Get the latest news regarding Enlite POS and Dark. New release, special events, and promotions will be listed here.

ENLITE PRODUCT UPDATES

Are you interested in what has recently been added to Enlite in order to enhance its capabilities and your experience as a user?

Here you’ll find the latest additions to the system. New features, settings, improvements and reports that will help make your life easier:

March 2021

General: Notification Setting

– We now have a setting to send the welcome email right after the customer is created in the POS.

Reports: Store and Employees – Employee Activity Log

– We have a new report for employees to show the activity during the period/day.

General: Rack Update

– We can now view the past due orders that are not racked in the invoices not racked summary.

New Setting: Walkin – Customer Routes

– We have a new setting that can enable the one time route option in customer walkin.

Reports: Routes – Mobile Invoices By Customer By Route

– We’ve created a new report to show the mobile invoices. You can filter it by customer and by mobile status.

General: Mobile Orders

– We can now see the employee who created the orders in the mobile orders section

 

New Setting: Rack Email Notification

– We can now overwrite the email subject in rack email notification.

With the setting

Without the setting

February 2021

General: Walk-in Setting

– The new walk-in setting will check and prevent DUPLICATE emails in the customer info.

General: Billing and Pick & Pay Setting

– Our development team created a new setting where the payment receipt will be emailed right after the payment in pick & pay or in the billing section.

General: Billing Setting

– We now have an option to hide the STORE NAME and STORE ADDRESS on billing statement.

with the setting:

without the setting

New Setting: Print Setting

– We have a new setting to print the customer membership points on customer receipt, quick tickets and invoices.

Customer Receipts

Invoice

Quick Ticket

Reports:  Sales – Sales by Drop by Item (Garment Summary)

– We can now filter the sales by drop by item report by item types and item categories.

Reports:  Sales – Sales by Drop – by Customer – Summary

– We can now filter this report by customer

New Setting: Walk-in – Customer ID

– When we create a new user, the customer number of the user will be automatically generated.

– You can also search the customer using the customer ID in walk in and pick & pay with the “@” sign before the number. e.q @125856

New Setting: Print Setting

– The “CUSTOMER ID” can now print on Customer Receipt, Quick Ticket, Invoice, Billing Receipt and Invoice Tag.

You can add the Customer ID in customer walk-in.

For the printouts:

Customer Receipt

 

Quick Ticket

Tags

Invoice

 

 

Jan 28th, 2021

New Setting: Print Setting

– We now have a setting to print logos on invoices.

General: Phone label to Mobile Phone label

– We’ve changed the phone label to Mobile Phone label.

Customer walk-in


Reports

Notifications

General: Cashier Update

– You will now see the payment sub type in cashier under transaction details.

New Setting: Walk-in – Show Total Balance

– We now have a setting to show the Total Due of the customer on the walk-in screen.

With the setting

Without the setting

New Setting: Print setting

– We have a setting to show the CURRENT OPEN BALANCE in customer receipt. This is not applicable in master accounts. Please check the example below.

With the setting:

WITHOUT the setting:

New Setting: SMS Rack Notification

– We now have a setting to customize rack SMS notifications.

The default SMS notification being sent is “Your clothes are ready! Invoice:231-1. (Name of the store)”

General: Employee Duplicate PIN

– Our development team updated the system where you CANNOT have the same employee PIN. This is to avoid problems in the cashier session.

This is the error message you will get when you try to enter a PIN that is already used by another employee.

Reports: Customer – Customer w/o Tickets

– We have a new report that will show customers with NO VISIT, meaning no ticket created or picked up/delivered in X amount of time.

Customer – Customer w/o Tickets

Reports: Payments – Payments by Sub Type Summary

– We added a report called Payments by sub type summary

Reports: Customers – New Customers (Mobile or Portal)

– We have a new report that will show all customers who registered in the app or in the portal. It will also show the date when they registered.

General: Void Ticket

– For tickets that have been voided, you can now clearly see because the word “VOID” is shown on the invoice.

Reports:  Tickets – All Ticket List (Route Only)

– We added a new report called “All Tickets List – Routes Only”.

New Setting: Issue Store Credit

– We now have a setting to hide the “ISSUE STORE CREDIT” by role. For example, if you don’t like your employee to access the issue store credit button, please let us know so we can enable the setting.

New Setting: Required log after changing the invoice

– The user will be required to save a log with a reason for the change on the invoice.

New Feature: Gift Card

– Gift Card Feature is now available. Please read all the details here: Gift Cards 

Reports: Routes – Routes Open Invoices by Drop

– You can now filter the customer and route in this report.

Reports: Invoices – Invoices Pending Pickup

– We added the customer filter, due and totals in this report.

Customer filter

Due and Total

Reports: Cashier Periods – Cashier Period w/ Customers

We’ve added the customer name, billing and routes in the cashier period report – cashier period w/ customers.

Reports: Sales – Sales by Drop by Station and Employee

We have a new report in sales called “Sales by Drop by Station and Employee”. You can filter the report by employee.

Employee Filter

Sales By Drop by Station and Employee

Reports: Payment – All Audit Logs

We created a new report in payment called “All Audit Logs”. This report will show the information of the payment that was processed thru pick and pay or billing. It will also show the details if the payment was successfully processed or not.

New Setting: Auto Split Button in the Manual Modal

We have a new setting to show the Auto-Split button in the manual modal. The system will organize the invoices.

New Setting: 12-hr format in timecard

We can now support a 12-hour format in Timecard.

Reports: Invoices 

We added the following report under INVOICES.

A.  Invoices not Racked Routes Only

B. Invoices Pending Pickup Routes Only

C. Invoices On Rack Routes Only

D. Invoices Pending Pickup

Reports: Payments – Payment by Type Void & Lost

You can now see in reports the voided and lost invoices. This is under Payments – Payment by type Void & Lost

New Setting: Racking Email 

We now have a setting to overwrite the racking email.

New Setting: Redirect After Print

– Our development team created a setting to redirect you to either in customer, walk-in or menu screen after printing the receipt in pick and pay. Below is the example of page that you will see after you print if the setting is enabled. You only need to select ONE of the following.

A. Customer

B. Walk-in

C. MENU

D. FALSE (NO DIRECT) – It will stay in pick and pay screen after you click print receipt.

General: Ticket Manager Back Button

– We created a new button in the ticket manager called “ALL TICKETS”. This will help us check the other tickets under the same customer without typing in the name of the customer in the search field.

General: Mobile Orders

 We added the boxes for ticket and invoice notes so we can edit them from here;

New Setting: Rounding Issue – Billing and Invoices

– If the setting is enabled, it will not apply rounding during the calculation of the tax.

Reports: Invoices – Garment in Store

– The report “GARMENT IN STORE” under invoices has now the tracker filter, due and total due

Tracker Filter

Garment In Store

General: Ticket Manager Improvement

–  You will now see the following in the ticket manager (invoice details).

Void At, Voided By, Lost At and Lost by

General: Mobile Orders

– We can now filter by mobile status.

New Setting: Print Setting to hide Due Date and Drop Date from Quick Tickets

– We now have a setting to hide the DUE DATE and DROP DATE from quick tickets. Before the update, this setting is only hiding the dates from the customer receipt.

WITHOUT the setting

WITH the setting

Reports: Invoices

– We’ve added the mobile phone number on the following report under INVOICES:

a. Invoices On Rack

b. Invoices On Rack – Routes Only

c. Invoices On Rack – Without Route

Reports: Invoice – Invoices Per Hour

– We have a new report under INVOICES called INVOICES PER HOUR

 

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NEWS & EVENTS JANUARY 2021

Enlite Mobile’s New Look is Here!

We are very excited to announce you that, in January we will be launching to the app stores a new update of your customer’s app and web portal. Amongst some new features and fixes, it includes a new design for a clear interface and a modern look. It will also allow us to offer you a better customization of the look and feel, adapted to your branding.

Get ALL the details from our Knowledge Base article, here.

DARK POS Accepted Into The Startup Accelerator Founder Friendly Labs

When Dark POS was founded in December 2016, we were fortunate to be accepted into the inaugural class of the Stripe Atlas startup accelerator program.

Now, four years later, we are excited to announce our acceptance into a leading Silicon Valley technology startup accelerator Founder Friendly Labs, backed by a community of experienced tech industry professionals which include veterans from Google, Apple and Facebook. Our acceptance into this program not only reaffirms our commitment to build the best software, but will help accelerate our efforts to bring you new features, new products and new experiences in 2021! Thank you for sharing this journey with us!

Join the Newly Launched Dark Webinars in 2021

In 2021, we will be launching our new Dark Webinars, an online event where you will discover everything about Enlite POS. From the biggest features to the smallest tricks that will help you get your business to the next level.

Expect the initiation for our next Webinar soon!

 

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THE ENLITE EXPERIENCE: CUSTOMIZATION IS KEY

Welcome to The Enlite Experience, the most recent addition to the Enlite Blog!

The Enlite Experience will present real-life conversations, where customers will share their experiences with the system and its products, the service they receive, and the teams they interact with on a regular basis.

Please join us as we discuss all things Enlite with a variety of customers that specialize in different areas of the Dry Cleaning and Laundry Service business.

For the first edition, we sat with a business owner with a multi-store operation of more than 15 stores, that focuses more on alterations and repairs but has also included dry cleaning and laundry to its list of offered services.

Here is what he had to share:

Enlite: Describe your experience with Enlite and your thoughts as to customizing the software to fit your business’ needs? 

Customer: Overall, our experience with DARK has been extremely positive. The Enlite team is willing to adapt to our business operations and continues to learn about [our business].

E: Which customized features would you say benefits your business the most?

C: For  [our business], the modifiers are the most beneficial feature Enlite has to offer. Basically, our entire pricelist lives within modifiers. The pricelist for  [our business] contains over 1200 different types of unique alterations that our company offers, and because of the ability to search, adding the specific alteration has become much easier compared to a menu-based Point of Sale.

E: For a large Multi-store operation like yours, what is your Team’s favorite feature about Enlite?

C: With 13 Alterations locations, in addition to 5 Dry Cleaners with 2 delivery routes, keeping track of money is mandatory. Because Enlite integrates withTSYS seamlessly, we have eliminated all credit card issues. In the past, manual credit card transactions were always subject to error simply because of the human element. Since DARK has integrated with our credit card units, our company rarely experiences incorrect card transactions.

E: Your Pick up and Delivery process requires printout customization for your Customer receipts and Invoices. How does it make things easier for your customers and your team?

C: With Enlite’s delivery feature, [our business] has taken advantage of the one-time customer feature to offer a delivery service to our tailoring population. With this, having visual indicators in all ticketing aspects was a must for our company to achieve our goal. In turn, customers can also visually see on their receipt that the order is going to be delivered through the printed truck. Simple receipt customization has allowed [our business] to offer a new layer of business.

Image added for reference

E: Describe the impact that the Dark Team has had on making things easier for you and your team.

C: As our company continues to learn about the necessary features in a Point of Sale, DARK and the team continues to learn about [us]. The individuals that help our company on a weekly basis have learned our needs , and are becoming part of [our] team. The team at DARK wants to learn and understand our company, which in turn makes it easier for not only [our business], but DARK as well.

Customization really is key when it comes to keeping our customers happy! There is not one operation that is exactly the same as the other and with that in mind, understanding our customer needs is crucial to their success. Adapting the system to each of their processes, thanks to the use of different settings and tricks is one of our superpowers.

Do you need help adjusting the system to better fit your needs? Contact [email protected] and one of our Support agents will happily assist you.

Enlite is an amazing Dry Cleaning and Laundry cloud service that features Point of Sale integration, Routes & Delivery, Garment Tracking and much more.

Are you curious about what Enlite can do for your business? send a message to [email protected] One of our Sales representatives will get back to you to schedule a demo and answer any questions you have.

 

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6 REASONS ENLITE MOBILE APPS WILL TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL

In these challenging times, surfing the wave of digital innovation is the key to surviving, staying ahead of the competition, and making a profit.  Keeping your  business accessible to your customers in this era of social distancing can make the biggest difference in your business’s pickup and delivery operations.

In this article you will find six reasons why you should include Enlite Mobile Apps in your service offering.  We will also throw in some quick tips on how to optimize your operations with Enlite Mobile Apps too.

1. Comfort and Safety:

These two words are critical to success for every business in the current pandemic. When customers are being encouraged to stay home and avoid visiting public places, our mobile apps will take your business to them with reliable and easy to use digital solutions.

With our Customers App and Web Portal solutions, your customers will be able to:

  • Pay for their orders online quickly and easily.
  • Schedule pickups in just a few taps.
  • See the details of their orders and receive invoices.
  • Update their customer profile and preferences
  • Communicate with the store from the comfort and safety of their home.

2. Trust and Transparency:

Businesses build long-lasting relationships with customers through reliability, good service and honesty.

By using the Enlite Mobile Apps and the Web Portal, customers will be able to see the details of each order, its garments, how much is due, payment status and more.

Build Trust: Communicate a customer’s garments at all times: from the moment a pick-up is requested to the moment their garments are delivered to their doorstep.

Show Transparency: When it comes to payments, you can assure your customers that their information will be safe. Enlite Mobile Apps use internationally certified payment integrations combined with high security standards when it comes to your data.

3. Efficiency in your Operations:

Are you worried about wasting time and resources picking up customer calls, arranging routes, organizing invoices, and getting on the road?  Time is one of your most valuable assets.

That’s why Enlite’s Drivers App will make your life easier! Most of the process is automated, greatly reducing the chance for embarrassing or disastrous human errors. Your customers will not need to call you every time to ask for a pick-up or to request the status of each step, because they will have it all at their fingertips in the app.

Your driver will be able to follow and complete every step in the most efficient way. By customizing the filters and settings the app offers, you and your drivers can optimize it to best suit your business:

  • Automatically add booked pick-ups or regularly visited customers to your routes
  • Filter out stops without open or unpaid invoices/orders.
  • Optimize the order of your stops.
  • Send automated notifications to customers at each leg of your route.
  • Track drivers’ break times.
  • Receive full stop-by-stop reports after each completed route.

These are only a few of the features and functions that Enlite Mobile Apps has to offer.

The Enlite Drivers App is a powerful tool  with the options and controls to help you optimize your operations. When talking about efficiency of operations, there is more to it than just the Driver’s App.  We can help throughout the entire mobile orders lifecycle to save you time and resources.

Fun fact: In the Point of Sale App for example, there’s an entire section dedicated to Mobile Orders integrated into the Enlite ecosystem. To learn more about the Mobile Order Lifecycle, please click here.

4. Locations & Routes:

When thinking about growing your business, it is important to take into consideration the location of your customers.

When configuring Enlite Mobile, you can determine the route based on the zip code setup. The App can then automatically assign your customers to the appropriate routes according to their location. You can also automatically decline customers living outside your supported areas, or give them a special treatment.

For improved accountability and management purposes, you can pull up reports on your routes to learn about your customers’ activity. You can also send them batch promotional and informative notifications by segment.

5. Cash Flow Management: 

With the Customer App, paying has never been easier for your customers. They only have to enter their credit or debit card information and then charge their preferred payment method every time an order is processed. Our latest feature allows customers to pay or prepay for each order individually with Google Pay and Apple Pay from within the Customer App. You can always track the sales for each customer in their profile or track sales from each store in the reports and merchant portal.

6. Return on Investment:

Improve your RoI through better service offerings and optimizing business operations via Enlite Mobile Apps. Through rock solid processes and accountability, you can increase your sales flow and grow into a larger market.

Our apps are very flexible and can be configured to optimize your business and market growth. For the Customer App, you can use our robust default Enlite Mobile app, or request the customization of your own branded app, with your name and colors in it.

To sum it up, Enlite Mobile Apps offers a whole business concept that brings you closer to your customers in these challenging times. Using Enlite Mobile Apps can make a real difference in terms of productivity and generated value. Combined with an effective advertising and marketing outreach, you can reach out to more customers, improve customer retention, and keep the lights on.

Have questions or want to join us?  Contact us and we can get you started with a demonstration.

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Dry Cleaner and Laundry Shows in 2020

Each year there are dozens of shows for the dry cleaning and laundry industry.

No matter if the event is big or small, there is an opportunity for every cleaner to learn something new and meet new people (and catch up with old friends).

Some shows are specialized for specific industries while others have something for everyone.

There are shows throughout the United States and around the world that you should consider attending.

Below you will find an interactive map of the different shows throughout North America.

(If you know of an event that we did not list, please click here and we will work to add it.)

Would you like to add an event to the list?

Provide us with details below and we will work to add the event to our list.

  • Provide details about the event like date, location, website, etc.
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How to Start a Referral Program for Your Dry Cleaner

Want an affordable and powerful solution to grow your business?

Develop a customer referral program.

Starting a referral program generates a steady stream of new customers, boosts repeat business, and provides a substantial and tangible return on investment.

In other words, starting a referral program makes good sense.

But starting a referral program can be a challenge—especially if you’re new to it. First, you need to deliver epic customer service. Next, you need to create a program plan. Then, you need to execute that plan. Do all these things well, and you’ll reel in dozens of new customers and boost your dry-cleaning business to the next level.

The article below tells you how to start a referral program quickly and cost-effectively. The article discusses:

  • What a referral is and why it matters
  • Benefits of an organized referral program
  • How to launch a referral program
  • Proven tips on starting a referral program

Keep in mind that the key to starting a referral program is giving existing customers a reason to refer you to others. Do that effectively and efficiently, and business growth will explode.

What are Referrals and Why Do They Matter

Referrals are recommendations from customers to non-customers. Normally, non-customers have several ways to find you, including consulting websites like Angie’s List or print ads in local newspapers. But the most popular way is asking friends and families. As an owner or a manager, you need to do everything you can to ensure that customers recommend you when asked.

Why do referrals matter?

Referrals are word-of-mouth advertising, and that’s the most trusted form of advice. Word-of-mouth is also among the most effective forms of advertising available. More than 90% of consumers say they trust referrals from their peers, while nearly 75% say word of mouth significantly impacts purchasing decisions.

Customer referral programs tap into the power of word-of-mouth advertising in a big way. And the best part is that these referrals are often free. If you do have to invest in referrals, however, the cost is often low. In short, referrals are a low-cost way to drive big profits. Launching a referral program creates an army of customers happy to spread the word about you and your dry cleaner, pumping up your brand.

How to Start a Referral Program: The Basics

When word-of-mouth referrals make up 20% to 50% of purchasing decisions, it’s easy to see why savvy businesses diligently pursue these types of customers. But creating a customer referral program takes discipline. Below we list seven steps to starting one, as outlined by this HubSpot article:

  1. Set your goals
  2. List possible customer referral sources
  3. Make a plan for reaching out
  4. Identify tour referral incentives
  5. Create resources to alert your customers
  6. Set up tracking capabilities
  7. Say thank you to everyone

HubSpot’s article provides a somewhat comprehensive approach to launching a customer referral program. The article also says that creating one says two things about you—both good:

  1. That you’re confident enough in your services and team to know that a referral program would be a positive investment, and
  2. You know that despite your epic customer service, some customers might need a push to go out of their way for you.

Also, says the article, incentivizing customers to promote you with non-customers is critical. You can use cash incentives to do it, but non-cash incentives work better, says a study by the University of Chicago. Says the study, non-cash incentives are 24% more effective. For best results, says HubSpot’s article, incentivize both the referrer and the referred.

How to Start a Customer Referral Program: 7 Proven Tips

StichFix’s referral program exemplifies an effective referral program. So, does Harry’s Burgers, Grasshopper’s, Dropbox’s, Acorns’, and Evernote’s. These programs excel because they’ve chosen effective incentives for customers and non-customers. Choosing effective incentives supercharges your referral program.

Here are some additional tips to help jump-start your program:

  1. Involve everyone in the effort — If you want to kick off your program forcefully, involve everyone in the effort — employees, salespeople, delivery people. Include anyone that can help build relationships with customers.
  2. Chose advocates carefully — Listing advocates you have or have had a relationship with now or in the past is critical, but do it carefully. Lists like these often include current and past customers, vendors, and leads that may not have panned out. They’ll provide a firm foundation for your program.
  3. Create an “inner circle” of contacts — Not all referrals are equal. So, having listed your best advocates, create a list of prime contacts. These are customers that love you and wouldn’t need incentives to promote you to others. Pull and segment these people for contacting later on.
  4. Make a list of resources — Once you’ve outlined your program, develop a list of resources you’ll need to implement it—emails to tell customers about the program, a landing page for collecting referral’s information, scripts for sales and customer support people, a referral kit with resources to share with your contacts, and so on.
  5. Promote. Promote — Once you’ve kicked off your referral program, promote it anywhere and everywhere—blogs, newsletters, print ads, CTAs, email signatures, press releases, and so on. You want to remind people of your program continually.
  6. Setup tracking — Tracking is crucial. Track the referrer and the referred, who the referred is, the referral date, and did the referral convert, plus how you’ll follow up with him or her. Enlite’s software solution can help with this effort, too.
  7. Thank the referred and referred — Above all, thank everyone that makes the program a success, including the referrer for helping push the program and the referred for using your service. Consider a message that thanks everyone individually.

Creating a customer referral program supercharges your dry cleaner. A well-executed program delivers a steady stream of new customers, boosts repeat business, pumps up loyalty, and provides a substantial and tangible ROI. In short, a customer referral program makes good business sense. Take advantage of this strategy.

But first, you need to create a program. Software tools, like Enlite, Referral Rock, AdvocateHub by Influitive, Referral Candy, and Ambassador, can help. A customer referral program, when done correctly, can pump up both profitability and growth all at a little cost. What’s better than that?

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How to make money from events for your dry cleaner

Food and wine festivals. Music venues. Block parties. Local events go on all the time in neighborhoods, towns, and cities. You probably attend your fair share of these events every year. Like many enterprising dry cleaner owners and managers, you’ve probably wondered how you can make money from these events.

Event Everywhere

Make no mistake. Local events CAN help you make money. That’s because they’re powerful promotional tools. It’s why 84% of industry leaders see them as critical components of their marketing arsenal, says one report. The key is not to ignore or underestimate them as marketing tools for pumping up business at your dry cleaner.

 

Put another way; local events can help you boost profitability and growth—no matter what size your business or how deep your marketing budget. By piggybacking on them, you can drive exposure, create awareness, and generate new customers for your business. You can also use them to build your brand locally.

 

Below provide tips on how to make money at a local event by piggybacking on them. Our article covers:

 

  • Key steps you need to take before local events
  • Advice on setting goals for your marketing effort
  • Proven tips on marketing yourself at these events

 

Implementing the tips we provide in this article will show you how to make money from events, supercharge your marketing, boosts exposure, and increases profitability and growth.

 

Critical Steps Before Selecting a Local Event

So, how do you make money at a local event? By doing your homework. It’s a critical step in the process. Doing your homework means researching the heck out of these events and talking to people that attend them. Dig up as much information about them as possible, like key target audiences and event reach. Every bit of information helps.

 

Nailing down this information can help you make critical business decisions, such as: Is the event right for you? How involved should you get? What types of marketing tools work at the event? More importantly, it can help you make the most critical decision of all—whether or not to have a booth at the event.

 

Sponsoring a booth drives marketing at local events. Booths

 

  • Give interested parties a chance to approach you
  • Assure customers you’re a legitimate business
  • Provide you an aura of professionalism
  • Meet prospects in a relaxed, friendly manner

 

Sponsoring a booth is also a great way to show prospects—and customers—that you’re a fun company to deal with—a big plus these days.

 

Make sure you talk to other business owners that have marketed at the event, however, before doing anything. Ask them what they did to market themselves and how well it worked. They can also provide valuable intel on what didn’t work. That can save you time, money, and energy and boost your chances of succeeding at an event.

 

Set Marketing Goals for the Event

Another pre-event “must do” is setting a marketing goal or goals for the event. For example, do you want to generate leads from the effort? Or, maybe you want to convey a specific brand message. Then again, maybe you want to educate people on a new service, like pickup and delivery—a service Enlite’s software solution makes possible. Whatever goal or goals you choose, make them quantifiable.

 

Having done your research and set your goal or goals, you now need to start thinking about marketing tactics for the event. Here’s a proven tactic if you sponsor a booth: Have a fishbowl at your booth for business cards. Entice event attendees to drop their cards in the bowl by offering an article of clothing as a prize plus a discount dry cleaning.

 

Five Proven Local Event Tactics

Of course, we’re just spitballing here. The idea is to be creative with your tactics and find something that’s fun and professional. Below are five proven tactics that you might consider for a local event:

 

  1. Become an event sponsor — This tactic might seem expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. It all depends on what you get with your sponsorship. If you get a booth with the sponsorship that makes this tactic worth it. It’s a great way to keep your dry cleaner top of mind with people.

 

  1. Embrace social media — Social media is a great promotional tool. You can promote your appearance at the event, invite people to stop by your booth, or announce a discount on your services for people that attend. If you don’t have a booth, you should still promote the event on your Twitter or Instagram account.

 

  1. Hold a giveaway — Giveaways are cost-effective ways to create a buzz at a local event. For example, you can raffle off an introductory package to your services or promote a new service, like pickup and delivery. Even if you don’t have a booth, you can still hold a giveaway. You need to find the right way to do it.

 

  1. Give away company branded swag — This tactic is a great way to collect customer information. For example, you can trade swag for a business card, phone number, or email address, which you can follow up on post-event. Or, print up business cards and give them away with the swag. Make sure you print your social media handles on the cards so that people can link up to you.

 

  1. Create a reason to stop by your storefront — Think about running promotions in conjunction with the event that will get people to stop by your store. You can run a promotion on any site you want. You could, for example, offer a discount on your services for sharing your event photos, tweets, and videos.

 

These five tactics are just some of the ways you can promote yourself at local events. Many more exists, like sending out a press release to local papers, feeding attendees, holding a contest, or selling something at a reduced cost, like a tee shirt with your logo.

 

Local events bring people together.  Don’t underestimate them when it comes to making money. They’re powerful marketing tools that make an impact. But you’ll need to figure out how you’ll make money at the event first. Focus on what makes your company special, and you’ll have half the battle won.

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