Sooo, Christmas is right around the corner. People are saving their pennies for Black Friday and already scribbling down their lists and marking down electronics at Wal-Mart and Target as we speak.
This is usually the most generous part of the year for companies and for individuals alike. I like it when I see people giving. I also like to see what they give and whose like they're going to bring joy to.
And that brings me to my point of this post. Giving can mean different things to different people, but I love it when people give. Giving doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Just as long as it comes from the heart and is the best you can give, I say do it.
Although we are in an upswing in the economy, money still isn't growing on the nearest tree limbs. So, I thought I'd provide a few ideas for giving this year that I believe would be great for family members, clients, co-workers or employees.
1. Gift baskets. They are the new cool thing when you're not exactly rolling the dough. You can even make them yourself, which puts a pretty nice personal touch and I like to include things I know people like such as fruit or snacks. Gift baskets don't exactly have be food-based, and can include books, CDs, socks, crochet kits etc. They're really nice gift givers.
2. Gift cards. They are not as personal, but they are pretty nice gifts for businesses. Now there are graphic designers that can personalize them for you with cute pictures or logos. I think having a designed photo of a funny office moment or office party selfie or group photo would go nice to personalize for co-workers or employees. For customers or clients, add something that you know your client likes. If your client is a pet lover, have a picture of the dog, cat, bird, etc. on it.
3. Throw blankets or snugglies. Some may think that's corny, but these still made my list because of the cold weather coming upon us. They are pretty nice for co-workers and family members. If you want to personalize them, get a graphic designer to embroider a name on it. Match it with a nice coffee mug and you've got a pretty nifty gift.
4. Gas cards. Who in their right mind would turn their nose up at a gas card? Yeah, gas prices are pretty low, but we all still need gas. You can put them in a nice greeting card and they are pretty reasonable ranging from 20 to 100 upload amounts. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
5. And good ole cash. No one would turn down cash. I think that anything above 20 bucks is a nice gift for family members. Even children won't turn down money. I've known some to do money jars, where they put an unspecified amount of cash in a Mason jar and decorate the jar as a gift, or do a money tree. Whether you choose to "dress" your cash or not, it's still a great gift that no one will turn down.
I hope these ideas will be of a help to you in making decisions for your gift-giving as you stress out over holiday menus, decorating, and activity planning.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Monday, November 2, 2015
Are You Hitting the Mark?
Defining your target market is very important when you're planning an event. I have a few tips to help shape your event as you're planning to make a large impact on your community, as well as on your pockets.
Numero Uno: Identify who you are planning it for. Nix the idea of saying you're planning for women. Women fall into a goo-gob of categories. Is this for single moms, working moms, single working moms, moms over 30?, women over 30?, women who like to ski, etc. Make sure you are specific. Knowing this off the bat will help design and cater your event.
Nombre Deux: Make sure you know the NEEDS of your market. Planning an event with a theme in regards to providing daycare to women who have no children, nor are planning to have children will only reap you a few women who are just coming out of sheer curiosity or because you almost held them up at gunpoint to come to support you. Develop creative ways to find the answers. Social media is the "in-thing" now. Post surveys (small ones) to ask around about what people think. People love to show off their knowledge. Incorporate that to get information. Create contests to get other people's opinions. Those work pretty well also.
Number Three: Create engaging content. Get their ideas and implement them in developing content that will engage your attendees. You need to have something at the event that will not only solve their problem, or provide for their need, but it will also be something that's interesting to them. Give them more than just your product or service. Provide them with speakers that are sympathetic to their problem or need and games or entertainment that can relate to them in a positive and educating way.
If you are trying to sell your health supplements to a crowd of vegans, having an icebreaker game called pin the tail on pig might not go over well with them. For example, when I did my launch party for my virtual assistant business, we played The Weakest Link. The questions related to business topics that I knew that my attendees were not as familiar with as I was. This showed two things: they learned that they possibly needed these skills to grow their business, and they saw that I was versed (or least knowledgeable) on the subject and could HELP them.
Whatever you decide to do, make sure your event is not about you. Make it about the attendees. If you're trying to sell something or get recognized, don't put that at the forefront of your purpose for the event. Your target market is your blueprint in developing the event. So, take into consideration these tips to make sure that you hit the mark. Success is waiting on you!
Numero Uno: Identify who you are planning it for. Nix the idea of saying you're planning for women. Women fall into a goo-gob of categories. Is this for single moms, working moms, single working moms, moms over 30?, women over 30?, women who like to ski, etc. Make sure you are specific. Knowing this off the bat will help design and cater your event.
Nombre Deux: Make sure you know the NEEDS of your market. Planning an event with a theme in regards to providing daycare to women who have no children, nor are planning to have children will only reap you a few women who are just coming out of sheer curiosity or because you almost held them up at gunpoint to come to support you. Develop creative ways to find the answers. Social media is the "in-thing" now. Post surveys (small ones) to ask around about what people think. People love to show off their knowledge. Incorporate that to get information. Create contests to get other people's opinions. Those work pretty well also.
Number Three: Create engaging content. Get their ideas and implement them in developing content that will engage your attendees. You need to have something at the event that will not only solve their problem, or provide for their need, but it will also be something that's interesting to them. Give them more than just your product or service. Provide them with speakers that are sympathetic to their problem or need and games or entertainment that can relate to them in a positive and educating way.
If you are trying to sell your health supplements to a crowd of vegans, having an icebreaker game called pin the tail on pig might not go over well with them. For example, when I did my launch party for my virtual assistant business, we played The Weakest Link. The questions related to business topics that I knew that my attendees were not as familiar with as I was. This showed two things: they learned that they possibly needed these skills to grow their business, and they saw that I was versed (or least knowledgeable) on the subject and could HELP them.
Whatever you decide to do, make sure your event is not about you. Make it about the attendees. If you're trying to sell something or get recognized, don't put that at the forefront of your purpose for the event. Your target market is your blueprint in developing the event. So, take into consideration these tips to make sure that you hit the mark. Success is waiting on you!
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