Go Where Your Customers Are - Inspiration and Lesson from the School PTA.

As I dropped my son off outside his elementary school this morning,  an enthusiastic parent signaled for me to open the window, then handed me a flyer about the upcoming pta meeting later this week. Nothing extraordinary about this right? But as I drove away I realized that there actually was something extraordinary about what I'd just experienced. 

Several months ago our pta meetings were depressing with only 10-15 families attending. In just 2 or 3 months these dedicated (and often overly caffeinated) parents have transformed the pta and now our meetings are usually standing room only with about 150 parents in attendance. Here's what they did along with my thoughts on how we can use this information to help our own wedding related businesses:

• They acknowledged the problem and put a plan into place to fix it. They needed more parent involvement and figured out how to recruit new members. Sometimes as business owners we find it difficult to see which areas of our operation need to be improved.  Taking a close look at our operations can provide valuable information on what can be done better to attract more brides.
• They began to view the pta as a business and not a hobby. By changing the way the pta members viewed their organization they were able to change the way the whole school perceived the pta. If you want to attract higher end clients, you'll need to change their perception of your company.
• They went where their customers were!  This is a big one! The pta needed more parent involvement so they identified the best place to reach the parents (their potential new customers). If your potential clients are on facebook then hang out on facebook, If they are on wedding forums/sites then add comments, tips and advice to these sites. If they are on Twitter then you had better get tweeting!
• Their message was clear - they needed more involvement and asked for it. Don't forget to use a strong call to action so your potential customers know what to do. (You'll need to return the signed contract back to me by Tuesday so I can hold that date for you. I'll need you to call me on Thursday as I'll need to know the number of confirmed guests).
• They were consistent and repeated their message several times.  At 8.15am each morning for the whole week prior to the pta meeting - enthusiastic parents were handing out flyers. Don't give up if your hard work does not show immediate results. It's a fact that customers need to see your message several times before taking action so be consistent and you'll soon see the benefit.

Hopefully some of the methods used above can help you increase your business and even make a complete transformation as our school pta did. I hope they inspire you as they inspired me.  I'd love to know your thoughts and suggestions too so please add your comments below.

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5 Ways to Increase Your Business Even When You're Swamped With Work.

Summer is just around the corner and for some states (like here in California) it's already in full swing!  Most wedding professionals are busy gearing up for their peak season. Although the busy season is always a blessing - it does come with a few obstacles too!

Your sales and marketing effort is crucial to your year round success! Many small business owners (wedding professionals especially) stop marketing during their peak season as they're busy taking care of their customers. They work at marketing and promoting themselves during the slow season (usually the winter) - which brings in business for the peak season (usually the summer). Ever wonder what would happen if the marketing effort continued all year long? Our experience shows that time spent marketing even when you're busy is time well spent!

Here are some quick tips to help you work ON your business not IN your business. You'll soon see the results as bookings will start to come in all year long...

• Commit to Dedicating some time to marketing EVERY DAY.
• Create an action plan for the upcoming week and stick to it. If you know you're going to be slow on Tuesday, use this time to work on marketing and advertising your business.
• Delegate work to others so you can free up time to work on marketing. If you are a "one man show" try enlisting an intern or apprentice to help out. Students at the local junior college are often eager for work experience and may jump at the chance to work with you in return for learning your business. High school students, nieces and nephews and older children also make great interns and may be glad of some summer work.
• Look into finding other sources of business.  Weddings may be your main focus but graduations, first communions, bar/bat mitzvahs, sports events, funerals, school functions, birthday parties, musical and dance performances are all great sources of off-season business.
• Don't give up! This is the key to being successful. You may not see immediate results but after a few weeks of soliciting you will start to see more opportunities for year round business.

I'm confident that you can improve your slow season by following the 5 tips above. Please add your thoughts below and add any tips you can share with us all.

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How Not To Get Bookings From The Local Wedding Show

You probably know by now that I'm a big fan of wedding shows! I believe they can be a huge source of new business. I know, I know - I can see you shaking your head!  Many of you don't agree with me.  We attended our local bridal expo last Sunday and here's a quick recap of what I saw...

• Strange combination of vendors booth sharing.
• Most vendors sharing booths spent much of the day chatting to each other and not their potential customers.
• A local hotel desperate to regain the confidence of the community - but no live person in the booth each time I walked past.
• A Minister standing in front of his booth who never smiled and ignored every person who walked past him. Still not sure if he was actually a real person or just a statue from Madame Tussauds!
• Vendors eating the snacks from the buffet table in full view of the show attendees.
• Displays were being packed away at least an hour before the show ended.
• Vendors walking around chatting to each other and leaving their booths unattended.

Hmm - wonder why wedding shows have such a bad wrap? I'm sure there won't be much follow up going on!

Disclaimer: Of course I know not all wedding professionals behave this way - but this was a great example of why I believe some wedding vendors do not get the most out of wedding shows.

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Wedding Marketing Tips from the Airline and Hotel Industries

When we think of creative ways to market and grow our wedding businesses - the airlines and major hotel companies do not usually come to mind!  The marketing and inventory management methods used by these businesses usually make us cringe as we remember that person sitting next to us on the plane last month - who probably paid either much less or much more for her ticket!  If only we had a clear understanding of how these pricing strategies worked we'd be able to apply these methods to our wedding businesses.

Hotels strive to maximize their revenue by selling "the right room at the right price to the right customer at the right time".  I know it sounds complicated but here's how it works (in very simple terms)...

Hotels look at the current reservations on the books, then they compare this to their goals and determine dates which need more bookings (commonly referred to as "at risk dates" and "distressed inventory").  They then figure out how much they need to make to meet their financial goals.  Once this is determined they sell rooms at whatever rate and method needed to make sure their goals are met.

Here's how this simple "revenue management" strategy can be applied to ANY wedding business...

• Determine your "at risk" dates. Just like the hotels, take a look at your future bookings for the rest of the year.  Look at last year too to help determine if dates are "at risk" or not. For example if you are currently open on July 4th weekend and usually have 2 events on this date - you can make an educated guess that some bookings/sales will probably come in (assuming you are still several months away). If your past booking history tells you that this is a slow weekend for you, this date would qualify as being "at risk".
• Calculate how much you need to make. Estimate how much you need each booking to be worth so you'll meet or exceed your financial goal. For example, if you are a wedding planner and have 10 weekends open and at risk you'll need to make $5,000 for each of the 10 weddings you hope to book in order to reach the $50,000 needed to meet your 2010 goal.
• Get the word out and start merchandising!  Merchandising is the methods and practices used to promote and sustain your business.  Hotels use many different channels to do this. For at risk rooms they often use discounted channels such as Priceline and Hotwire.  Wedding businesses could email their "vendor network" and let them know that discounted packages and upgrades are available for certain dates.  Posting a "special" on your facebook fan page, website and blog will help inform your potential brides. The local Chamber of Commerce, Networking groups, Twitter and LinkedIn are all great place to start merchandising. Track down the attendee list from the last wedding show you attended and send a quick email to all couples getting married on any of these dates.  Grab your sign-in sheet and follow-up with any of these dates.  Call or visit the local hotels/banquet centers and tell them about the special packages you're offering for your at risk dates. Consider "packaging" with a member of your vendor network. If you are a photographer you could create a package with a videographer from your network.  Hotels and airlines love to create package for at risk dates because the price for each service is combined and never known by the consumer.

Although this strategy has been greatly simplified, I hope you find some ideas to apply to your wedding business. As always I'd love your suggestions and comments. The possibilities are endless.

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Are You Asking Your Customers To Refer You?

Recently, a personal friend and wedding photographer asked how we manage to get so many referrals from past customers.  Because we ask to be referred - I replied!  Sounds easy right? It is!  The truth is that very few businesses actually ask to be referred.  It's a well known fact that brides love to talk about their wedding. They love to share all the wedding details with their family, co-workers and friends both during the planning stages and after the big day.  Think about how many connections that bride has and how many potential customers that could be for you! Here are a few reasons why you should stand out from the crowd and ask to be referred:

• Many brides have at least one friend or relative planning a wedding.
• Most people will only refer a business if they've been specifically asked to do so.
• Most of us would readily recommend a business we've been delighted with - but unless we're prompted to do so - we probably will not.
• A recommendation from someone who has used your services provides your business with instant credibility.
• You will receive more referrals if you provide your wedding couple with an easy way to refer you.

There are three important things to remember when asking for referrals...

1. Ask the right person. An easy one - for wedding professionals this will be the happy couple.
2. Ask at the right time.  Most often than not a thrilled bride will call or email to thank you for your services. This is the best time to ask to be referred.  Ask if it would be ok to mail out some business cards for her to pass on to any friends/co-workers who are planning a wedding. Offer a small bonus or free upgrade to anyone she sends your way.
3. Ask the right way. It's not about being pushy. There are many subtle ways to do this. Include a few business cards when you deliver the photo albums or dvd's.  Add a few business cards with the invoice.  Update your email signature and add a link to your facebook/LinkedIn review page.

Remember, doing a great job is no longer all it takes to generate referrals from your brides. Make a conscious effort to ask each one of your customers to recommend you. Add this strategy to your ongoing marketing plan and you'll soon see the results.

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Marketing Lesson From The Local Guitar Repair Shop!

Earlier this week my eight year old son's guitar had an electrical problem and we had to take it to be repaired. My husband suggested we pass on going to the local big box guitar shop and instead try a small repair shop close by.  What a great suggestion that was.

We called ahead to explain that my son's guitar was broken and asked if they could fix it on the spot. The owner answered the phone and replied that they could and told us to call him when we were on our way. We called for directions, found the store in the middle of a quiet industrial park and then rang the bell to be let in!  Once inside, we had to wait about ten minutes while the customer ahead of us was being helped. While we waited I noticed that this customer was a regular and that the owner seemed to personally know all the guitars being handed over to him along with who owned them.

When our turn came the owner immediately greeted us and asked my son's name. He then went on to compliment his guitar and asked my son what the problem was.  As he was working on the guitar, he constantly chatted to my son, asking him what music he liked, what his favorite band was and if he could play certain songs.  By this time Jack was in "guitar shop heaven". He was beaming from ear to ear and enjoying the attention. Half way through the work, the owner showed me a part and informed me that although it was still working, the plating was coming off. He suggested we upgrade this part for a better quality piece to avoid having to come back again in a few months for the same repairs.

When the job was finished, I was handed a receipt which had my son's name on it with my name underneath.  The owner handed Jack a handful of guitar picks and told him that their phone number was on them and to call them the next time his guitar needed to be repaired.

Awesome experience right? Here's the great marketing tactics this guitar repair shop used to blow us away. These tactics can be easily implemented into your wedding business immediately...

• We had to ring an intercom bell and be buzzed in. This gave us the feeling of exclusivity and made us feel like members of a private club.  Find a way to make YOUR customers feel exclusive. 
• The owner knew the customer ahead of us by name, he was also very familiar with the guitars being dropped off.  Make a point to call your customers by name. Calling someone by name associates them with familiarity and they'll instantly feel more comfortable with you.
• He remembered the guitars and who they belonged to.  By taking notes while talking on the phone or in person with your brides, you'll be able to recall the details of their wedding and their requirements every time you speak with them.
• The store owner spoke directly to his customer - my son - and formed an emotional connection with him! He asked questions and found out my son's musical preferences. This is a big one! Figure out who the decision maker is and form an emotional connection with them. Ask questions to find out exactly what they are looking for and show them how you can fill these needs.
• He sold us a new part although the old one was still working.  This was a great example of up selling. I was sold something I did not immediately need but purchased it immediately without a second thought.  Try to anticipate your customer's needs. Do they have lots of out of town relatives that can not attend the wedding? if so offer them a "special" for additional albums or DVDs.  Are they having trouble selecting just two menu choices? Create a "special" menu upgrade which includes three choices.
• He gave Jack some guitar picks and told him to call next time his guitar needed to be repaired.    I know that next time something goes wrong with that guitar - my son will do exactly as he was told and will ask me to call this guitar shop. Give your customers a clear call to action just like this one.  Tell them to call you on Friday to confirm which package they've decided on.  Tell a prospective bride to come for a tasting next week to try the menu choices - how does Tuesday sound?

Can't you tell - this guitar shop has found a new customer for life who's dying to tell the work how great they are.  Implement some of the strategies above and I'm sure you'll see some amazing results. You'll develop a loyal customer base eager to spread the word about your amazing service - and there's no better marketing than that!

Have you experienced great service and marketing tactics which you can apply to your wedding business? Please share your experiences - I'd love to hear about them.


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How To Grow Your Referrals From Other Wedding Professionals - Part Two.

How To Network With Your New Connections - aka Networking Etiquette.
 
Now that you have a pocket full of business cards it's time to get to work and start networking.  There is no doubt that networking with other wedding professionals will increase your referrals. Sadly though most of us will not follow up. Don't let that stack of connections gather dust. Just by picking up the phone and making a few calls you'll be ahead of the game. Follow this list of networking tips and you'll soon have a large pool of professionals referring you:

• Call each new connection the day after you meet them (or wait till Tuesday if you meet them over the weekend as most of us need Monday to catch up).  Tell them how great is was to meet them and that you hope to stay in touch.  Use the calendar in your email program to set reminders to follow-up.
• Look them up on Facebook and become Facebook friends and fans of their business fan page.   Check their profile and make note of their birthday - send them a birthday card.
• Look them up on LinkedIn and connect.  Once you get to know them a little better and have worked together you can ask them to write a recommendation for you on LinkedIn.
• Set up a referral alliance!  A referral alliance is a group of professionals who refer each other to their own customers.  Some wedding vendors give a kick-back or referral fee back to the vendor who referred them. I suggest that you do not do this. Instead come up with some benefit or extra service the bride will receive if she books with a member of the alliance.  This gives the bride a reason to call your "friend" and make an appointment with them. I think this section needs a blog post all of its own!
• Set up all your new connections into a database and send them a quick email when you have some great news to share (perhaps you won an award or are offering some great deals during the slow season). Make sure you do not do this too often though as your emails will just get deleted and not actually read!
• Mail holiday cards.  Make sure they are tasteful, non religious and arrive before the holiday!  You are going to hand write them of course!
• Reciprocate - ask each couple you meet with who they still need to hire. Pass out their business cards and let your customers know about any special offers.

Don't forget the familiar fact that a potential customer needs to see your marketing message 8 or so times before doing business with you. Networking works the same way.  Other wedding professionals need to get to know you before they'll trust you with their precious clients. Keep networking consistently and you'll soon see the benefits.

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How To Grow Your Referrals From Other Wedding Professionals - Part One.

Referrals from other wedding professionals are a huge source of business for us.  A great comment on a blog post below reminded me that this topic deserves a blog post all of its own! In fact it deserves a whole series of posts. Here's part one - Where to meet and connect with other wedding professionals.

With marketing dollars tight for most of us, we often wonder how to generate new business without going into debt. Very often we forget that the simplest and least expensive form of marketing is often the best. Networking with other wedding professionals can open up a whole new stream of referrals.  Here are a few tips for uncovering new networking connections.

• Search online for local wedding professionals in your neighborhood. Call them to introduce yourself and keep in contact via email.
• Next time you have a booth at your local wedding show, take a few minutes to walk the room before the show starts. Introduce yourself to all the vendors who you do not already know. Take their business card and follow-up with them within a few days. Say hello to the wedding vendors you already know - but focus on meeting new connections. You can follow-up with older contacts at any time so don't catch-up and chat with friends when you could be meeting new contacts.
• The photographer or event planner working next to you this weekend may be a great source of leads.  Be sure to introduce yourself to ALL the vendors at each wedding/event you book.  Make sure you swap business cards and tell them you'll be in touch. Remember to follow up within a few days. 
• Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are all great networking tools as long as you don't abuse them. Stay focused on business networking and don't get side tracked chatting with old high school friends! My experience has shown that participating in wedding related groups on LinkedIn has been a great networking tool. 
• Meetup is a great place to meet other wedding vendors. You can sign up for free and join a group in your neighborhood.

I'm sure they are many other ways and places to meet and network with wedding professionals - please add any that I've missed.

Don't miss part two of our series How To Grow Your Referrals From Other Wedding Professionals which will be posted on Friday 3/19. The second post will cover How To Network With Your New Connections - aka Networking Etiquette.

6 Reasons To Attend Your Local Wedding Show

Wedding show season is in full swing here in California. As we prepare to attend several shows I've noticed the large number of wedding professionals who do not attend.  A little research showed that many of those not attending are the ones who need the business most!   In today's economy I understand that advertising and marketing dollars are limited - but here's a quick list of reasons why you can not afford not to book a booth at your local wedding show...

• Because hundreds of brides will be walking the isles looking for qualified wedding professionals. Don't miss the opportunity to connect with so many potential customers. 
• Because wedding shows are the most cost effective way to get your business name in front of brides. 
• Because as long as you select the right shows for your business and do the necessary before, during and after show follow-up - you can almost guarantee you'll make your investment back many many times.
• Because wedding show leads are easily trackable. Unlike most other types of advertising you'll be able to easily calculate your roi.
• Because wedding shows give you access to FACE TIME with hundreds of brides.  More face time equals more bookings!
• Because your competition is there!  Many of your competitors will be there meeting hundreds of your potential customers.  By not attending you are automatically giving them a huge advantage.

Want to learn more about how to make wedding shows a huge source of new business?  Subscribe to receive our free report and marketing information created exclusively for Wedding Professionals. We're planning a special edition covering all aspects of wedding shows and how to make your number of bookings explode!

5 Easy Ways to Network and Stay Ahead of Your Competition

As wedding professionals we already know that networking is a must if you want to grow your business, but the truth is, many of us are just not doing it!  We make a point of meeting other wedding vendors at every given opportunity. But our experience tells us that although they all  seem eager to network and stay in touch - this only happens because we make the effort and follow-up.

Networking is a very easy and inexpensive way to increase your circle of connections. The larger this circle of connections, the more opportunity you have to be referred to a bride and potential customer. Seems pretty straight forward right? You'd think we'd all be running to each others doors or frantically logging onto to our computers to make these golden connections. Sadly this is not the case. Only a select and dedicated percentage of us actually make the effort and those that do will probably not do so on a frequent basis.

So no more excuses. Implement these 5 ways below and start building your golden circle of connections...

• Face to Face Networking - Nothing beats meeting someone face to face.  Once someone meets you in person they'll tend to remember you more that it you'd just introduced yourself over the phone. Give yourself plenty of opportunities for these face to face meetings by attending at least one networking event each week.  Be sure to have your "30 second intro" ready and have a pocket full of business cards.  Make a point to connect with as many people as possible and be sure to collect their business cards. I always suggest attending networking functions alone as you won't have your colleague to chat with and will be forced to go out into the pool of new connections.  Networking groups are pretty easy to find and a simple Google search will probably list more than you could ever attend. Meetup.com is a great place to find a local networking group and a great way to start out. In fact if you're in Los Angeles we have our own Meetup Group.
• Email Networking - Now that you have a large stack of business cards and new contacts you'll want to keep in touch. Start by sending them an email the very next day to say how nice it was to meet them. Remind them what you do and say that you hope to keep in touch. 
• Telephone Networking - Now that you've made some new "friends" you should chat occasionally on the phone just as you would with a personal friend. Give them a call to tell them about a wedding networking event you may be attending or invite them to your businesses open house. 
• Online Networking - Join all the current social networking sites (Twitter, facebook, linkedIn...) Go through your stack of business cards and do a search for their profile so that you can connect.  Most social networks have a function which allows you to search for people in your specific industry. If so, perform a search for wedding professionals and make even more new connections.  They key to online networking is to be active and relevant. Post comments, answer questions and just be yourself. 
• Mail Networking - Don't forget about the snail mail!  You're new connections will love to receive holiday and birthday cards from you (hand written of course!).  Here's an extra tip - if you forgotten to collect birthdays you can usually find them posted on your contacts facebook account!

Now that we're all committed to network - let's get started. Please post a comment below and add your business details along with links to your facebook, twitter and linkedin accounts. Let's connect to each other online and let the networking begin.

I'll go first...

Julie Zarchi
Email: julie@aevideography.com
Website: American Event Productions
Blog: Your Wedding Rocks
Marketing Blog: Wedding Marketing Network
Twitter: @aevideography
Facebook Page: American Event Productions
Facebook Marketing Group: Wedding and Event Vendors
Linkedin Profile: Julie on LinkedIn
Local Los Angeles MeetUp Group Los Angeles Wedding Marketing Network

Now it's your turn...

Why Your Wedding Business Needs a Facebook Fan Page

With Social Networking, Facebook and Twitter being household names, it's surprising that many wedding related businesses still have not embraced the trend and created a Facebook Fan Page!

Many small business owners still believe that Facebook is just for connecting with old friends and not for business. I bet you'd change your mind if you knew that many of your favorite businesses have very active Facebook pages with huge numbers of fans. Here are a few favorites: Target: 906,567 fans, Whole Foods 199,789 fans and Old Navy 417,795 fans.

If you're still not convinced, here's a list of 5 reasons why you need to create your Facebook fan page today...

• Facebook has more than 400 million users. 35 million users update their status every day. 50% of active users log on to Facebook each day. More than 20 millions users become fans of Pages each day.
• Facebook pages are public pages and can be viewed by anyone.  Content on your page can be indexed by search engines and your page will show up in organic search results.  When I googled our company name, our facebook page showed up on page 1, 2 and 3 of the search results.
• When a facebook user becomes a fan, this information is announced in their news feed for all their friends to see! 
• Messages can be sent to all fans with one quick email.  A fan page is great way to build a network and database of customers (or potential customers) all with a common interest.
• You can easily link your blog to your fan page. Each time you update your blog the post will be show as a note on the wall of your fan page. This note will then be posted on the news feed of all your fans.

Sounds too good to be true - but within just a few minutes you can create your fan page and start to attract new customers today.

5 Ways To Help Brides Overcome Their Fear of Spending and Charge What You Are Worth

In this tough economy, most of us have met with couples who just can not justify spending more of their hard earned wedding budget on our services! Many couples feel guilty about spending such a large amount of money on themselves and some are just not able to spend as much as they'd like to.

With wedding spending down by 10.2% in 2009 (as reported by The Wedding Report)  we've all thought about lowering our prices.  In fact most wedding professionals think that the easiest way to book more business in a tight economy is to lower their price. What most people don't think about is the effect this will have on their business once the economy recovers - as well as what charging rock bottom rates will do to their self esteem!

So before you rush and do something drastic - read on.  The good news is that there are many easy ways to justify your price and the necessity of your services:

1. Create a payment (or prepayment) plan and make it easy for brides to do business with you.  Consider breaking down your fee into 3 payments: one due when the contract is signed, one 2 weeks before the wedding and the final payment on the day of the wedding. If you are a photographer or videographer you could even break your payment down into 4 payments with the final payment due when they collect their finished program.
2. Consider reducing the initial deposit.  Take a tip from you local car dealership as they do this all the time. Offers like "just $999 due at signing" make it easy for car buyers to walk off the lot with a brand new car with a small down payment and monthly payments. Remember that marketing and business strategies can easily be borrowed from other industries.
3. Stress the quality of your services. Have you won any awards? Have you worked with any high profile clients?  Have you received any local media attention? Positive publicity of any kind will only help solidify your worth and justify your price.
4. Although all brides understand that their wedding is a once in a lifetime event, it never hurts to mention it again. If you offer photo or video services, remind the couple that they'll have these memories for years to come and they'll be treasured by their children, grandparents as well as relatives and friends who were unable to attend the wedding.
5.  Find out what elements of your services or products are most important to the couple. Create a custom "no frills" package which offers exactly what they want and leave out all the extra's. Remember - every car dealer offers a standard model without any extra's. 

Implement a few of our strategies and you'll be able to charge what your services are really worth while keeping the wedding couple smiling!

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