Special Events: A Great Revenue Stream for Your Membership-Based Business - Angela Summa
Posted by Member Solutions on Tue, Dec 27, 2011 @ 07:00 AM
Hosting special events is a great way to bring in new member enrollments and create an additional revenue stream for your business. There are many events you can easily hold at your facility to help generate buzz in your community and strengthen retention with your current membership base.
I recommend using the end of December as a time to plot out your 2012 events calendar. Take out a blank calendar and make note of all the legal federal USA holidays and celebration observances. Determine which calendar holidays make sense for your business and keep in mind that not all events you plan for 2012 need to be tied to a specific time of year or Holiday. Many of our clients’ most successful events in terms of turnout are the recurring events they hold throughout the year ― buddy weeks, birthday parties and parent date nights.
Next, check out your local school district’s calendar for teacher in-service days and breaks ― times when the majority of prospective students within your community will have off from school. Your local school district’s calendar will also provide additional ideas and opportunities for you to partner with the district through picnics, dances and other community activities.
Consider pairing events such as buddy days or one-day camps with no-school days. For example, many schools close the third Monday in January to observe Martin Luther King Day. This day may be an opportune time to host a buddy day given that parents will be looking for activities for their children.
Once your events calendar is filled, establish your event activities, program length and marketing message. Consider including special incentives such as “buy one, get the second 50% off” in your event promotions to encourage multiple sign-ups. I also recommend tying a deadline to the incentive to create urgency.
Whether or not you charge a fee for your event is really up to you. Free events will increase your event turnout and the new student enrollments you gain as a result may just cover the time and expense invested into the event planning and promotion.
Remember that repetition is key when marketing your events. Don’t give up on spreading the word. The more communication channels used, the more impressions made on your audience, the better your event turnout.
Event marketing is very effective when done online. Registrants can easily sign up and pay on their own time and also help spread the word by forwarding an event registration link to their family and friends.
Online event registration systems, such as our Event Manager program, make it easy to build a custom online event form with a unique link – a link you can post anywhere … on your website, in e-mails and on social media networks.
I suggest adding your events calendar to your website which can be done through Event Manager. Simply go to the “Admin” tab to grab the HTML code under the Website Integration section. This code is written so that once it’s placed on your site, you’re done! Any events you set up through Event Manager will appear on this page and events will be automatically removed after they have taken place. This dynamic display gives your students, prospective students and the community a good overview of what’s happening at your facility throughout the year.
I hope this article gives you a good starting point for setting up your events for the new year. Many of our most successful clients host events such as tournaments, buddy days, parent date nights, camps, belt testings, seminars and award ceremonies year after year to secure a constant flow of new enrollments and incremental revenue into their business. And, many use Event Manager to make managing and marketing easy and effective.
I hope you integrate many events into your 2012 business plan and enjoy great success! For greater detail, check out the webinar: Building Your Business through Special Events in the Member Solutions Client Community. And if you’re not yet using Event Manager, sign up today to take a tour! Call 888.277.4409 or visit MemberSolutions.com/EM.
Happy Holidays!
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Angela Summa is Director of Corporate Development for Member Solutions.
What events are you holding in 2012? Share below.
