Wedding Business Tips – Discussion Topics

Let’s be clear, one of the big flaws of working in the wedding industry is that you don’t have a repeat customer. You won’t get that juicy booking that you know and love returning month after month no matter how great a job you’ve done for them.

The business model is one that relies and thrives on securing new clients and new couples constantly. There is no getting away from it, this does require consistent effort and lots of hard work. There is good news, there are lots of ways that you can get your happy clients and extended team to do some of the work for you to keep business flowing in. Here’s how:

1. Work your recommendations – all the industry surveys out there year on year state how vital recommendations both off and online are. Word travels fast within the wedding industry and within close-knit circles of friends marrying in equal measure so make sure that those audiences are saying amazing things about you off-line. On-line there are some great tools to use. Ask happy clients to write you a Google recommendation, a review on your business Facebook page, a Trip-Advisor review. You can repurpose that review and feature it on your website, use it by turning it into a nicely designed quotation on your own social media, add it to your e-signature. Basically, positive recommendations are so powerful and really key to attracting that new audience and keeping business flowing in.

See also: The latest wedding trends

2. Use your supplier network – the wedding community is a tight-knit one. Ensure you really build a strong and proactive team around you who not only help you deliver the amazing wedding days, but support and look out for opportunities for your wedding venue business. Build, nurture and grow relationships with wedding professionals who will happily act as an extension of your small ‘sales force’ and see your venue on their travels. Bear in mind that photographers and hair/make artists are the best at this, they usually cover a lot of weddings, work in a lot of places and spaces and can really help you spread the news of your location. Really spend time getting to know an excellent range of wedding professionals in your area, network with them offline and online, support their businesses and you’ll get so much more in return. Pay particular attention when building your dream team to the social media profiles of your preferred supplier partners – are they active and visible out there? While having a big following is certainly not everything, a comparable supplier who is active in their own marketing, will be a greater asset to you as a start-up business to help you achieve more visibility online and become known within the industry which can lead to a lot of opportunities and ultimately bookings

See also: What does the millennial wedding customer expect of your venue

3. Keep active – there are no shortcuts to achieving immediate fame. Consistent, authentic action is key. While your target market and strategy will vary on a place by place basis, make sure that whatever it is, that you are taking regular action to make your ideal clients aware of what you offer and try to keep this simple – don’t try to appeal to all audiences but pick your target client and be razor focussed on what they want and what they expect. Make sure you are putting the story of your location out there authentically – the modern couple want to know about your story, the people behind the bricks and mortar and what makes you utterly unique. Social media is vital to all businesses now and is the best tool for cost-effective (or essentially free, if you exclude time) marketing.

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