The Importance Of Awareness Seminars

By Paul Chika Emekwulu

The need for writing this article came after my visit to two medical clinics in my hometown, Ekwulọbịa. For each of them, before I left I suggested an idea for an awareness seminar

The idea of awareness seminars is not only for these two clinics but also for similar service businesses such as mobile kitchen popularly and locally known as osiriọra, lawyers, doctors, driving schools, and non-profit organizations like Nigerian Red Cross Society, MeryGold Foundation etc.

First, what is an awareness seminar? An awareness seminar by any service business or non-profit organization can be defined as one whose sole purpose is to create awareness among prospective clienta who are totally unaware of the business or non-profit organization and the service or services it provides.

Providing awareness seminars is also for people who want to try their hands at things like editing, motivational and inspirational speaking.

Now, when people your business or non-profit organization is meant to serve don’t know you, you cannot grow and having a tribe becomes difficult. When people have no idea of your business or non-profit organization, and they have no idea of what you are all about, your front desk looks like a child’s play.

Even if you are in a non competitive business or service, you still have a need for occasional awareness seminars to indicate your presence. You have to stand up and be counted.

Now, some years ago we had no cellular phones. We had only land lines and majority could not afford them then. That time, at times people had to grease palms to have a telephone
That time also people could take trips to the city or village only to be told when they got there that their relative or friend traveled out of town. Since the advent of cellular phone technology, all that has tremendously changed.
What’s my point? My point here is that those businesses, big or small are in a position to avail themselves of the opportunity provided by easy access to phones by the masses.

A business can be in existence for long without being known. This is even more difficult if the area being talked about is a new urban area like Ekwulọbịa which is in Agụata North Local Government Area, and also the fourth urban area in Anambra State.

The word of God in Mark 4:21 says, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it in a basket or under a bed. Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand where it’s light will shine.”

By the way, my visit to the dentist was a good ọne and since then I’ve been talking about their state of the art equipment in addition to the good service rendered. Even if the cost is expensive, the good service overrides everything. The outcome is customer satisfaction.

Awareness seminars are done through public speaking. In this part of the world it involves connecting with age grade groups, Ụmụada and Inyemọna associations, Churches and the general public etc. Always leave behind informational literature with details of your service and contact information.

Awareness seminars are usually free and not necessarily designed to make money on the spot. The goal is primarily for creating awareness.

As a professional speaker I know the need for creating awareness and the importance of visibility in what one does.

Oprah Winfrey the American TV host says it all when she said: “When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are.”

Again, stand up and be counted.