The Bridal Extravaganza Blog

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle

It’s the first week of the new year and it is time to get aggressive in your marketing efforts. You need to have a business and marketing plan that you can follow. If you don’t have it, get it ready. Without a plan, how do you know what to do or where to go?

With a plan you can change the course of your business. If you already have bookings for 2010 and the phone is ringing, you are on the right track. If not, you can’t just sit and wait–action is the name of the game.

Your objective is to get prospects, because they can become clients.

When a bride sees your marketing pieces, that’s only the beginning. Your piece must be enticing enough so that you can get the bride to talk to you. Remember it is you that makes the sale, not the medium; therefore, it pays to get that personal exposure sooner than later.

The experts advise us to “add value” rather than discounts. Yet during these economic times, that suggestion has been difficult to follow. When your competition is discounting and/or prospects are finding your prices too high, you might feel it necessary to discount.

Unless you are a natural salesman, most people find sales very difficult; however, this is the life blood of your business. Following are some very simple and sales tips which you can use as a reminder or to get you back on track.

1. The wedding industry is always changing with new designs and products. It’s important that you and your staff are knowledgeable in your chosen field of business. You should also know what the competition is doing, what they offer and how you differ from them. As a side note, never talk negatively about your competitors!

2. Do you know what your Unique Selling Position is? Does it need to be updated or is it still effective? Is this position clear when you talk to the bride?

3. When selling, you want to expand on the benefits derived by doing business with you. Many people have a difficult time defining these benefits. If you are one who does, get help to put them into an effective presentation.

4. Selling takes time and effort. Be sure you are selling to the decision-maker, the person who needs your product and/or service and is willing to pay for it.

5. Two factors are crucial for repeat business and referrals–a relationship built on trust and dependability. Always be honest and straight forward with your client, it shows you are trustworthy.

6. Have a positive response for any objections. You should know in advance what these objections might be and be able to assure prospects that you have the right solution.

7. Before anyone buys, they research the internet for knowledge, availability and pricing. A good web site is imperative–one that gives the benefits of doing business with you, as well as other pertinent information. You can never be too helpful.

8. Keep in touch with your clients; ask them if they are pleased with you and your products. Ask for referrals and testimonials, then be sure to thank them. It is also helpful to know why someone doesn’t buy from you. This information is a valuable tool in improving your sales techniques.

For many businesses time is now more plentiful. Use this time to thoroughly review your business. Do you need to improve your sales techniques, literature, other sales tools–or perhaps your image. Be critical, ask others for their input, and then make the changes.

If what you have always been doing is not working now, it is time to go back to the drawing board. Keep your presentation natural and honest. Practice, practice, and practice some more. All it takes is effort on your part, no money. Yet it can increase your sales exponentially.

It’s said that a person gets hit with over 4000 bits of advertising a day. With this in mind, do your marketing efforts get the bride to notice you?

For the next eight weeks we will cover these methods of marketing:
1. Direct Mail
2. Bridal Shows
3. Bridal Magazines
4. Web Sites
5. Brochures
5. Networking
7. Emails
8. Referrals

Since we try to keep these articles short, we’ll cover direct mail this week. As a bridal show producer, our next topic will be bridal shows and the other topics will be addressed each week thereafter.

Surprisingly the traditional still works . . . on young professionals ages 18-34. In combination with on-line marketing, direct mail is one of the most powerful ways to market this group. According to InnoMedia, NuStats and Vertis, 86% of Gen Xers look at the mail the day it’s delivered. Furthermore, 68% have used coupons received in the mail. 75% of this group consider direct mail as valuable. And in a recent survey, over 50% preferred to receive product information by direct mail over e-mail or on-line.

Effective direct mail campaigns start off with knowing your market. (Remember our Marketing Tips #4, “Do You Know Who Your Bride Is?) Timing is a very important aspect of direct marketing. You need to know when in the wedding planning cycle a bride usually looks for your product or service. Sending out a “when you are ready” piece has its advantages; yet, it is equally important to send out another piece at the beginning of the cycle when the bride will be looking for your product or service.

In addition to a spectacular photo, offer a reason to buy in your mailer. Gen Xers are normally skeptical. Your offer should give some benefit to the buyer to provide some level of comfort in moving forward with a purchase.

Your message–will you communicate benefits as well as features, will you solve a problem, address a specific need? Think carefully what you plan to do. Keep your first piece dynamic, but relatively inexpensive. This is where you ask them to take the next step in requesting more detailed information.

Many times a postcard has advantages; not a 4×6, but a 6×9–which will stand out. Again, make sure the piece grabs the attention of your target market. Test your piece prior to going to press. Check with others to see if they understand your message by asking them what your message says to them.

This all takes time, but it’s necessary in order to get the best results. Remember this is only one aspect of your marketing plan!

Everyone wants the high-end bride. However, be realistic, the majority of brides are not high-end.

Brides’ attitudes and checking accounts differ. So before you can market to the brides, you need to know who she is. Review your database. Where are your brides from? How old are they? Who’s paying the bills? Who was your competition? Is she local or did she travel from a distance? Was she married before? Did she have a college degree? Did she make the decision to book you or did someone else? How did she find you?

All of these can be distinguishing traits of your bride and the type of bride you attract. You need to know if the bride is booking you because of your price, service/product, or personality? Once you know this, you are able to market more effectively.

If you are not happy about the type of bride you bring in, you have to make changes. Look at who is getting her business. Figure out why. Do not make the mistake that the bride is buying due to price. Since a wedding is a big and emotional event, brides want it perfect. They buy because they want it and like you.

Do you listen to the brides . . . I mean, really listen? Do you know what her priorities are? Is what you’re selling a priority or not? This is a big clue as to how she will buy. If the priority is low, chances are she will buy according to price.

Too often vendors are thinking about what they can sell the bride rather than what the bride really wants. Remember it is ALL about the bride and her needs. Listen and be helpful. The more helpful you are, the more she trusts you. Consider adding value to your packages to entice her rather than lowering prices.

Remember you have got to get the prospects before you can make them a customer. This means marketing! The Bridal Extravaganza gives you instant exposure. You showcase your company to more brides than you bring into your store in one day.

Did you know that you should spend 60% of your time on marketing? That is approximately 4 hours for every 7 hour work day!

Many companies believe they have the right marketing recipe but most of those also say they “need” more business. If you “need” more business maybe you don’t have the right recipe.

Instead of actually marketing, following up leads or networking, do you spend more time on administrative/busy work or waiting for the phone to ring? If so, you must stop now. It is imperative that you are proactive in your marketing. Regardless of what method, marketing should be the first thing to do on your list each day.

Do you have an old leads list? Have you made an effort to harvest it? What about networking with other vendors? Do you have some type of referral system in place? Are you creating a new leads list?

Working a leads list isn’t one phone call or one email blast or one post card, it is all that and more! A bride must see your name at least 7-8 times before she feels you are valid and trustworthy.

Remember the bride will be buying, but it doesn’t mean she’ll buy from you. The question is how do we find these brides and tell them about our product or service. You may be the best at what you do, but without marketing, who will know that?

You need to properly showcase your product/service, constantly find new prospects, and sell to brides who believe they know how to buy. Unfortunately, brides usually use price as their measuring stick. But price isn’t the way to buy, because as we all know, you get what you pay for! It is all about contacting - then educating - the bride!

In our next issue, we’ll start on ways to get the bride to notice and buy from you!
REMEMBER: Marketing = Prospects = Customers = Profits

The number one reason for failed businesses is marketing. It is the last thing put into a plan and the first thing removed when times are tough. Marketing is often in a business plan, but many times does not receive top priority. The most common excuse is you don’t have the budget. Yet when you don’t plan to budget, you plan to fail.

Why does MacDonald’s, IBM and Bank of America continue to market? Do they decide they have enough customers, and stop marketing? NO! They know you always need to be visible in order to stay in the foremost of people’s minds.

Most small businesses do not have the finances to market like the big boys. But more importantly, most small businesses shoot from the hip when it comes to marketing. You and your friends may know you are the best but how does the bride know unless you tell her?

If you are one of the fortunate businesses who has a good marketing plan, great! I’m sure you realize you need to continue to keep the business coming in–you need to be proactive.

Some equations to ponder:

Marketing = Prospects = Customers = Profits
Consistent Marketing = Familiarity = Trust = Customers

Consistency is important or else your company is no longer the first choice when customers are looking. Unfortunately people are easily wooed by new talent!

Christmas, New Year’s and Valentine’s Day are days where 30-40% of all engagements will occur. Are you prepared for this group of upcoming brides?

Yes, times have been tough but many businesses are seeing a difference in next year’s bookings. These are the businesses that have actually expanded last year because they continued to market.

Did you know that there are 8 ways brides find wedding professionals? Also that the average wedding vendor typically takes advantage of only 2.8 of these services? More often than not, in addition to using so few avenues of marketing, many business do not have the right message. It cannot be all about you, it must be about the bride.

If you look at marketing as an event rather than a process, you will not get the results you want. Marketing usually takes 6-8 months to be effective. However, bridal shows can bring you quicker results because you are having a personal engagement with the bride while building rapport. Never underestimate a great personality when selling. If a bride likes you, she is more likely to go with you than someone else.

Review your literature and your sales pitch. When thinking of these, think of Nordstrom and why everyone is so impressed by this chain. How can you apply your marketing around the Nordstrom philosophy? Everyone likes service and to be treated well but few businesses go that extra mile. Think about what you need to do to get the reputation of caring.

If you do not market, or market poorly, the results will be bad. If you have a bad ad whether in a poor or a great magazine, you will get the same results. When participating in a bridal show, an incorrect presentation, display or actions, you walk away with zero results.