You’ve probably watched a number of people start off their business by vending at events. You’ve probably invested in vending yourself. It sounds like a good idea, right?
It starts with one event and then next thing you know, you’re addicted to the rush of showing off your product or service so, you pick up 2 more vending opportunities. By the end of the month, you’re maxed out doing 4 events per week.
Logically, placing your product in front of large groups of people is ideal to make sales.
The truth is… VENDING isn’t a good form of marketing for small business owners.
Reason #1: HIT OR MISS
Vending for most small business owners is ‘hit or miss’. Often the measured ROI is inconsistent across vendor opportunities, making revenue goals hard to set and measure. With vendor fees ranging from $50-$2000, it’s a big investment with a little return. Let’s try an example.
Paying an employee $10/hr for a 5-hour event + a $500 vending fee + any transportation costs = your breakeven mark (minimum. $550)
Reason #2: REQUIRES STRATEGY
Depending on your product or service, vending has a low success rate over a long period of time. This means small business owners need a strategy that combines experiential marketing, branding and content marketing to have a lasting impression on your consumer. Most don’t have the time or resources to put together that type of strategy.
Of course, there are some business owners who swear by vending but they have the secret strategy, and usually more resources to make this a success.
Keep reading for the 4-step secret strategy to ensure event vending is a success for you.
1. Create a goal.
First things first, you need a sale, customer and revenue goal to measure the ROI. How many items do you want to sell? or how much money do you want to make? How will you collect contact information from interested attendees?
2. Make a plan for selling out.
There’s nothing worse than selling out at a popular event when people are interested in purchasing. Will you have an iPad or tablet handy for people to order from your site? Will you offer free shipping?
3. Choose events where your ideal customer is in the room.
This one is SUPER important and often overlooked. Vendor fees can eat away your marketing budget. Instead, create a list of events that your audience frequents and plan to vend at those events.
4. Make your vendor table an experience.
You know the tables with the flashiest lights and fanciest setups are usually an attendee favorite (and memorable). Make your table an experience with raffles, giveaways, email sign-ups, freebies, cool decor and more.
Are you vending more in 2020? Use these tips to help make your experience one-of-a-kind and memorable.
