Many people get spooked at the idea of marketing. What is marketing? Or you may say to yourself, “I’m not a salesperson.” Or you may think that it is too early to start marketing. We just finished the 2007 season. Let’s start with the definition of marketing. According to Webster’s it means: 1 a: the act or process of selling or purchasing in a market b: the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service 2: an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods from producer to consumer.
For a professional Santa actor I would add that Marketing is the process of making customers aware of you and your services and convincing customers that you are a high quality Santa, who is reliable, trustworthy, and jolly and will be all the things that parents expect of Santa Claus. A Santa actor needs to market himself differently to each category of customers:
1.) The Company party coordinator
2.) the Mother who wants Santa in her home for her children
3.) the Photography company that wants Santa to pose for photos at Mall or in photo studios
4.) the Casting Director who wants a Santa for a TV commercial or a Print Ad.
5.) the International Customer that wants a Santa who will meet the expectation of the country’s customs
The business of Santa has become very competitive with over 1000 registered Santa’s nationally, it cannot hurt to start now and get exposure. You do not have to be a seasoned salesperson to do a great marketing job. It takes a little time and thinking outside of the box to get the ball rolling.
Who do I market?
Sit down with a pen and paper and think of all the local clubs, organizations, events, people, planners, etc. that may need your service and write them down. Then narrow these down by putting a star next to the groups, functions that cater to children or may have events pertaining to children (i.e. PTA, Churches, and Mothers groups). If you are looking for more permanent work, write a list of the local malls and photographers who are in the area. And if you work through an agent – make sure they are on the top of your list. Why would you put your agent at the top? Believe it or not, a good agent starts calling your previous customers and marketing you for the upcoming season right after the New Year. Your agent needs current paperwork and new photo’s to properly do this year after year. Make sure your agent has the tools they need to market you effectively. Now we know who to market, let’s find out how to market.
How do I “market myself”?
If you have a good agent that is consistently getting you more work every year, then you do not have much to worry about. The work is being done for you. However, it can never hurt to do some marketing on your own and bring in more business. The easiest and most inexpensive way is with business cards. You can buy these buy the 1000’s and hand them out – and it only cost you pennies. Make sure to have your stage name, agent phone number and county/city that you want to service and website. If possible, have a photo of yourself on the card as well. Keep these on hand with you at all times. People will say “you look just like Santa” – what a perfect opportunity to hand out a card. Another great item is signs. The car magnets that you see on many cars cost about $50-$60 per pair. Santa drives A LOT; why not advertise on your way to the grocery store or to a job. People will drive by and jot down your number. Bus stop signs….are inexpensive and can pull in a large amount of business for you. Prices vary from state to state but can be as low as $100 per month plus a set up fee. Websites are inexpensive to maintain (as low as $60 a year) and are very effective to this day and age of internet users. Local periodicals are effective if the ad is eye catching. To take out a quarter page ad with your photo in color can vary from $50 to $200. School newspapers are effective and what better advertising than going home with 700+ students at one time for a nominal fee or donation to the PTA.
What should I charge?
It never fails – once you have someone’s attention the first thing they will ask is “how much.” DO YOUR HOMEWORK. You don’t want to go through all of this effort and find out that you were too expensive or bid to low. Call local competitors and find out how much they charge per hour, ½ hour, etc. Call children entertainers in the phone book – you may not realize this, but many of them have real bearded Santa’s that they send out for much lower than what independent Santa’s are charging. Ask what that rate includes? Do they offer a money back guarantee if the customer is not satisfied? Do they have their own liability insurance? Do they provide references? Are payments collected prior to the event or on the day of the event? What is the cancellation policy? Does this include background checks and copies of the clearances for the customer if requested? Your agent gets asked these questions and requests hundreds of times over the course of a season. Ask unbiased friends or acquaintances what they would “honestly” pay for your performance. DON’T GET A BIG HEAD. Unfortunately, too many of us get a big head once we start getting repeat clients year after year and decide to raise our prices to unreasonable amounts. This will backfire on you eventually. The client will feel that they are getting ripped off and look elsewhere.
Follow – up
Always, always, always follow up with a potential customer. If someone seems interested in your services, it is perfectly fine to ask for contact information. A phone number, name or even an address. Having worked for an agent, as an agent, I have been able to get phone numbers of people while getting my car serviced, sitting in McDonald’s, or at the bank. What better way to advertise than having a captive audience! Why do you want to get this information? People will forget about you. Unfortunately we all do it. We have a great conversation with someone and have their information but never seem to get around to calling or getting on line. I have business cards from people that I have never called, however, the people that got my information and called me a few days later and remembered tidbits of information about our conversation received my business. This is the same with the Santa business. Customers call by the hundreds over a season. By engaging them on the phone and getting information about them (even if they are shopping around) can win you the business at the end. Call them back within 48 hours and recap your conversation and ask for the business. A good agent does this countless times during the year to get you booked. Why would the customer choose me over another agency? Because I/we showed them that they were of value to us and we were willing to go the extra mile. I have clients that call year after year to get the same Santa to attend their event. Why? They feel that we care about them. When a company can recall their children’s names or the events that have taken place with them over the years, they want to come back because they feel comfortable with you/us. When Santa remembers the children’s names – it makes all the difference in the world. Not just an average Santa, but a great Santa. Someone they would never think of replacing. And it all starts with the opportunity to give them a call back and remind them of the great conversation you had.
Marketing yourself does not have to be scary. Depending on how outgoing you are a sign or business cards may be the way to go for the shy Santa. If you are a little more outgoing – approach people. The worst thing that can happen is someone tells you “no”. It is not the end of the world and there is always someone in line right behind them that will say “yes”.
The next article to be posted (next week):
How do I “Market Myself “through an Agent or have an Agent Market me?