Incentive planning is important to building guaranteed attention and focus of any audience, and luckily there are a number of tools to help with this. Some of the tools are available in the most obvious of places, while others might be a little more subtle.
Venues – surprisingly, many venues have built-in incentives that they can offer, such as tours or gifts. This is more common in more exotic locations, and special destinations such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City. For more information, inquire with the hotel’s concierge service.
Local Concierge Services – In many cases, it is possible to find local services that offer meeting planning services at a discount. Smart meeting planners can and will consult with these for pricing whenever appropriate. Often it turns out that the local services have developed special relationships based on volume and history, and thus are able to offer better pricing.
Searching – If you do not look for it, then do not be surprised if you do not find it. The Internet is an amazingly powerful tool for looking for anything, and Google makes the entire process look simple. Simply navigate to Google’s home page (www.google.com) and type in what you are looking for. For example a search for ‘affordable tours in Tucson’ is a great way to locate an incentive.
Seasite.com – This amazing portal offers group cruise planning tools you can use to plan an incentive cruise. With all cruise brands represented, you can source a group cruise easily with a single electronic RFP.
Whether you run your own meeting planning company or are a meeting planning professional employed by a major corporation, self-promotion should be considered an integral part of your job. Many meeting planners avoid self-promotion for one reason or another, but if you do not have the confidence in your skills and the motivation to get out there and get your name known, others will likely pick up on this and may not have complete confidence in your meeting planning skills.
Self-promotion is, of course, absolutely imperative for self-employed meeting planners and is a key component in landing new clients and sparking interest in your services. Making yourself available as a speaker, writing articles for trade publications, maintaining a blog and billing yourself as an expert are all excellent forms of self-promotion that will increase awareness of your meeting planning services and will instill confidence in potential clients considering using you for their meeting planning needs.
For planners currently working for corporations or non-profit organizations, self-promotion is also important. Participating in the abovementioned activities, such as blogging about event and meeting planning, offering your expertise to partner organizations or writing articles, can increase exposure for your current employer, while also positioning you for stepping out on your own at some point or increasing your marketability to potential future employers.
Trade shows and conventions are ideal places to promote your meeting planning services, and are a great way to come in contact with large numbers of potential clients in a cost-effective, efficient manner. While there are many ways to advertise your business, few allow you to enjoy face-to-face contact with prospects like conventions and trade shows. As an added benefit, if you select events that are related to business, meeting planning, travel, event planning and related topics, the prospects with which you will come in contact have an increased likelihood of being members of your target audience.
This type of targeted marketing allows you to increase awareness of your services and expand your business, while staying withing your set marketing budget and avoiding incurring unnecessary costs. Advertising can be expensive, but you can rein in these costs by opting for tabling at events that focus on your market. If you plan to table at multiple events, it is well worth the initial investment to purchase a creative, professional display that is easy to put up and take down, and convenient to transport. This will cut down on your set up and break down time, and will keep your table looking organized and professional, allowing you to focus on meeting prospects and introducing them to your brand.
When professionals attend well-planned meetings or conferences, they often want the contact information of the event planner for possible future use. Meetings that run smoothly, are productive and enjoyable, and include comfortable meeting spaces, good food and fun activities are sure to be remembered. Therefore, when you make sure that each attendee knows that you planned the meeting and that they will return home with your contact information, you are taking an important step in setting yourself up to obtain additional clients and experience future success.
Aside from high-powered professionals that may be in attendance, you should also keep in mind that each staff member at the meeting has the potential to rise in the ranks of the company they are currently with, to broaden their career path and go to work for another company, or to go out on their own. Making sure these folks remember you and have your contact information is an excellent way to increase the likelihood that they will tell their new company about your services, or use you for their own meeting planning needs in the future.
Promotional products that can be used during the meeting or conference, as well as after the attendees return home, such as pens, notepads, folders, rulers, calculators, desk sets or conference bags are affordable, effective marketing tools that will put your name and contact information in the hands of conference and meeting attendees, and will ensure that they have your information when there is a need for your services.
