In-person, phone, or mail.

What is your strategy for contacting prospects in your farm area? For instance, do you call on the phone, visit face to face, and/or send mail once every few weeks or do you just send mail?

[kensmith]

Only been mailing, but want to start adding e-mail and face to face. E-mailing is a easy cheap way to get some extra contacts in, but you need a good reason for the contact.

As for face to face I want to set up a few events that will bring members of the community to me. For example a family safety and health day, finger print the kinds, have the fire fighters talk about fire safety, give away batteries for the smoke detectors, have free blood pressure checks, ..... Many things can be put into this one and it wouldn't cost much to put together, but it will take some time. Think that if you did this and a few other major events a year you could get some great branding within a farm area.

I think Event marketing is a great idea for penetrating a community.

[Jim Messenger]

Ken,
Great post and I too agree that event marketing is a great way to be known in your farm. Have you considered hosting an annual Block Party? I have seen the fire departments participate in many block parties and if you incorporate a "safety awareness" thing such as free batteries for your smoke detectors they might even donate the batteries.

[kensmith]

The block party idea is good, but I think that I would go a little bigger. Bigger mainly because it's about the same work to plan something for 20 people as it is for 200 people. I would get a few of the local restaurants to donate food to have a neighborhood party at the local school. Figure it could be great exposure for a few local businesses and myself naturally. Again this is a lot of planning, but it would be a great way to get my face in front of a lot of people without pushing real estate. Once it happens once it will become easier to do it the next time.

The batteries for the smoke detectors will be easy to get for free from Lowes, Home Depot, or Menards...just a matter of who will step up to the plate to help out. My plan is to keep it very low cost by getting other businesses to foot most of the bills.

My wife happens to be very good at organizing events so this is a great project for her.

[Jim Messenger]

Originally Posted by kensmith The block party idea is good, but I think that I would go a little bigger. Bigger mainly because it's about the same work to plan something for 20 people as it is for 200 people.

Our yearly block party at our last neighborhood had several hundred (i'd bet on 300-400) show up every year. The fire department came and blocked one street on both ends, they parked a fire truck in the middle of the block for the kids to play on & in, and we had a DJ one year and a band the next. Many residents brought their grills & coolers, so there was always plenty of food and drinks. I cannot take credit for party though; they had been doing it long before we got there. It seemed like a successful model to follow.

Jim

[kensmith]

Wow that is a huge block party, ours might have 10 adults and 20 kids.