Tag: wristbands

How to win business at trade shows and events

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When it comes to winning new business and getting the attention of prospective clients and customers, attending industry trade shows and events as an exhibitor is a tried and tested method that many companies have used with great success. Whilst it’s very possible to use this tactic to make revolutionary changes to the fortunes of your business, it’s not enough to just turn up and hope for the best. You need to have some techniques up your sleeve to ensure you really get the most out of your investment in terms of both time and money. In this guide, we share top tips for winning new business at your upcoming trade shows and events.

Pick the events where your prospects will be in attendance

Okay, so it may seem glaringly obvious that you need to choose an event where your prospects will actually be, but it can be all to easy to make some bad decisions in this respect when you’re just getting started with marketing your business in this way. Event organisers can be really persuasive, and before you know it, you’ve decided to take them up on a ‘special deal’ that isn’t necessarily going to benefit your business. Think about the audience that various events are likely to attract, and consider how many people you’ll get in front of who might actually buy from you.

Have a talking point at your stand to initiate conversations

Once you’ve chosen the best trade show or event for your business, you’ll need a way to stand out from the crowd. You’ll be up against other companies and if you want to get the most out of the opportunity, it pays to consider how you’ll start up conversations with your prospects and get them interested in what you have to say. The options are pretty much endless – you could give away promotional wristbands or branded lanyards, you could have a selection of sweet treats displayed on your stall, or you could do something else entirely. Don’t be scared to get creative.

Collect email addresses from attendees so you can continue to market to them

If you’re selling B2B services or items with a high price tag, you’re probably not going to make lots of sales at the actual event. Your strategy should be to introduce your business, share a little about what you have to offer, and then have a plan in place so you can continue to nurture the relationships that you’ve started, and ultimately, convert them into paying business. One of the most effective ways to do this is to collect their email addresses and embark on a great email marketing campaign. It’s cost effective, and it can have phenomenal results. Obviously, you’ll need to give your prospects a reason to leave their details with you. You might decide to offer a free e-book that you have created that will add value for your prospects and help them to solve a problem that they often experience, or you could offer entry to a competition to win something like a bottle of champagne, or one of your very own high-end products.

Winning business at trade shows and events isn’t always as easy as many people will have you believe, but with the right advice and forward planning, it can be something that you can use to really maximise your impact ramp up your revenue. Before you even consider turning up at the next much-anticipated industry event, make sure that you’ve given some careful consideration to each of the points outlined above.

Our High-Security Wristbands for Your Event

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You may or may not have heard the story of Marcus Haney, a 26 year-old sought after music photography who built a career on the back of ‘jumping fences’ at popular music festivals.

His festival-crashing footage has now been made into a feature documentary called No Camera’s Allowed: the film contains 4 years worth of footage from various festivals which Marcus was able to fool security.

“We’ve done everything” explains Marcus “Everything from jumping fences to fake wristbands to posing as security to posing as artists to posing as press to running through truck entrances to going underneath fences.”

After sneaking into Coachella in 2010, Marcus recreated a media wristband from shoelaces one day, which got him into the photo pit with an old camera. Having such good quality photos got him a ticket to Bonnaroo where he shot a short film that grabbed the attention of the band Mumford & Sons who then invited him on tour as their official cameraman. Of course, now Marcus does not have to sneak in anywhere.

Of course, this was a one-off, rare and incredible story of how a man fashioned a career out of breaking the rules and most gatecrashers do so without such targeted career intentions. As a festival organiser, we understand that it’s of the utmost importance to keep break-ins to a minimum. Not just for loss on earnings, but for maximum festival security.

Our Security Wristbands

yellow plastic security wristband
No festival or event would be complete without the use of the wristband: not only does it make a great memento and acts as marketing long after the event, but they act as the most effective tool of identification.

No matter what size your event, no party planner or event organiser needs the added stress of uninvited guests sneaking in through man-made tunnels. After all, they already have the entertainment, lighting, staging, acoustics, food, staff, volunteers etc to worry about as it is.

Ordering high security wristbands from JC-Leisure will ensure that fence jumpers will be one less thing to worry about. Our security wristbands will provide your guests and staff with the desired visual identification that can be used for any event whether you’re organizing a festival, concert, access control into theme parks, leisure centres, nightclubs or other.

Our range of bright colours means that they’re easier than ever to spot with different colours and styles available to identify the difference between guests/staff/volunteers etc.

All of our security wristbands can be personalized with a printed or woven with a personalized logo or message making them much harder to replicate, with most of our security wristbands impossible to remove without damaging, making them completely non-transferable.

So, as much as we love Marcus Haney’s story, we know how it is on the other side of the fence…

Festival security is serious business and the importance of keeping it a safe, fun and fair environment for all of your guests is of paramount importance. Even if that’s a story that won’t make it to the film festivals of LA any time soon…

5 Things to Think About When Organising an Event

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No matter what your event – whether it charity, community, children’s, music, catering, motoring, sports, displays or just a big, BIG party – you need to do some planning.

There are a lot of things to take into consideration when organising an event that you may not have even considered unless you are a seasoned professional. It’s hard work – it’s tireless commitment – it’s exhausting, but! If you follow some basic pointers, it the hard work will pay off any ensure that your event runs as smoothly as possible.

Budgeting:

For each type of event you will have to build a basic event budget. Once you have your type of event in mind, then you can start to take all the elements into account and start to count up potential costs.

Although it’s important to be as specific as possible, remember that all event budgets should be classed as a working draft – as the extra details come to light, so will new costs and you will find that expenditure will increase very rapidly.
When it comes to sticking to your budget and slimming down your costs as much as possible, you should focus on elements and options that will have the biggest impact on your guests. This way, you can prioritise if you have to make a few financial sacrifices along the way.

Licensing:

You will find that a lot of your activities will not need a license, but it’s worth checking the situation with regards to licensing as soon as possible: licensing and other permissions may take some time to be granted and so make sure it’s all checked – possibly even months – in advance.

Entertainment

– will you be having entertainment at your event? Depending on the nature and the time of performance, you may need a license. The venue in which your event may be taking place may already hold a license for your type of desired event, so check with them before hand.

Lotteries, raffles & bingo

– “Incidental non-commercial lotteries” do NOT require a license. However, running bingo may need permission unless you are playing for a good/charitable cause. This means none of the proceeds from the events are to go towards private gain.

Alcohol

– If the venue has a Premises License, a Club Premises Certificate or if there is a supervisor with a Personal License then you won’t need a license to sell alcohol at your event.
Also, you will not need a license to SELL alcohol for a private event such as a street party.
If you are offering alcohol as a prize in a raffle or tombola, do some research as certain conditions may need to be met.

Safety:

Safety is of course a big concern for many when organising an event. In all cases, you will need to assess what could realistically go wrong, what effect this could have and how you intend to prevent it.
Consider site layout, attendee numbers, slip and trip hazards, erection of large marquees and tents, electrical safety and first aid arrangements. If you are hiring activities such as bouncy castles or fairground rides, you will need to ensure all certification is up to date.
If you want to serve food at your event, you will need to look into the Food Standards Agency regulations and food labelling regulations.

Transport and roads:

If you are organising a street party or a community event you may have to arrange temporary road closure. This is quite common and a lot easier than you may anticipate.
You may need a few weeks’ notice in order to have permission granted in time. The law does not require a fee for road closure.

Insurance:

The law does not require you buy insurance for a voluntary or community event – however, in case something does go wrong, purchasing insurance will provide you with the peace especially if someone makes a claim against you.
If you do decide to purchase insurance, make sure you check the terms very carefully to make sure you know exactly what it does and does not cover and the requirements you have to meet.
If you are renting or hiring a building, you may be covered under their insurance so this is worth checking. Also check with third parties or entertainers to ensure they have their own insurance on the day.