What Seminar Marketing is
Seminar marketing is an ideal way to reach out to a large number of prospective clients. Through seminar marketing, IFAs can inform their target audience about important concepts such as financial planning or investment options such as mutual funds, bonds, equities and so on.
Reasons to Conduct Seminar Marketing!
Seminar marketing efficiently helps you generate new leads while increasing business from existing clients. A lot of experts believe that the conversion rate through seminar marketing is much higher as compared to other means of increasing your client base.
As the tradition goes in seminars, you would be at an advantage since you would have a captive audience, which is open to your ideas and views. Now all you have to do is to convince them to start a business relationship with you.
Amit Trivedi, Founder, Karmayog Knowledge Academy feels that explaining financial concepts to a group is always better than explaining to an individual since it takes virtually the same amount of energy, time and effort. “Seminar marketing positions you as an expert. You have to create a good impression in the first meeting itself”, says Amit.
Vishal Dhawan of Plan Ahead Wealth Advisors says “Through seminar marketing, you can target a certain profile such as doctors, engineers, advocates etc. This gives you an opportunity to prepare a presentation that suits the need of that particular group.”
Benefits of Seminar Marketing
· Spreads financial awareness
· Positions you as a domain expert
· Increased chances of acquiring new clients or more business from existing clients
· Target a large number of people by spending equal amount of time, energy and efforts
· Cost effective
Places to Conduct Seminar Marketing!
Inviting a group to your office gives you an opportunity to showcase your resources and capabilities. You can give presentations through advanced software and tools to create a positive impression.
Seminar marketing works well in a corporate set-up also since you have the benefit of catering to a certain class of people, who generally have similar aspirations. For instance, if you are conducting a seminar in a software company then your target audience would be software engineers.
Besides, seminars could also be arranged in hotels and community clubs.
Timing is the Key
According to Amit, Monday mornings are the ideal time to conduct
seminars. He says “After a much needed rest on the weekend, people feel fresh
and energetic on Mondays. However, getting people to attend an event on Monday morning would clearly be a formidable challenge.”
However, not all experts agree. Vishal believes that people feel more relaxed and calm on Fridays and Saturdays. According to him, the second half of a day is a better time for a seminar as people get enough time to assess your ideas and views.
Making Perfect Arrangements
The most challenging part of arranging a seminar is getting people to attend it. Amit says, “A strong corporate network is a must for conducting a seminar in corporate houses. Knowing people well in advance would help in getting permission to conduct the seminar in a corporate house.”
Vishal asserts that seeking permission through emails and letter has worked out well for him. “Getting permission for a seminar is easy for non-commercial activities. On top of that, if the purpose of the seminar is to create financial literacy then the chances of getting permission are better. However, if the purpose is to sell a product then getting permission is a cumbersome task”,says Vishal.
How Much a Seminar Costs
The cost varies depending on the venue and type of seminar you wish to conduct. If you are doing it in a hotel then you have to pay for banquet hall, refreshments and set up costs which include hiring of projector, etc.
If you are conducting a seminar in a corporate office, then your costs could be minimal. In most cases, big corporate houses might take care of all the expenses. However, smaller companies may not have some of the facilities and hence you may have to hire equipment etc. from outside and bear the cost.
The second part of this article will be uploaded tomorrow.
