It’s shocking that the home entertainment industry's most beloved product—the home theater and your entire showroom—is often it’s most underutilized. To not have a different group of people enjoy your showroom at least once every month is a marketing sin, darling.
You never know how many leads you’ll get from throwing parties, but the more people that have positive associations with your company, the better for business. Recently I had the pleasure of throwing a Valentine’s Day party at Electronic Home, of Atlanta, Georgia.
Did you know it takes someone hearing your company's name nine times before they start to recognize it? Marketing and advertising will not instantly pay off. The point of throwing a party isn’t to make a sale. It’s first and foremost to serve your guests and show them how fun your company and products are. Second, it’s to get the company on social media. The party will have a ripple effect far outreaching the confines of the attendees. If you do it enough and with consistency, you’ll saturate the market.
It’s also to reach your clients through word of mouth, and to start courting your clients before they’ve even thought of owning, say, a sound system or a small home theater. For instance, my party consisted solely of women in their early 20’s. None of these women are ready to buy any major home electronics yet and no one is marketing to them—so they’re ripe for the taking.
Since I’ve created positive and tangible associations with Electronic Home, their name or at least my name, will most likely go to the forefront of her thoughts if she’s discussing getting an audio system with her husband five years from now. It also might come to mind if someone else she knows is in the market for something we offer. It’s really about patience and building a brand that will outlive you. References, however they might come, are still the golden ticket. Below is a list of major parties you could consider doing. The level of red tape to get through to any one of them will probably be outstanding unless you know someone.
- Museum or Art Gallery Boards
- Local Sports Teams
- Junior Leagues
- Staff of Newspaper, Alt Weekly or influential writers of your city
- Local Police Force
- Political Fundraisers
- Popular Bands
- Celebrities
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