Strategy & Tactics - The Show Must Go On

Sound Wave Customs has learned to harness the power of local events by thinking creatively. Learn how you can draw new clients, build relationships, and increase brand awareness by interacting with your community.

WORDS BY ETHAN BLAU

I am the owner of Sound Wave Customs located in Virginia Beach, Va. and this year’s Retailer of the Year.

When I was asked to write a segment for this section of the magazine, I had multiple topics rush to mind. I chose this topic first and foremost because I feel it is not widely discussed as much as it should be. I hope these ideas and suggestions help some of you explore new realms and grow this industry in your local markets.

Since opening Sound Wave Customs, I have always been a firm believer of local and in-person marketing as well as brand awareness. To me it is the best and most personable approach to clients and business relationships.

I would rather spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars getting in front of people who will be my current and future clients—and even fans—than throw it away on a radio or television advertisement that might go in one ear and out of the other. Such advertisements are nowhere near as memorable for your clients as real experiences.

Begin by Researching Your Local Demographic

Not every event or show will be great, or even have any ROI (Return on Investment) for your shop. Every demographic and client base will be different depending on your specific area, which means the events and shows hosted in your area will also be different depending on location.

For Sound Wave Customs, our first experiences with local shows and events was trial and error. This is the case with most marketing tools, investments and tactics in business. The methods that work great for my company and my area might not work as well for you.

I would recommend beginning by doing some minor research as well as just jumping in and testing the waters. Additionally, things don’t always turn out the way you expect. Your idea might make total sense to you, but it might also work out differently than you anticipated.

Be Prepared for an Unexpected Outcome

Here is a perfect example of a series of events that didn’t work out for my business. I came up with the idea of setting up vendor booths or sponsoring huge concerts at our local venues. We do audio upgrades, and these consumers are spending their hard-earned money to go see their favorite artists at these huge and expensive venues ($20.00 for lawn seats and upwards of $300.00 for the front row, as well as $8.00 bottles of water and $14.00 domestic beers). Maybe these music lovers would be interested in what we have to offer.

Even though we had a ton of response and feedback at the booths we participated in or sponsored, we had minimal to zero ROI. The only positive thing I can say about these multiple attempts (yes, I tried more than once with numerous music genres) is that we did have great brand awareness and that is never a full loss. However, I have not done another concert venue again since.

At the Coastal Virginia Auto Show, Sound Wave Customs teamed up with Jason Ewing and “Mad Mike” Martin from MTV’s Pimp My Ride, who were present to meet fans and sign autographs. From left to right: Mad Mike, Ethan Blau, Jason Ewing and Bob Mickonis, Operations Manager of Sound Wave Customs.

Consider Going Beyond the Typical Car Show

Car, truck, motorcycle, boat and powersports shows work great and we continue to do these year after year. We always try to outdo ourselves with the sponsorship level, booth set-up, and events that we host within the shows. But sometimes it’s the small things that we fail to consider, like the lawn and garden show, the pool and spa shows, the tattoo conventions, the beauty and jewelry shows, and more.

You might be saying, “Why?” Because those are all working class citizens who have a means of transportation. They all have good to great income, and they all have liquid assets. Guess who is not catering to those massive groups of individuals and families? You and your local competitors.

It sounds crazy right, but is it? Some of the best events we continue to do every year are the events that do not specifically cater to the 12-volt client. But discussing who our clients are is a whole different topic.

Events Offer the Potential to Reach Thousands of People

Some of the local shows we participate in or sponsor have upwards of 10,000 to 80,000 attendees in a matter of one to three days. That is huge. Pause and reread that sentence.

If you spoke to one quarter of those people or passed out business cards to half of those people, the ROI and the market awareness in itself is phenomenal. The thing I personally love the most is when we get to personally speak to these potential or future clients about their specific applications, wants and needs.

You may spark their interest in conversation. Just shaking their hand and letting them know you exist goes a long way. Not to mention we always provide demo vehicles, custom builds, products, displays, manufacturer representatives and even raffles or giveaways in our booth.

To have visitors come and see your knowledge, passion, work, products and brands you carry, as well as types of services you offer, is a truly great

opportunity that other forms of advertising like radio, TV and billboards cannot offer whatsoever. Here are some additional strategies to help you make the most out of a local event.

When higher-end clients are invited to bring their vehicles to an event, Sound Wave Customs will sometimes enter the car into the show. The excitement makes it seem as if a completed custom project has been re-delivered, and it’s an experience the client will always remember.

#1: Invite Some of Your Clients to Bring Their Vehicles

There are many ways to cater to the masses. Sound Wave Customs utilizes local shows to develop new relationships, and we continue to build on existing ones.

Trying to get new clients into our shop isn’t the only goal.

When we do new shows or even repeat shows year after year, we invite our higher-end clients to bring their vehicles that we have built or worked on to show and display. Our clients are not only flattered by the invitation, but they are more than happy to do it for free. Not only does it truly make them feel special, but at some of the larger car shows we participate in, we will enter those vehicles in the show and most of them will walk away with an award of some sort.

The excitement is priceless and makes us feel like we re-delivered a huge custom project to them all over again. Plus, it’s not only attracting new clientele, but building a stronger relationship with current clients on that basis alone.

Local shows can attract thousands. Prepare in advance by promoting your presence at the event months and weeks ahead of time.

#2: Build Rapport and Partner With Local Vendors

Another benefit involves building new or even existing relationships with other local vendors that participate in these events. We partner with local vendors that continue to send us customers, and vice versa.

We have a huge locally owned off-road truck and accessories retailer in the area that we continue to build rapport with. We try to get vendor booths side by side, as we share a lot of the same builds. We are involved in interior fabrication, audio, safety, security and convenience upgrades, and they handle off-road accessories, tires, wheels, suspension and more.

I am also a firm believer in building relationships with local companies that offer vehicle upgrade or performance options that can recommend you for what you specialize in. It truly goes a long way and helps add to your list of clients within your market, and it also increases brand awareness. What better way to get new clients, when you have a rapport with the top local companies in your area?

#3: Collect Contact Information at Events for a Follow-Up

Make sure to collect as much information at these events as possible, whether that means adding to an email list, getting a customer’s contact information from a raffle you’ve held, or offering a 10 percent coupon to track ROI.

There are many ways to do this. No matter how you handle this step, it is very important to get contact information and follow up with potential clients who have visited your booth.

#4: Include Charitable Events and Give Back to the Community

Supporting a good cause goes a long way. As a local business in a very small niche industry, we have to stand out and give back to our local communities and charities. Not only is it good for the charity or charities, but it is also great for branding, market awareness, building rapport and building new and existing relationships with clients, friends, local businesses and your community.

#5: Remember to Promote and Dream Big

Using flyers and signage, we make sure to promote our presence at these events in our store and on social media to draw as many people as possible.

I hope everyone reading this can get a new and refreshed outlook on promoting this industry in your local markets, as well as ideas of how to go about it. I will leave off with a personal story of the most recent local show we were involved in and how we grew not only as a veteran sponsor and partner of this event, but as a company as well.

Coastal Virginia Auto Show a Success for Sound Wave Customs

The last big show Sound Wave Customs participated in was called the Coastal Virginia Auto Show. This was the fourth year of the event and we have been involved since its inception in 2014. This event is unique as it caters to all realms of aftermarket vehicles, including off-road, motorcycles, classics, customs, movie cars, boat and powersports, and more.

This year we wanted to go all out and try to make our presence not only locally known, but in the surrounding areas as well. We marketed the show in the leading months and weeks. We were lucky enough to get some national help with the talents of “Mr. Pimptastic” himself, Jason Ewing, and “Mad Mike” Martin from the hit TV show Pimp My Ride.

Jason is currently with iDatalink and Mike is with Galpin Auto Sports.

We also had the help of the talented Greg Boylan of Specialty Marketing, and Tommy Henshaw of Signature Marketing Group. We had their assistance with promotion and in-person to work the event, as well. We also had the help of Opus Marketing, Orca Design & Manufacturing and AudioControl. We had some awesome giveaways for the show.

Powerful marketing and advertising came from the fact that we had the talent of Pimp My Ride in our booth. Fans, along with past and future clients, were excited to meet their favorite custom car guys from TV. It was truly exhilarating.

The booth itself was 80 by 40 feet and housed six vehicles, including a Sea-Doo and an Indian motorcycle we upgraded and customized at Sound Wave Customs. We had two tents equipped with a celebrity backdrop and autograph table. We even had our custom graphics designer, Jeff Ballance, draw up some event t-shirts that Jason and Mike could autograph for customers and fans alike.

Mad Mike personally fabricated an award for Most Pimped Out Ride in the show. Jason and Mike both had a celebrity pick for another award and judged a pin-up girl contest. Sound Wave Customs was the premier sponsor of the event and we truly outdid ourselves, going beyond any previous year or event.

The entire Sound Wave Customs team helped in every angle from ideas to concept, and then to reality. The show is hosted by a locally owned and operated media group, so we also got to go to the radio station and record custom commercials for this event, as well as host the official after party. The show was both fun and beneficial for our business.

Once again, the sky is the limit for a local event and what you can get out of it. Always dream big, and try and try again. I wish the best of luck and much success to everyone this New Year. Let’s keep this industry relevant and strong as ever, and prove the naysayers wrong.

Before planning a show, do some research about your local demographic. Like any marketing tool, participating in events can involve a lot of trial and error.