Take Your Business on the Road This Year
Image Credit: Pixabay
We might live in the digital age, but there is still something to be said for getting up close and personal with your target audience. For all that we often hide behind our anonymous screens, we are still fascinated by other people and brands and this gives you and your business a great opportunity.
Taking your business on the road isn’t just about increasing your brand visibility (you could use content for that); this is about meeting the people you want to serve and taking feedback on board. This is your chance to find out what your audience really think and get even more people involved.
What Do You Need?
In theory, taking your business on the road should be quite simple. You will need a van, your products or services and a couple of volunteer staff members/ friends/ family to go with you for support. However, you do need to think this through.
18 wheeler accidents are more common than you might like to think so even if you are just driving a small truck, you do need to know how to drive defensively and be confident behind the wheel. You should also consider the kind of provisions you will require for your road trip including food, drink and rest stop destinations.
At every destination, you need to make sure that people are able to recognize your brand. This means that should think carefully about how your truck appears. Adding your branding to the outside is a good start, but you should also think about how you are going to display your products. You might actually find it easier to hire a temporary space in each location, rather than kit out your van as a mobile business.
What’s the Plan?
Before you set off on the road to anywhere, you should map your route for the best results. Finding trade fairs is a good idea as this will give you an instant audience but you should also factor in the time it takes to get between locations and add in some rest days too. Google Maps is your best friend here!
Now you have your route in mind, you need to think about what sort of experience you want your customers to have. Are you going to pop up unexpectedly or are you going to promote your road trip on social media to whip up a crowd? Are you going to be doing some amazing deals or are you more interested in raising awareness of your online site?
Knowing what you want to achieve with your road trip is essential if you want to measure your successes. Perhaps you want people to sign up to your mailing list, or maybe you want to get some feedback on a new product you are trialing. Either way, make note of all the information you get on your road trip so that you can determine whether it was worth the spend and what you could do to make it even better next time.
