When I was starting out with Taskmaster Enterprises, one event I would never miss was the fête at the school nearby our office.
We’d always have great fun and do a bit of fundraising. Some years we’d run a cake stall, other years we’d have some sort of competition or giveaway and one year we even had one of those dunking machines, where I sat on a stool set over a bucket of water and people threw balls at me.
Strangely, my staff loved that one. We raised 10 times more that year than any other.
Why did I love the fête so much? Because we were one of the few businesses there and always the only company in our sector. We’d work the crowd, subtly push our products, talk to community members and generally introduce our company.
I knew the fête was one place the big guys wouldn’t bother to market – they might send money, but they’d never send people – so I was able to use my small size to advantage.
Tapping the community vibe can be great for the bottom line, but it’s also great for your business. I guarantee that if you approach it in the right way – to have fun first, market second – everyone in your team will get a kick out of it.
Get it done – today!
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
