Remember the good ole’ Yellow Pages? Before the Internet destroyed those giant printed phone books, they used to have a catchy marketing slogan that said, “Let your fingers do the walking.” The idea behind this slogan was to save time by going through the Yellow Page listings and using your phone to shop for information or order products. Today, browsing through an old phone book seems ludicrous. However, the point behind “Let your fingers do the walking,” still has meaning for modern marketers.
Whether you’re an author, business owner, or non-profit director, you’ve probably set up an event to market your books, goods, or services. For example, authors offer paid seminars, businesses invest in events to attract new prospects, and non-profit organizations host fundraising campaigns. In each of these situations, the goal is to draw as many attendees as possible.
How do you get people to attend your event, especially if there’s a ticket price involved? Common methods include direct mail invitations, email blasts, online and offline advertising, social media postings, etc. But, let’s imagine that your event is only four weeks away, and your sign-up rate is way behind expectations. What’s the best way to drum up registrations in a hurry?
Let your fingers do the walking. Pick up the phone and personally call people who haven’t registered yet. I know three organizations who say this tactic works better than anything else. While they use the Internet to gather contact information, they reach out in-person to invite people to attend.
To the skeptic, making a bunch of phone calls may sound time-consuming. But, it’s an inexpensive activity that can be delegated to an intern or junior level employee who has a professional phone voice. Give them a simple script to read and a list of people to call. Tell them to extend a pleasant invitation, answer questions, take registrations on the spot, or leave a message as a reminder of your upcoming event. One of my clients used this approach to sign up 100 people in a matter of days – at a ticket price over $300 per person!
In our electronic world, we can forget the power that a personal phone call can have on people. Hearing another voice say, “We’d love to have you join us,” makes an impact. When it comes to promoting an event, don’t underestimate the human touch and let your fingers do the marketing.
