Lucky Door Prizes - Tips To Make Them Legal And Work For Your Business

Many businesses use competitions and lucky door prizes as a way of generating leads or building their data base. But if done incorrectly you will end up losing customers and could even find yourself on the wrong side of the law.

So how do you run lucky door prizes or competitions that are legal and get you brilliant results?

Top 10 Tips for competitions

1. Work out your intent. You need to know why you are running the competition in the first place. Is it to qualify leads, get email addresses for your database, get a new marketing slogan, and get feedback on your product or some other purpose? Start with the end in mind. When you know why you are running the competition you will adjust the prizes, competition form and process to best match your needs.

2. You need an entry box. A lot of people use clear bowls or fishbowls for people to put their cards into. These don't keep the details private so could breach privacy regulations in some locations. The best option is a solid sided cardboard entry box. You can buy a gift box and cut out a hole or buy a blank entry box from a cardboard box manufacturer. You can of course get one purpose designed and built for you. For online competitions I suggest setting up a separate email account just for each competition to keep your entries separate.

3. Somewhere to lean on to complete the forms. People need somewhere to lean on to fill in the forms. If the table you use is too low or you force people to sit down to complete the forms, many people won'T bother entering. Make sure your table is the right height for people to lean on (and no handing out clipboards with forms isn't the solution. Many people are juggling bags and kids so can't juggle a clipboard as well). Being comfortable also works for online competitions. If your form is tricky to complete you can expect people to click away rather than stay.

4. Make it obvious. Your competition needs to be located at the front of your trade stand or your office. It needs to be clearly and obviously signed so people can find it and are encouraged to enter. Put a banner on your website letting passing traffic know about your competition and where they can find you to enter.

5. Tell people about it. Tell your regular clients about your competition as well as your new clients. You could also tell some of the major competition sites ... where the site collates competitions and lets their members know so they can enter them.

6. Make it worth their while. Giving away a low value item is not likely to generate much interest in your competition. Make the offer enticing with high perceived value.

7. Protect their privacy. You need to make it very clear how you will handle their personal details. Will you pass on their information to other people? Will you contact them to send them marketing material? You need to tell people what you will do with their information. Give them an opt-out box for them to tick if they don't want to receive any further information from you (and respect that tick in the box if you don't want to fall foul of Spam Laws and Do Not Call Registers).

8. Sort out your legals. Many locations have strong rules around the operation of gaming including Lucky Door Prizes.

In Queensland the Office of Gaming Regulation Inspectors check every stand of almost every expo or tradeshow for compliance. You need to download the Guidelines for Promotional Games and comply with items such as retention of entries for 5 years, the order of drawing prizes, written terms and conditions which must include things such as:

a. the name of the person running the promotion
b. Eligibility requirements for players
c. Description and retail value of each prize
d. Closing and drawing dates
e. Order the prizes will be drawn
f. How winners will be notified
g. Whether the results will be published and where
h. What will happen if the winner is not present at the draw
i. Any elimination rounds

It almost goes without saying that of you run a competition you must honour your commitments and actually award the prizes (unless you get no entries at all). Running a competition and not awarding the prizes can see you before the courts.

9. Follow up promptly. If you are using the competition to generate leads or create a data base then follow up on all entries within 14 days of close of the competition. You may want to consider hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA) to convert the entries or business cards into a database for you. Pre-book your VA so they have time to do your data-entry when it arrives. When following up remind the person where you got their details.

10. Trumpet the winners. If you can get their consent, get photos of the winners that you can use in your marketing and promote the details of the winners to your mailing list and local media. Most people love the spotlight (and other people love to know the inside of other people's lives). Good news stories are great for business.

If you follow these top 10 tips you will improve the response to your competitions and lucky door prizes and get more "bang for your competition buck."


About the Author

Ingrid Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter with her Brisbane Copywriting Business (Heart Harmony). Ingrid writes a free weekly small business newsletter packed full of articles and tips and Small Business Ideas blog for small businesses. www.heartharmony.com.au

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Why Does Your Business Need A Good Marketing Plan?

A marketing plan is a written document that details the necessary actions to achieve one or more marketing objectives. A Marketing Plan is meant to be a structured way of dealing with marketing issues, not a random collection of incomprehensible bits and pieces. A marketing plan is a key component of a business plan and is essential to planning the overall direction that you want your business to take. A marketing plan is not something that you write and then forget. It needs to be followed, monitored and updated. You want to regularly evaluate a marketing plan to make sure you are reaching the goals you set.

Marketing plan objectives are typically on the level of sales, profit, return on investment or, for larger businesses, market share. Marketing is a function of business and has many dimensions, including market research, customer service, advertising, targeting, packaging, pricing, e-marketing, and others. Marketing plans, even those created within a small company, can vary in scope, format, length, and level of detail they do however typically include similar types of information.

Developing a good marketing plan is essential to the success of any business because you need to get everyone focused on the same issues and that's what your plan should do. You need to customize your marketing plan to suit your business and its objectives. Your marketing plan needs to be simple and to the point. In it you want to state your marketing objectives and do so in a way that your goals are very clear for everyone that might be involved with accomplishing the plan itself. Your marketing strategy needs to be clearly defined. It's your plan of action for achieving each of your goals.

Marketing Actions are the tactics you plan to use to give your plan a life of its own. Developing a solid marketing strategy is the foundation of a well-written marketing plan and must be carefully considered before commiting to it. While a marketing plan contains a list of actions, a marketing plan without a sound strategic foundation is of little use.

The objectives in your marketing plan need to state just where the company intends to be; at some specific time in the future.
The marketing objectives must usually be based, above all, on the organization's financial objectives. If the marketing plan is to work, every exception to it must be questioned. Before you deviate from your plan you need to ask why you should do so. During the course of the year the lessons learned need to be documented so that they can be incorporated into the next year's plan.

A marketing plan for a small business typically includes descriptions of direct competitors, that are marketing similiar products. What the level of demand for the product or service is. A description of the product or service, including special features. What your marketing budget is, including the advertising and promotional plan. A description of the business location, to include the advantages and disadvantages of your location. And what your pricing strategy is going to be. A marketing plan is, after all, a structured way of dealing with marketing issues, not a random collection of incomprehensible bits and pieces.

This kind of balanced view in a marketing plan is important to show risks are being recognized. Like a business plan, a marketing plan is an essential guide. Some business owners don't understand the value of a marketing plan, and still others just don't know what a marketing plan is. Every start-up venture and existing business needs a business plan, yet many entrepreneurs don't realize a marketing plan is equally vital to your business success. A marketing plan is required if you want your business to become a household name. Your marketing plan provides structure to the marketing efforts of your business.


About the Author

Cash Miller is an experienced entrepreneur and speaker who has spent over a decade as a small business owner. His years of experience in small business cover many topics. For more information visit Small Business Resources or go to http://www.SmallBusinessDelivered.com

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