Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Promote My Cookery Workshop Business

Posted by Anonymous on 3/19/2013 at 8:10 PM ET 250 Points
Hello there,

Many thanks for reading this and appreciate all your help.

I run a Indian cookery workshop business and my usp is that I provide my workshops at clients residence and promote healthy Indian cuisine. I started off by providing discount coupons like groupons, which at the time I thought was a great marketing idea. I defo was wrong, even though all my clients loved the experience they had with my workshops only a few returned. I want to change this and also want to get potential clients from facebook and Twitter. Please could someone help me with this dilemma.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/19/2013 at 8:31 PM Accepted
    What's the dilemma you're having? You learned from your experience of offering discount coupons. Now it's time to offer something new to people likely to be interested. So, start with the past: who attended your workshops & why? You're likely to be able to find more people like those, and similarly attract them to your workshops. But you need to be found - and social media & Google Display Network/AdWords could be a quick test opportunity for you.
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 3/19/2013 at 10:31 PM Accepted
    Jay provides some good questions ... when you ask about why they attended, also ask for their feedback on your new ideas to bring them back.

    Also, when your say you "provide my workshops at clients residence" what does that mean about guest invitations? Do the clients provide a guest list or do you create a guest list, or maybe it's a combination of both?
  • Posted on 3/20/2013 at 5:16 AM Author
    Hi Jay & Steve,

    Many thanks for your reply. Steve, for the workshop a client makes an appointment suitable for both of us, usually weekends. The client invite a few friends usually 4 and i provide the workshop at the clients residence. Hope this explains. I'm now running a deal through my facebook page where Im asking everyone to like and share my page for a free workshop for 2 clients. I just want similar ideas to promote my business and to target a larger audience. Im not a very tecky person. Any help or ideas would be muchly appreciated.
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 3/20/2013 at 1:40 PM Member
    In a Google search with the keyword phrase, "indian cookery workshop", I found the following website. Is this representative your business and your competitors business?
    https://www.cookwithvandana.com/about-us/

    Let's go back to some basic questions (as Jay was asking). Where are your customers located country/region/city? How would you describe your best target customers, and your current customers? What do your customers say about their experience at a workshop - good and bad? Why were you wrong, did you get feedback about the discount coupons? Even though they "loved" the experience, did they NOT return because they didn't get a discount?

    Before you go forward with more social media promotional efforts, you need to be clear on your marketing strategy. A USP of going to the customer's residence doesn't seem to be strong enough to be a competitive positioning strategy (your customers need to confirm your strategy is correct).

    Answering these questions is a start, but you really need to have a written marketing plan. Then you can execute your plan with confidence using social media and all others as identified in the planning process. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but there are no short cuts to success.
  • Posted by Moriarty on 3/20/2013 at 2:20 PM Accepted
    Your USP is more of a description of normality than anything that sets you apart from the crowd.

    Let's untangle this a little. You have a business with clients - which is as good a starting point as any I know of as a business strategy!! So what can you learn from the things you are doing RIGHT NOW - only aren't really aware of. Well for one thing you can ask your customers directly (or by mailshot/email) what they like about you. Just ask them that simple question with no leaders and see what they come up with. When you have collected ten or so and examined them you will see a pattern emerging - and that is the basis of your USP. Because all your customers are talking about you - only in different ways. They are pleased with your work and the fun you can have in the kitchen, and will enjoy their kitchen much more because you were there to inspire their thoughts.

    Because a USP is a sharp object and should be treated with care. What's more, that sharp object is you - nobody else. Anybody can roll up to a home and offer training - only that only you can do it in the way you do it. Here, your customers are the key, they see what you can't even see in the mirror each morning. So trust them. Build your business on them!

    PS why demean yourself by giving away a gig for a Facebook like? How about you say that they can bring an extra friend instead? That way you still get paid. What are you doing on Facebook to make what you do interesting? Have you posted videos of the moment it all went wrong - only everybody thought it was funny and everybody laughed? Have you an email list where you can send out reminders of what they did and the next thing they can do?
  • Posted on 3/27/2013 at 5:57 AM Author
    Hi Moriarty,

    I understand when you say send an email out for a feedback etc, I've done it all, I send out emails to all my clients after each workshop asking their feedback and all have came back with a really good feedback including the price (majority on the deal price 50% off).
    I'm after ideas like the one you suggested "bring a friend along" etc. These small promotions defo helps. I got a good response from my last deal the free workshop for sharing my fb page as the winner is inviting a few more friends who will pay, so it has been a good deal.
    I also think I should find a place where I can provide day time classes, more like a school ?

    If you've any other tips please share it, many thanks.
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