I have been looking at some different factors lately in trying to predict where our industry is heading. One of the things I read regularly is the State of the Industry Report from the Wedding Report. I’m also a self-proclaimed news junkie. My friends, I think we may be in for the perfect storm.
On the one hand, the cost of goods we sell are going up. The cost of marketing in the traditional ways is skyrocketing. The cost of our overhead, things like gas and electricity, heck even the paper we print our proposals on are going up. Our employees are feeling it at home and wanting raises.
The market place is being flooded with new vendors like never before. This phenomenon has been building for a while now and anytime unemployment rises, more people strike out on their own. Rather than fall off, I think this will only continue.
At the same time these same forces are at work on our target market. Their cost of living is taking an ever increasing chunk out of their pocket. Add to that the current economic uncertainty and concerns over unemployment and they are holding on to their wallets with an ever increasing grip.
Then there are the couples that a year ago would have financed the whole fairy tale dream. As the credit markets tighten, that possibility may not be an option anymore. With regulations tightening in the mortgage industry, zero down will go back up to 20% down to buy a home. Today’s couples have gotten accustomed to owning a home as soon as they marry, if not before. Many of our prospective clients will find a down payment on a home a more compelling place to spend their money than on cake and centerpieces.
The brides that are counting on Mom & Pop footing the bill are running into fathers that may very likely have taken a major hit in their investments recently. That nice little nest egg they put away for their darling daughters wedding is looking more like a quail egg then an ostrich egg. Seriously, have you looked at your investment accounts lately?
It has long been said that the wedding industry is recession proof; people will always get married. That is true to the extent that couples will always wed. They may not continue to wed in the lavish fashion we have come to expect. Things will be downsized, guest lists will be cut, and extras will be eliminated all together.
So are there any answers? Maybe.
First and foremost, you have to realistically face the changes that are likely to take place over the next year or so and plan accordingly. I would tell you that traditionally, in times like these, the survivors are those that have cash reserves to fall back on. But hey, that’s not what I do, so let’s look at the marketing side of it instead.
Point> Couples will be looking to either decrease their budget or stick extremely closely to the one they have. They haven’t yet let go of the Platinum Wedding dreams. To win their business, you have to be the one with the solutions.
Good marketing and sales has always been about figuring out what your target market’s problems are and selling them the solution. In this instance, our job just got a lot easier. We know, without a doubt what they want. They want someone to show them the way to afford their wedding without letting go completely of the dream.
Today’s couples are still going to cling to the parts of their wedding dream that they hold most dear. For each it will be different, as it always has been. Your job is to be extremely flexible, creative and innovative. It is no longer about convincing them that they SIMPLY MUST HAVE what ever it is that you provide. It is about finding the couples for whom what you provide is important and then finding the solution that allows them to have it. Here is where that flexibility comes in. Be willing to breakup packages, offer new options that you never considered before, help them use you within their budget.
I am not talking about discounting or dropping your prices. I am talking about letting them eliminate the parts of your goods or services that they deem as unnecessary. I talked with a photographer a year or so ago about offering everything ala carte instead of as packages; they dismissed the idea as crazy. I talked to another photographer just yesterday that is doing exactly that. To him, it is sell the bride what ever bits and pieces she wants, but make the sale. It comes down to are you in business to make money or are you doing it to be an artist. I know that sounds harsh, but we may well be in for some harsh times.
Just as the era of the snooty waiter in upscale restaurants has passed; so too is the era of the “I know what’s best” snooty wedding professional. If you are not willing to work with couples to find their unique solution then they are going to find someone that will.
It is time to get creative and be the professionals that you are. Yes it will be more work; but hey it beats the alternative of NO work.
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