If you want to attract more corporate bookers to your venue try these 5 essential tips.
Have you seen a lull in your incoming enquiries or the quality of your bookings? Marketing your venue isn’t always easy. It’s something that needs constant work and regular tweaks.
Whether you have a small independent studio Space or you’re a grand London destination, attracting corporate bookers is worth the hard work. Here are 5 practical venue marketing ideas that will help you attract more corporate clients to your venue.
1. It’s all about the visuals
According to HubSpot, people only remember 10% of what they read. If that same information is paired with a photo, people in their study retained 65% of the information three days later.
Professional, up-to-date photography that shows your venue in a variety of different setups will give your Guests some inspiration as well as something to remember, making it absolutely vital in upping your corporate enquiries.
Bookers want to be able to show their team your amazing venue online before organising a site visit. Don’t forget to add photos of real events and people in your venue.
If you really want to step it up a notch, why not take a look at our 3D tours? Increase conversion rates and the quality of your enquiries and let your Guests explore every corner of your venue from the comfort of their desk.
2. Push your online presence
On average, people spend 24 hours per week online, with one in five adults spending as much as 40 hours per week on the web. What’s the impact of all this time spent online? Our attention span has dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds in just 8 years.
With our digital exposure going up but our attention spans going down, the type of content produced online has to change. With every brand and company commanding an online presence in 2019, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd and get the exposure you need.
In 2019, video content is proven to be more engaging and effective in marketing strategies than any other content. Diode Digital recently found that online video is 600% more effective as a marketing tool than print and direct mail combined.
That’s huge! When creating video content, try to match the stage your consumer is at in their purchase journey to specific types of video. Different stages in the customer journey will require different types of content to help push them to the next stage. Try to stick to the framework below and you’ll have a greater chance of reaping the benefits from your video marketing.
| Stage | Type of Content |
| Awareness | Teaser Video |
| Consideration | Explainer Video |
| Decision | Testimonial Video |
| Care | Educational Video |
3. Networking never fails
Despite the amount of time we’re now spending online, networking offline is still just as important. With a good marketing strategy, events draw crowds, so you should aim to run at least a few events per year. If your venue is new, why not hold a launch party or an ‘open house’ style event? Invite people who fall into your target audience. Offer some freebies and showcase everything that’s unique to your Space and you’ll see people flooding in. What better way to showcase your venue than with your very own showcase event?
You should also consider planning a digital content strategy around your showcase event. You might like to record it to make videos or podcasts, write a blog about it and tweet about it on social media. We did just that at our Female Blueprint For Success Breakfast Panel at Farmers and Fletchers in The City. This content created a good cross-channel buzz after the event. Take a look at the content here.
4. Power of social proofing
Social proofing is the idea that people conform to the actions of others if they think those actions are ‘correct’. In this instance, the more corporate clients come to your venue and leave positive, helpful reviews, the more new corporate clients that will visit and book. It’s a simple, easy way to spread the word about your venue and encourage more people to book your Space.
A survey by Podium suggests 61% of customers read reviews before making a purchase decision. So if you can show one corporate event planner that another one has hired your venue and had a successful event in the Space, you’re on to a winner.
5. Be Innovative
The last piece of advice is to always stay competitive, whether that’s with the latest technology or following the latest trends. If your corporate clients see you’re at the top of your game, they’re more likely to book events at your venue. Think outside the box and give clients options or ideas that will help them stand out. Businesses love the idea of being on the cutting edge of their industry and events are a great opportunity for them to show off their innovative brands.
We know it’s hard to market your venue when you’re busy managing the events themselves. But, spending a bit of time on your marketing strategy each week, month or quarter will enable you to reach a wider corporate audience and to get bigger and better bookings at your venue.
