Hosted at Kassin Beach in Loch Harbor NJ, The Exceed Network took the spotlight Sunday Aug. 13 as it welcomed community members and entrepreneurs alike to come learn about how to incorporate technology in their businesses.

The event took place with a beautiful view of the ocean as speeches and panels were given with ingenious and practical ways to work new technology into old techniques of business.

Derek Brown, CEO of Exeq, along with Michael Sidmore, venture partner with Broadhaven Capital Partners, and Frank Chaparro, a finance reporter at Business Insider, spoke to a crowd eager to learn their tricks of the trade. A light lunch by Nicole's Kitchen was served as well as drinks throughout the day. The beach environment was pretty laid back and enjoyable for those who attended. Exceed always goes the extra mile when planning their events, assuring that even if you just came for the food, you're happy to stay for the information.

The panel had speakers who specialized in marketing. A few topics that were discussed were public relations, data advertising, and a new concept known as growth hacking, which is how to get your message out there using as few resources as possible.

An example of this that was given at the event was Warby Parker, a successful online store that wanted to branch into a physical retail store. The route they took to get their business where they wanted it to be was unconventional. The first step for Warby Parker was to send a bus around the country to ask consumers what they wanted in a store hoping to become as successful as possible right off the bat. Talking to their customers face to face worked on a marketing level while gathering important data and information for their business plan.

Another marketing trick that was discussed was the importance of making your customers do your marketing for you. The example given was Coca Cola's “Share A Coke With A Friend.” This marketing campaign consisted Coke printing hundreds of different names on their soda labels. This was a successful strategy because when a customer found their name or their friends name it not only increased the likelihood of a sale, the customer would also post it to their social media and tag that person who’s name was on the bottle. The customer is getting the word out about the product with Coke doing nothing but printing an extra few letters on their label.

Millennials, the panel agreed, don’t want to be marketed to. Rather, this generation wants to be involved in whatever it is that’s going on. The question is, how do you get your customers to purchase your product? The key is to give over your story as well as provide incentive for them to tell theirs.

Airbnb was a great example discussed at the event. Their advertisements show a family enjoying a rented home for vacation versus a conventional hotel. The advertisement shows them cooking in a beautiful kitchen and swimming in a private pool as a voice tells you how incredible these experiences are. This is how they get their audience to experience the brand.

Frieda Schweky

Frieda@sephardic.org

Frieda Schweky is Sephardic.Org's official community events reporter. For inquiries and to get involved with our site, please contact Frieda via email.