Emailed referrals lead to snail mail acknowledgements.
By Jaida's Hopechest, posted June 4, 2015
How can I stress the importance of returning an email? I wouldn't think that a serious professional would dream of passing up an opportunity to "stay in the loop" for future leads. When planning an event, I send a notice out to all vendors that I have done business with BEFORE I publish a Vendor Call. Of course, some vendors may have other commitments and, others may not be interested. But I don't receive responses until a week before the event. Recently, I received a few requests for specialized artistic service referrals, ie; face painter, natural body products, caricaturists, etc., for private events. I am finding that vendors are not even bothering to respond. These are paid jobs! How many artists have sat in a booth waiting for a customer? I would think an artist would be happy, or at least complimented, that someone is offering a "paid in advance" contract. Is it too much to expect an artist vendor to acknowledge that they have received my emails? Everyone states that they prefer to communicate via email but, too often than not, I do not receive return communications. My business is a small but growing Craft Event Business. Not all vendors may have made great profits from my shows but there have been follow-up requests for business. I want to build a resource base. I find my business is becoming a new referral connection base instead. My objective is to pass paid business opportunities to the vendors that have supported my shows. I am 'developing' a series of html responses to include with my event notices and referrals. Maybe the notion of a 'one click response' will appeal to everyone in my growing circle of vendors. My next event is on July 11th. Aprox. 11 vendors have responded. I hope to make another blog entry that reports improved response rates. Until then, I will be working hard on "improving the wheel". |
