There are a number of creativity resources available to us at our finger tips, thanks to the internet. However, I’ll be sharing the top 3 creativity resources that have been very beneficial to me and my work. Continue reading
Ready to take your Instagram aesthetic to the next level? Creating your own Instagram Stories Highlights covers is a great way to keep your Instagram profile on brand.
Instagram Stories Highlights are an awesome way to share important information about your brand directly on your Instagram profile.
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currently listening to; Kelly Key’s No Controle
I like to call Africa “the home of soul food” (Music) and everything nice.
Music really is food to the soul and Africa is home to various diverse genres of music and dance. One African musical genre I love is Kizomba which originated from Angola in 1984 and has since been infused in modern music all over the world.Continue reading
Africa is blessed with a number of very hardworking and innovative young minds that make up the building blocks of her economy. In Africa, the relentless nature and perseverance of her youth is unimaginably outstanding. Continue reading
The Spoken Word Poet, RezthaPoet (Adebola Afolabi) has finally dropped a new single, titled ‘Lines of a Young Man’s Wrinkle’. This post-Exposit album single, had been performed live to a selected class of creatives and critics before its release on 9th of May 2018.
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How many times have you put things off till the last minute? Or pushed things forward till you have little or no time at all to get the task done. This is how procrastination begins a toxic relationship with you.
This simple action when overlooked for too long, can unconsciously become a habit. Procrastination in large part reflects our struggle with self-control as well as our inability to accurately predict how we’ll feel tomorrow, or the next day. “I don’t feel like it” takes precedence over goals; however, it then begets a downward spiral of negative emotions that deter future effort.
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Here is the full list of the top 3 nominees for ACE Awards 2018
1) BEST CREATIVE KIDPRENEUR
DANIELLA ART STUDIO
Daniella Soje is a 10 years old, as a little Girl she would write stories and illustrate them in drawing and then she would tell her Mum to print them so that she can sell them and that was at the age of 5 or 6.
she recently started focusing more On her art, she was taught how make toothpick collage in school and she did a toothpick Range Deer at school and when she got home she asked her mother to frame her artwork . she was inspired by her younger sister to start her own match stick design. Her brand name is “DANIELLA ART STUDIO”. she likes to create and design images that adults and kids would love. using toothpick match sticks and beads.
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The importance of exhibitions and trade shows cannot be overemphasized.
According to Inter Ads, “Exhibitions serve as an influential platform for companies, professionals and industry experts to come together, share information and build long-lasting business relationships. In established economies, exhibitions are a vital part of product marketing, along with direct selling, advertising, direct mail and the internet. In new and emerging markets, they serve as a major stimulus for industrial and commercial development”.
Many small business owners have come to realize that participating at exhibitions and trade shows are the best modus operandi to growing their small business, however, the reality is, exhibitions can be an expensive marketing tool.
So, before this investment is made, you should ask yourself these 2 questions;
1. What is your goal?
What would you like to accomplish at the exhibition? Is it to meet people, to close some sales, or to simply get names and e-mail addresses on your mailing list? What product or service are you planning to promote?
Determining what your aim is would make it easy for you to decide if the exhibition would yield a good return for your investment.
2. Does the Exhibition meet your goals?
Research the event to make sure it will be attracting your target audience and see how many exhibitions the organizers have done in the past and how successful they were. Find out who else would be exhibiting and see if their products are a competition to yours or if they compliment yours. This will let you know ahead of if you need to make some tweaks or adjustments to your products.
With this in place, another thing you consider before exhibiting is to promote the event to your audience and customers. Without a doubt, the event organizers will make sure it is well-publicized however you get more mileage if you invite your prospects and customers to the exhibition or trade show.
Exhibitions are an opportunity for a large number of buyers and sellers in an industry to come into direct contact with each other – at the same time. Exhibitions and trade shows bring together like-minded individuals either through the same profession or similar industries to exchange contact information and grow the company’s marketing message and brand image.
Many producers do not know this, but open competition is a good way to grow your business. Exhibitions are a pro-active platform for buyers. They can examine and discuss products of their interest, and also compare one product with other company’s products, and return for further examination- all within a short space of time. By this, the producer learns what is working and what isn’t.
Exhibitions offer you the opportunity to go on fact-finding missions searching for what your competition is doing right or wrong.
Pose as a customer and ask your competitors for a price list, take note of their giveaways and special deals, see which booths are attracting the most attendees and learn their tactics. All these will enable you to piece together the sales and marketing strategies of other brands to help you readjust yours.
Social media has given rise to another dimension of marketing and marketers. Bloggers and influencers alike, visit exhibitions and trade shows in search of products to review on their blogs and other social media pages, and it just might be yours.
Plus, you can also get expert views on new developments and ideas on how to improve existing products.
Exhibitions offer a unique opportunity for producers to showcase their products and services to a highly targeted audience. Your prominently and well-displayed products will attract visitors, buyers as well as the press. This exposure is invaluable to a small business.
New products can easily be launched and the feasibility of a new product can be put to test at exhibitions. If the product does not appeal to the specialized trade audience at an exhibition, this will very soon become apparent.
Exhibitions are open and free for all avenues to reach out to new, old and potential customers in a particular place at that time, as long as he/she is ready to listen to you. They provide face-to-face customer contact, which is the best way to build on relationships and form new ones with potential customers.
Never will you get better access to direct clients than during trade shows and exhibitions. A good showcase at an exhibition can help build a lot of credibility about your brand and help you generate a good buzz about any product or service that you are hoping to launch.
This helps you in creating market traction as well as increasing your client base. But all of this depends on you choosing the right trade show for your company. Attending the wrong trade show can cost your business far more than it produces in sales income.
Exhibiting at a trade show is a great way to transform your business from a small startup into a talked-about, profitable, and highly effective enterprise.
Do you have an experienced, capable sales team? If so, then you should exhibit at the Bellafricana Ace Awards 2021. It would be a great platform to transform your business from a small startup into a talked-about, profitable, and highly effective enterprise.
If you would like to attend just click here
An award as you might already know is a mark of recognition given in honour of an achievement you have made in a community, an economy or impact. Being nominated for an award is exciting enough but winning that award surely beats it! How then can you move from being a Nominee to an Awardee? Here are some tips nominees miss out on..
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Every so often after an exhibition, you hear vendors say “I didn’t sell at that exhibition, I wont go back next year” And they state this fact as though the organizers of the exhibition were supposed to lead attendees to each vendor one after the other. In the same vein you hear other vendors talk about how they sold out all their products and you wonder how that is even possible.
Exhibitions can be so much fun for both attendees and vendors. You look around, get inspired, network and get contacts for future projects among other things. Sometimes vendors don’t get to partake in all the fun because they are busy, too busy trying to make sales, but they struggle with that because they were unprepared.
Vendors show up to exhibitions, set up nice looking displays and think that is all there is to it. “Bring products, customers will come” However, that is a strategy that stopped working with the rise of more innovative and creative businesses. To be ahead, you need to think ahead and know all the hacks to nailing an exhibition. Below are 9 ways to make sales at your next trade show.
1) BE FRIENDLY AND SMILE
I tell vendors all the time to be friendly and smile; And No, I don’t mean that phony smile that you plaster on your face when there’s a potential customer in view, but a genuine warm and welcoming smile. That would undoubtedly attract attendees to check out your products. No one likes a snob… or do you?
Imagine walking down a long crowded street and someone just flashed you a random bright smile, by default you would be drawn to approach the person.
You want your products to remain top of mind so even if they aren’t going to purchase there and then; they remember you when they do need what you’re selling.
Also Read: http://digest.bellafricana.com/13-signs-meant-entrepreneur/
2) ACKNOWLDGE ATTENDEES
Some people will only approach you when you acknowledge their presence. It can be something as simple as “good morning”. Also with the hustle and bustle and elbow jabbing that comes with trade shows and exhibitions, some people may honestly walk past your stand without actually seeing your products.
Approach attendees; call out a greeting, a compliment or something like that. Just acknowledge that you see them there, because when you really think about it, this is not a boyfriend/girlfriend matter where one is posing for the other. You’re trying to make some money (duh) best leave all ego, shyness and their kissing cousins at home.
3) TELL DON’T SELL
Do not start with a sales pitch once you have the attention of a potential buyer. Tell a story. People don’t buy what you’re doing; they buy why you’re doing it. Most new businesses are so desperate to generate revenue they forget value. For once I would love to hear a vendor say something like “do you know you can get rid of shoe odour with baking soda? As opposed to “You should buy these shoes they would suit you”
You absolutely cannot keep asking people to come and buy, come and buy. It causes some sort of real life spam, besides that’s what everyone does so why not bring something different and let your approach make you unforgettable.
4) DO NOT BE PUSHY
Yes, approach and engage attendees as you must, but try not to be too pushy. Most vendors literally want to shove their products down your throat. There’s a thin line between assertive and aggressive, try not to cross it.
5) DO NOT BE UNDERSTAFFED
It’s always better to have too many people than too little people helping you at your stand. You can’t afford to be short on staff. I have walked away from many stalls because I was just left standing there unattended to. Recruit friends and family to help if you can’t hire extra hands. It is important that while you’re talking to one customer, someone else is engaging the other and calling out to a potential.
6) SOUVENIRS
At a recent event I attended called the Lagos leather fair, while everyone was handing out complimentary cards, there was this one business -ForFori (makers of leather shoes, belts, wallets and bags) who were giving customers note pads with all their details at the back and product images inside.
I thought that to be very smart, because whether we like it or not, they have imprinted themselves in my mind and made sure they weren’t forgotten soon after the exhibition, because if you make sales at an event what is guarantee that you will get them to come back? Keepsakes. Always have complimentary cards and a freebie. It can be a key ring, a hand band or even a pen. Trust me, it doesn’t have to be anything major. Just be sure to leave something that people will remember you by months after they’ve forgotten about the event.
7) HAVE FUN
You’re the brand ambassador of your business, so leave your poker face at home and have fun. Crack jokes, don’t be static or rigid. You may not be an overtly social person but you know someone who is, get them to come with you. I had a blast at Oeclats stand at the Lagos leather fair. The head designer Gbemmy and her friends made m e laugh so much. I was still hanging around their stand long after I had bought one of their products.
8) MAKE ATTENDEES COMFORTABLE
Attendees are always on their feet at exhibitions, to make your stall one to go to, invest in foldable chairs and keep them within your perimeter. People will appreciate the thought. Offer them water to drink, something to munch on. Making attendees comfortable serves for good future relationships with them.
9) DO NOT STARE
This particularly grinds my gears. Some exhibitors will stare you down because someone somewhere told them to make eye contact with customers. They act like predators and will stare till they see a chance to pounce on you with their products. Kindly review this modus operandi; it will chase your customers away.
Trade show Marketing genius Steve Miller advises exhibitors to avoid the following behaviours during exhibitions.
Exhibitions are all about being noticed, so create unique experiences and always remember the trick is to staying on top of your game.
Having said all the above, it is also important as an organiser of an exhibition/trade show to attract the right kind of traffic to come and patronise or notice the exhibitors.
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