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How to Sell Out Your Outdoor Event, Stop Worrying About People Showing Up, & Deliver an Extraordinary Experience

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    • Using a Cloak of Mystery to Benefit Your Event

      About twenty years ago, my father worked at a local development company that owned several local chain restaurants. On occasion, the owner of the company and my father would conduct "mystery shopper" evaluations of the company’s restaurants.

      The "mystery shopper" methodology was pretty straightforward. You go to the restaurant and order a meal. Never was it announced to staff who you are or what you were doing, hence the mystery component.

      During the meal, one would observe and take notes of the overall customer experience. For example, was the wait staff friendly and attentive? Were all the menu items available for purchase? If there were any issues, were they adequately resolved?

      After visiting several restaurants, the owner and my father would compile all their notes to identify the positives and negatives. Then, recommendations would be sent out to the various locations for managers to address any issues of note.

      Overall, the mystery shopper experience was integral in gaining favorable word of mouth for the restaurant chain—all in a world too early for Internet reviews.

      If you don’t have one already, please consider setting up a mystery shopper program for your event. Ideally, your mystery shopper should NOT be you or someone on your staff. Look toward a trusted advisor or friend who has a track record of honest feedback. Why is that?

      Because if you or a team member are working hard to execute a great event, it’s challenging to add more to your plate and stay objective. You’re going to get task saturated and probably miss something.

      In every instance where mystery shopping client events, major customer experience issues have been identified and presented to clients. My goal is to be as fair and objective as possible. So, any issues of note are always backed up with customer feedback.

      Mystery shopping is relatively simple to set up and will provide you and your team with some fantastic insight into your event.

      Want to more event customer experience advice? Check out the articles below:

       

    • Event Promotion: An immutable human buying behavior

      As marketer Frank Kern once said, "unless your customer was genetically modified in utero to have a completely different psychological disposition than the rest of the human race, this stuff (well thought out marketing and advertising) will work!"

      It is crucial to understand how we as humans make purchases. When it comes down to buying behaviors, it's straightforward.

      All humans buy on emotion and justify with logic.

      The above statement might seem overly simplistic, but its simplicity is tremendously powerful.

      Can you remember a time when you had a deep desire to purchase something? Maybe it was a family vacation or a new cell phone. What starts as a small thought begins to nag you, and suddenly you feel as though your life will be better with that purchase.

      The result?

      You just purchased on emotion. And we as humans are conditioned to feel good about consumption.

      After the dopamine hit, you most likely back-filled your buying decision with a series of logical justifications.

      Buying on emotion and justifying with logic is in play when generating ticket sales and getting people to attend your event.

      It's important to remember there is a dark side to human buying behaviors. e.g., Drugs, illicit activities, or running up massive debt on credit cards. So if you're going to use the Jedi mind tricks of marketing, please do so responsibly.

      If you haven't had an opportunity to read it, I strongly recommend "Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D. In his book, Dr. Cialdini explores case studies and clinical research directly related to human buying behaviors. Cialdini's book is a fascinating read!

      Years ago, I recorded a special training on Cialdini's Weapons of Influence. If you'd like a link to that presentation, reply to this email.

      Want to get more event promotion advice? Check out the articles below:

    • The Irreplaceable Charm of Live Events

      Getting together with other human beings is a positive experience that is almost impossible to replicate. But, of course, that’s provided you want to get together with other people. The holidays don’t always give us a choice. 🙂

      Before the pandemic someone asked me, "do you think digital events would replace live events?"

      My answer back then, and even more so today, is a resounding "No, live events are here to stay!" Even if the pandemic as slowed live events down.

      Yes, there is a time and place for digital events, especially if your local or federal government doesn’t allow you to hold an event.

      With the above said, if you’re going to go digital, use it as a supplement and not a replacement to your live event.

      You and your team need to stay proactive.

      The single best thing you can do right now is to "prime the pump” for your next event, even if you’re uncertain when your next event might occur.

      What steps do you have in place to make that happen?

      Reach out to your previous customers, generate leads, and build relationships with those in your target market. Doing so will pay you in spades.

      Even better, a proactive approach to your next event will put you leagues ahead of your competition.

      Here are some additional tips on planning and promoting a successful event:

    • Your Diamond Mine of Data – Lost Forever

      Here's a short and unfortunately not so sweet tidbit for today …

      A surprisingly high number of new client projects start with clients not having access to their own Google Analytics data.

      What’s worse is that the entire process of trying to track down access for Google Analytics always results in a massive time suck for everyone involved.

      Why rant about Google Analytics access?

      Because without Analytics, you lose any potential assessment of previous advertising and marketing campaigns. Without Google Analytics or another comparable platform, assessing an event’s online future potential is challenging.

      How do you plot your future, if you can't assess the present or your past?

      Ultimately, most clients set up a new Google Analytics account and forsake all their previous data. All your previous advertising campaigns and potential marketing insights are lost forever.

      Instead of droning on about the issue, please consider the following simple recommendation.

      Make sure to triple-check that you have full Admin privileges on all your Google Analytics properties. If you’re unsure, be sure to check with your web provider or IT person.

      If you don’t have access to your Google Analytics, you want to weigh your options now when you have time on your side. And time will give you a bevy of options that you won't have available when you're against the gun.

      Having your web stats readily available with help you and any savvy marketing person you might hire chart a successful path of online success.

      Want to get more info on tracking the effectiveness of your event promotions with Google Analytics? Check out the articles below:

    • Peter Parker beats back the pandemic

      Over the weekend, Disney/Marvel's Spider-Man: No Way Home raked in over one billion USD worldwide. All in the middle of a significant uptick in COVID cases from around the globe.

      Given the circumstances, one might think, what about COVID restrictions, vaccines, and lockdowns?

      On its face, Spidey's success doesn't seem possible!

      Source: https://www.avclub.com/box-office-experts-try-to-solve-the-mystery-of-why-spid-1848249964

      To be clear, if people want to see a movie in these times, that's a personal choice. To that point, there was an expectation that all theater moviegoers wear a mask here in Rochester, New York.

      Heck, we had it easy!

      In other parts of the world, you need to provide proof of vaccination just to enter the movie theater. Of course, that's in addition to wearing a mask.

      Remember, movies are very similar to events. Like events, movies get a group of people to spend their hard-earned money to be entertained, educated, or to help others.

      Yet, despite COVID …

      Spider-Man was an enormous financial success. That's because Disney/Marvel manufactured a massive amount of demand for a high-quality "event."

      The second essential component is that Spider-Man has been on the silver screen for about 20 years. Thus, creating demand is easier when you have a known event that people want to attend.

      Much like Disney, you can stack the deck in your favor.

      Be sure to click on the source link above for a peak into No Way Home's early success. After you click on the link, replace any movie references with the word "event." There are at least a few great knowledge nuggets for you to take away.

      P.S. – In case you're wondering, Spider-Man: No Way Home was an excellent movie and worth a watch. The movie an interesting take on personal choices and consequences.

      Want to get more info on promoting your event? Check out the articles below:

    • The Ultimate Event Advertising Solution

      If you've been receiving my emails for a while, you'll probably remember the following story.

      Today, I'm going to suggest something radical based on the busted billboard story.

      So, here's the short version …

      About six years ago, a client invested almost 30,000 USD in billboard advertising in one of the largest metropolitan areas in North America.

      After the client hired me, I asked a straightforward question about their billboard investment during an advertising audit:

      "How many dollars of revenue did your billboard investment generate for you?"

      The client reluctantly acknowledged that they did not know.

      After completing the client's advertising audit, I recommended not renewing their billboard contract because no data supported that ad buy. Not even a notable uptick in Google Analytics!

      Without the billboards, the client increased their year-over-year revenue by approximately 30% and kept 30,000 USD in their bank account.

      Allow me to take the story above one step further. Though overly simplistic, I also believe it to be tremendously self-evident.

      —-

      The simplest way to determine the effectiveness of any advertising is by not engaging in that activity and noting what happens!

      —-

      With the above said, I would strongly recommend taking a measured approach to eliminate any advertising or marketing efforts.

      Make sure you leverage the classic direct-response process of changing only one element at a time. You might have to group multiple efforts into a single channel in some instances.

      e.g. Pull back on all your social media efforts and take note of what happens. You probably won't be able to use a single post to make a sound assessment.

      Additionally, the above recommendation is a 40,000-foot suggestion. Depending on the complexity of your marketing efforts, there could be a little bit of work involved.

      If you have a similar example where you eliminated a marketing or advertising buy with positive financial results, I'm all eyes!

      Want to get more event promotion advice? Check out the articles below:

       

    • Ticketmaster: Much Maligned & Possibly Misunderstood

      Have you ever mentioned Ticketmaster around an event organizer?

      To date, I cannot think of a single instance where someone had anything positive to say about Ticketmaster. Yet, ironically enough, for all the hate, I believe that Ticketmaster is the biggest ticketing company in the world.

      Years ago, my friend Doug Doebler shared the following interview with Fred Rosen, who originally founded and served as President of Ticketmaster.

      In the interview link below, Fred Rosen directly addresses the ticket fees and all the nitty-gritty details most people have never heard. And it’s not what most people think!

      Source: ArtistsHouseMusic

      Remember, after you click the link, you can speed up the clip by selecting the “Cog/Gear” on a desktop computer or three dots on mobile. With those menus, look for the “playback” speed option. I recommend 1.5 to 1.75X.

      When you get a chance to check out the video, mash the reply button and let me know what you think. After watching the interview, did your option of Ticketmaster change?

      Want to get more event ticketing advice? Check out the articles below:

    • Are all your event announcement ducks in a row?

      Here's a timely combination of a few previous rants …

      Last week, a headlining act announced their 2023 performance dates for a well-known local event. After the announcement, local news outlets featured the upcoming event on television and online.

      Overall, there was some decent media coverage. All at zero advertising cost!

      Unfortunately, it was also a missed opportunity.

      For some unknown reason, the local event organizers didn't have their "official" website available. When you tried to access the event website, you are met with a strange hosting company message and zero information about the event.

      Almost a week later, the event website is still unavailable.

      "But wait, there's more!"

      One of the local news outlets linked an online story to the headlining performer's website, "For more information, click here." After clicking the link, the performer's website has no reference to the local event. It's like a double dead end.

      Though it seems overly simplistic, you probably know where I'm going with this …

      At a minimum, make sure all your marketing assets, especially your event website, is ready to go before any major announcements.

      In 2009, a local event client had all their ducks in a row and generated hundreds of new leads, in one week, for their event. All the collected leads were put through a dedicated marketing process and converted into event attendees. Zero ad dollars were spent.

      What seems trivial can have a colossal impact on your event.

      Don't let highly qualified traffic go to waste!

      Want to get more great info? Check out the articles below:

    • Systematizing a Little Healthy Ticketing Paranoia

      Multiple clients found themselves refunding significant amounts of ticket revenue this year. Ultimately, it came down to an issue with selling tickets at higher pricing than the pricing schedule.

      Thus, today's takeaway is about as straightforward as it gets.

      Do you have a simple system in place to check your online ticket buying process?

      If not, consider setting up a routine of clicking on and checking the “buy ticket” buttons for your event regularly. You might even want to include a simple checklist item or post-it note on your monitor.

      After you click on the button, is the ticket price correct?

      Do you click through and validate the entire check-out process?

      The simple advice above is essential if you're involved in sophisticated marketing and advertising campaigns. Simple and small ticketing mistakes can add up quickly. For example, in 2021, over 40,000 USD of event ticket revenue had to be refunded due to pricing mistakes.

      Last but not least, if you ever get called out on a pricing discrepancy, act immediately and issue the appropriate refund.

      One overcharged person on social media can be problematic; a few angry people can turn into a public relations nightmare.

      Remember – when you're busy playing damage control and customer service, you can't focus on selling tickets to your event!

      To the client's credit above, they automatically issued refunds to buyers. However, in some instances, buyers didn't even realize that they were overcharged.

      Checking buy buttons is just one example where what many consider trivial can become costly to your event. A little healthy paranoia and a few validating clicks can go a long way.

      Want to get more event ticket strategies? Check out the links below:

    • Behind the Black Friday / Cyber Monday Scenes

      Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Both days are full of discounts, occasional poor consumer behaviour, and seemingly "once in a lifetime" deals. In total, it's a massive day for online and retail revenue generation.

      Retailers offer consumers something to buy with a discount, value-added proposition, or other unique combination to incentivize a person to buy immediately. You must buy on Black Friday, or else … wait until Cyber Monday. After that, some other arbitrary sales day that is sure to follow.

      Ok, Eugene. That's very nice. But what does Black Friday or Cyber Monday have to do with my event?

      When you peel down through all the layers of advertising and marketing madness, you're left with a few essential selling components. One of the biggest drivers of Black Friday sales is an offer. And that's the dirty little secret … an irresistible offer.

      My question to you is do you have a surefire offer that ticket sales like crazy for your event?

      The above question is one of my favorite questions to ask of event organizers. And most event organizers don't have an answer. A usual response goes something like, "we've tried a bunch of different things and nothing seems to work." As a result, a mountain of potential ticket sales are left on the table.

      To maximize your advance ticket sales, you need to have your own irresistible ticket offer.

      Over the last 11 years, clients have used one ridiculously simple offer. The offer used by clients was directly borrowed from the dating industry. That modified dating industry offer has generated millions of dollars in advance ticket sales and has an unbelievable track record of success.

      Some outdoor event clients now enjoy the confidence of selling 89% of their tickets, before a single person walks into their event. With two days of rain in the forecast.

      If you don't have a super-duper ticket sales offer, use the marketing lessons of Black Friday as a template. Look at what's being offered, the results (using Google News), and insights you can integrate to create your own irresistible offer.

      Additional Ideas for Marketing Your Event: