[Updated 6/7/2016] Had to remove Commonwealth Games logo for the sake of no arguments about this being and editorial. [Updated 7/2/2016]
The Gold Coast is starting to bustle already 2 years out from the Commonwealth Games. As a business owner how can you profit from all the activity even if you aren’t directly associated with the event?
5 Ways to Benefit from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games
Time to change, remake that sign, paint the building so something to standout. Raise your level of professionalism. Improve that website, make sure its mobile friendly. There is extra cash, people and activity in the market already, so you need to change to stand out and capitalise.
Build it and they will come. If you need more infrastructure, staff, product, systems start planning for it now. You won’t have time to create staff manuals, get new suppliers, learn software and setup sales channels when your potentially swamped in the near future.
Invest now to win later. Get that new logo, business cards, website going now. Get everything dialed in now so you can cash in later. Business will build from now to fever pitch during the games. Use the little boost you may have in business now to invest in your professionalism; Signage, uniforms, website, systems, backend systems, reinvest in staff, new product lines, better premises.
If your retail business is going to be out of the main traffic areas of the Games more it! Open another store in the traffic firing line. You may have noticed Pacific Fair didn’t muck around they will be all dialed in to capitalise on the games. While forever bungling Australia Fair management are dragging the chain. Guess who will come out on top!
If you don’t have one get one. If you do have one revamp it. Make sure it is mobile friendly. Make sure it is in keeping with your brand so the virtual and physical match if there is one. Put your products online. I don’t understand why companies do not put their products online! If users are visiting your site and you sell products or services put the details, prices (if possible or a guide) online stop trying to make it hard for someone to hire or buy from you. Your likely not the only store in town. Consequently if you don’t have your prices and point of difference online then someone else will and you will miss out.
Start engaging your customer base and target market now. If you haven’t run social media campaigns before it is not about interruption and shoving your products down your target markets throats, like TV…and does print even still exist? Social media works best when you are your target market. You become the hub of for content that your target market enjoys and wants to see, read and engage with. The reason why social media can be so much better than any other type of marketing is because it is engaging. It is a two way street, you give without expectation and if what you are giving hits your target market they engage. The keyword here is engagement, it is no good just having followers or pumping out content if no one is engaging. You might as well have paid a click farm to give you followers, because they are just as useless. It is better to have a 100 engaged followers than hundreds of thousands of disengaged followers any day. Frankly how many regular customers do you really need to operate as a small business owner, 10, 20 … 50-100 not many, so focus on the quality of what you are offering not the volume. Most importantly, actually do, try fail, keep going until you succeed and test and measure.
[Update 6/2/2016] News broke this week that the Gold Coast has secured another 3 years of hosting the famous GC 600 V8 Supercar event. If I wasn’t pumped enough about my home town I’m positively fizzing now. I love the V8s and I know some locals get pissed off about the traffic and inconvenience, but not me. When I see lines of traffic and cluttered beach fronts I smile because I know someone is profiting and opportunity is there for those who want it. Locals are best positioned to profit, always and one thing I love about Australia in general is Australia supports locals first.
The point here is the GC is becoming a meca of entertainment … again. Getting back to practical methods for profiting. Now everyone who is gearing up for the Commonwealth Games has some stepping stones for testing. Use the GC 600 to test your methods. Learn now how to ride the wave of a big local even and profit from it. If you have been holding off going out on your own or starting a business now is the time! Make sure you allow plenty of setup time, because contrary to the Sharktank it is very hard to scale and get running in a matter of months.
[Update 20/06/2016] There is no doubt things are pumping on the Gold Coast. Tradies I am talking to tell me they are booked out, in some cases weeks in advance already. If you are not capitalizing on the boom which will continue until after the games, you need to. The preparation and profiting has already started.
Update 2018 post games: Well all the scare tactics about the gold coast being over crowded worked great and the games were an absolute flop and the city was a ghost town 🙁
