A Rock Band, a TV Show and a Marketing Lesson!

Last week I was able to attend a live performance by a local band! We live in Los Angeles, so local bands are pretty much everywhere, however this performance was pretty special as one of the members is my son's guitar teacher. We've followed the band's progress over the past few months and we've watched them go off on tour and return to await their fortune.

It's an interesting story, but what's all this got to do with marketing? Well last week when my son was scrolling down the band's facebook page it suddenly clicked and I finally got their marketing strategy!  Here's what they're doing...

We've seen them build their facebook fans from just 1 to thousands in a very short time. We've also seen these fans ask desperately when their album will be available. "In the fall" is always their answer.  The record company obviously has a well though out plan. Although the fans are desperate, if they release the album now they risk fewer sales as their fan base is so small. They’re going to wait a few months till the fan base is larger, and release the album to a much larger audience resulting is much higher sales.

Here's the important lesson: too many businesses do what they do really well, but without a solid customer/fan base your services or product will go unnoticed. Spend time to work ON your business and build your customer base - THEN release your product or service to a much larger audience. More customers means more sales! 

Seems like common sense right? It is but so many small businesses continue to work IN their business doing what they do so well, without taking the necessary time needed to work on marketing and build their audience.  Remember – every band needs an audience and so do you!

Check back tomorrow for the second part of this article and see what a new TV show did to grab my attention and remind me of a second important marketing rule.

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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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