am looking for a way to reach C-level execs. The rub is that in many instances the C-level people have little familiarity and thus a low comfort-level in making IT decisions.

Any suggestions on how to go about this or alternatives would be greatly appreciated.

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Jay’s Answer: Based on looking at your website (www.isutility.com), your key benefit is saving money in IT expenditures. If so, your target market would be CFOs and/or comptroller. These people don’t care about the specific IT issues, they care about the bottom line and want to ensure that spending less doesn’t equal getting less. For these people, they need well-written case studies. One of your case studies that I looked at (Wexler Surgical Supplies) describes what you did, but not concrete ROI results. How big was the company (both in # of employees and annual revenue)? What were their expenditures before/after? What were their short- and long-term results?

You’re right you don’t want to target IT directly, since you’re threatening their jobs.

Don’t forget that you can also target government organizations, since their budgets are always stretched thin and their needs are similar to Fortune-500 companies.

Your existing website needs some updating of copy to be more professional and better target your market as well.