CHALLENGE
Amy Tria and Laurie Pierce reached out to me soon after starting their business, The HIVE Women’s Empowerment Center, located in a multi-business commercial property in Windsor Locks, a town of 13,000 people in northern Connecticut. The HIVE offers a growing list of classes, training, and support groups on topics that align with mind, body, and spirit, including self-defense, grounding techniques, journaling, and various forms of yoga. Their efforts during their first few months in business were not generating sufficient class registrations, which translated to lower-than-expected revenue.
Tria and Pierce are passionate about supporting women, but they lacked the marketing expertise and financial resources to execute a comprehensive promotional plan. What they had were an extensive social network, a premier location on a well-traveled street, and like-minded neighbor businesses. Our strategy leveraged all of these to build awareness in a cost-effective way.
SOLUTION
Working with town officials and other business owners, we planned a grand opening event featuring tours, demonstrations, music, and refreshments staged inside and outside the building. The signage, happenings, and turnout generated interest from those driving by, bringing in even more people. Press coverage and social media posts before and after the event stretched the promotional mileage even further.
RESULTS
Several hundred people attended the opening event held on a Saturday in September. The HIVE doubled its email list, surpassed its goals for memberships and class registrations, and created new ambassadors (beyond family and friends) who will share their positive impressions. They also earned no-cost media exposure, learned how to orchestrate a cost-effective event, and had fun celebrating the launch of their dream.
Tria and Pierce are pleased with the results.
“Linda, your help, time, guidance, and expertise have been greatly appreciated! You were our ‘glue’, leading us where we needed to be and guiding us through every step of the day. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” said Tria.
A carefully-planned event provides an opportunity to interact with potential customers, demonstrating what you offer in a way that supports your brand. Planning is key, no matter the size of your budget. You can’t predict the weather or guarantee that something won’t go amiss, but a thorough plan will prevent surprises and allow you to build awareness in a way that can be targeted to your specific audiences.
You can benefit from my depth of experience in event coordination and all areas of integrated marketing planning. Contact me today to learn how planning and expertise ensure successful results.
About The HIVE Women’s Empowerment Center:
Tria, a life-long advocate for equal rights and opportunities for women and girls, says the idea for The HIVE came to her after she experienced an unsafe encounter about a year ago and began investigating self-defense options. “Very few local options existed, so I searched for instructional courses so I could teach myself,” says Tria. “Now, I will have the opportunity to share that knowledge with others.”
Tria’s search for ways to empower herself soon became a bigger vision. “I began to imagine a place where women could find teaching and learning opportunities to help themselves become fully empowered,” Tria says. “A bee hive is approximately 99 percent female and those females perform all tasks to keep the hive alive and well, much as women do. Everyone thrives.” Tria says the HIVE will offer self-defense classes and other offerings that help empower women to feel their best, such as journaling, grounding techniques, and several forms of yoga.
Co-founder Pierce, shares Tria’s vision, saying the HIVE offers a variety of classes that will provide an opportunity for connection, growth, and support. “That’s what I love about the HIVE,” Pierce says. “We can bring what we have, learn and grow in the areas that interest us, and lean on each other for things we may not already have in our own toolbox.”
For more information about the HIVE and all of its offerings, visit its website at www.thehiveempowerment.com.