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Keep It Simple, Stupid

May 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Are you confusing your brides? Stop that!  Just keep it simple.

I have had a lot of contact lately with planners and decor people. Listening to them I have come to the sad conclusion that many of today’s brides, while highly educated have the imagination and vision of a turnip.

simplicity

We as creatives, listen to their dreams and yes, look at their Pinterest boards and then design for them what we hear. AND THEY CAN”T SEE IT!

What they really want is what is in the picture. Face it they have looked at thousands of them. I know it zaps your creative soul, but it really is so much simpler to just give them what is in the picture; no matter what we think of it.

Times have changed. Time was when they came to us for our vision and expertise, now they just want our technical skills. ~sigh

So here is a thought, take their money, put your creativity on the shelf and  implemented their plan. No, you won’t explode.

I have another outlet for your creativity>>marketing to build your business.

Face it, if you aren’t having to design everything, your staff should be trained well enough to copy from pictures. Turn more of it over to them and start doing something that will both feed your creative needs and grow your business.

Get involved in style shoots.

Feed your blog.

Create just to create.

Then photograph it and get it out there on Pinterest. Be consistent and relentless. Before long it will be your pictures that they are bringing and it won’t just be to you. All of a sudden it will be your designs that everyone is having to recreate. hehehe, sweet!

Here is something to think about. Have you noticed that the majority of cakes on Pinterest these days are tiny, maybe only 2 small tiers. Do you know why? Because they are done by cake designers just to be photographed and shown off. I will stake my reputation that the vast majority of those small, absolutely stunning cakes never leave the cake shop. The designer got to design, they are getting their style out there and somewhere there is some poor baker being asked to make those designs feed 120!

Just some food for thought

Filed Under: Ask Christine, Building Your Business, Marketing, Trends Tagged With: , ,

Your Best Referrals Come From Other Vendors and I’m Going to Show You How to Get More

February 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

You have heard me say it when I talk about Bridal Shows and in articles like The Art of the Suck Up. One bride may send you one or two referrals, but a fellow wedding professional can send you dozens and even more over the course of your relationship. Isn’t it time you made it a bit easier for them to refer you?

I met with my friend Scoobie Schneider over lunch last week to talk about his new company, ShareWed.com. In a word, it’s brilliant!

Just imagine how much more often you would refer your fellow vendors (and they would refer you) if it was just a mouse click away? Bunches, I’m betting.

This system is so seamless and so intuitive that you will not believe it. Working with partner Glenn Cooper on the tech (FYI, Glenn works as a consultant for companies like Cisco Systems and Microsoft ) they solved the puzzle.

Here is how it works:

You meet with a bride and as a natural part of the conversation you ask her what other services she needs.

You plug her name, date and email into the system and all the vendors in your network pop up, conveniently sorted into categories.

You scroll down the list and click on your favorite vendors that fit her needs and the system sends her an email with your hand curated recommendations.

What could be easier?

Oh, ya, if that vendor is already booked for that date, they are marked out in red. Brilliant!

Not only that, but the vendors you referred get a heads up by email or text. Now they know you referred them. Good stuff.

Oh heck, why don’t I just let them explain it.

 But Christine, there aren’t any other vendors in my market yet :-(

That is a good thing! Huh? Because they have an affiliate program. For every vendor that signs up for ShareWed using your affiliate link, you get $20. Sign up your 6 favorite wedding professionals and you have recovered your costs for the first year.  

That is why I am posting this. I want my savvy readers to be the first in their markets. I want them to be the ones that benefit the most. There are coins to be made here; not just from the referrals but from the affiliate program too! I want you to be the ones to make that money. You deserve it.

Now, not only are you building an air tight, seamless referral network of your favorite wedding professionals, but you are basically doing it for free. What’s not to love.

Compare that to what you pay for listing type sites like the Knot or Wedding Wire where you hope brides see your ad.

Go on, click the link. You know you want to.  While you are at it, share it on Facebook and Twitter.

 

ShareWed

 

Filed Under: Announcement, Building Your Business, wedding marketing, What's Hot Tagged With: , ,

The Buzzword for 2013:Organization

December 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Last week was bat-shit crazy!

In 7 days, I logged 50+ hours on my feet working with some of the finest wedding professionals I know. It began with an amazing Indian wedding working with the coordinator; then with a florist setting the decor for a stunning Christmas party. Then the rest of the week I went back to my roots on the culinary staff for a caterer, both in the kitchen and on the floor. Holy moly people, you ROCK!!! Through all of it, from being covered in ganche, to being sticky with pine resin to the overwhelming smell of curry, I adored being back in the high energy world of events.

The one thing that became abundantly clear to this seasoned professional looking at all these operations without the blinders of  ”this is how we have always done it” was that the better organized the head of the chain, the easier the event was to work.

When I was first growing my bakery, these were the hardest lessons to learn. View PostOrganize it 2013

First, learn to get everything out of your head and on to paper in a clear, concise manner. Assume nothing. Even if your staff has made something 50 times, include the formula in the paperwork, so if they need to delegate, they can. If you didn’t get a CAD for the event, sketch one so you aren’t being asked every 30 seconds, “Where do you want this?”

Second, assign specific tasks to your staff. If you just create a list of everything that has to be done, things will get missed. If on the other hand, you assign A,B, C,D and E to one person, that staffer has a very clear directive and can better manage their time. When it gets to the point of doing final check, you just check with them and you know where the gaps are.

Label everything. Everything, even the staff. I know that sounds crazy but someday it may just make the difference. By labeling everything, your entire staff can tell at a glance what goes where and why. That way you can again avoid the , “Where does this go?” questions. It also counts very heavily in the next one.

Organize your space. I know that right now in the middle of the busy season isn’t the time to be doing this, but January is coming. Get on it! The better organized your space, your equipment and you procedures are, the better you will be able to handle these busy times. Start when it’s slow. Get everybody used to where things go and how it’s done. Use your labels religiously. If you get your crew used to the routine early when they have time to really get it, it will be second nature by the time the season rolls around.

Of all the resources you have, the only one that is absolutely finite is time. You can’t stretch it and you can’t make more of it. If you spend some of this most precious resource at the beginning to get organized, you will be in a much better position to control what you have when it really matters.

Filed Under: Back to Basics, Building Your Business Tagged With: ,

Tip for a Successful Blog I Learned from The Wedding Dish

October 25, 2012 By 1 Comment

I don’t know if you have been following the changes taking place on my other blog, Wedding Dish, but I thought it was time to share it here.

I started the Dish back in 2006 as a way to speak directly to brides. At the time Think was subscription only mainly because I didn’t want brides to read it but with a name like Think Like A Bride, I knew that they would find it. So I gave them somewhere to go.

Wedding Dish began to take shape as a curation type website long before anything like Pinterest existed. Rather than post entire montages from real weddings and style shoots, I would post single topic articles. Think posts on guest book alternatives, winter wedding decor and cakes. I think you get the idea.

Frankly the dang thing was just rockin’ along and I was passionate about it and having fun.

Then I had some things happen in my life and I just couldn’t face another happy-happy wedding post. Oh, I tried, but I just didn’t have it in me. I posted here and there but without any spirit or dedication. About this same time the web design and consulting part of Think Like A Bride really took off and I didn’t give the Wedding Dish another thought.

Recently, I started seeing a bunch of pins from the Dish come up on Pinterest. So I wondered to myself, ” What the heck is this all about?” Well OMG! That little puppy had been rockin’ along on its own steam, never losing a beat. In fact, the monthly visitors had doubled. WHAT??

Now mind you, this site had laid there unloved and unkempt for nearly 2 years. With all I have learned about website design in that time I took one look at it and declared it ‘butt-ugly’ and a visual embarrassment!Old wedding dish header

Over the course of a weekend I gave it a complete overhaul, new look, new theme, fully mobile responsive.

Wedding Dish

Then I started to really dig into the stats to see what was making this such a successful blog and share those tips with you.

Well, it is everything I have been telling you regarding web design, how brides search, how to create content and how to optimize it all.

Tips for a Successful blog that I learned from the Wedding Dish

  • Start with great structure. I swear by WordPress and Genesis.
  • Know your target market and speak directly to them.
  • Split your site between image heavy posts and keyword rich copy.
  • Optimize your images like your life depended on it.
  • Give your visitors very easy ways to share.

If you thought none of that mattered, then explain to me why I have images that have been pinned over 65,000 times?

this image was pinned over 65k times

Keep watching Wedding Dish. I have once again found that passion and am ready to rock this thing. As you may have seen, I am taking submissions for images, detail shots please. Contact me at weddingdish@thinklikeabride.com or check the Submissions page for the full details

Filed Under: Announcement, Back to Basics, Building Your Business, Inspiration, Website Design Tagged With: , , , ,

Why Isn’t There a National Wedding Industry Organization?

June 12, 2012 By 14 Comments

I read this article on eWedNewz concerning a new organization in the wedding industry with great interest. I have long felt that our industry needs an all encompassing Wedding industry organization to take on the battles and concerns that we all face everyday. Things like insurance, human resources and navigating the morass of Federal regulations that try to cut our feet out from underneath us because they have no comprehension of the uniqueness of our industry.

One of the stated goals of the newly formed American Bridal and Prom Association is

According to sources the plan is to consolidate and eventually replace product specific organizations that no longer have the support of their business category. Redundancy and lack of interest is often cited as the main reason for failure. The new idea is to give members a reason to participate that includes strength in numbers, pooling resources and negotiate better prices for products that everyone in business uses. Healthcare is the number-one interest to small business owners in the wedding industry.

That is all well and good, but I have some issues with it.

First of all, this organization was founded out of a very specific need: Fighting Copyright infringement of Bridal gowns and prom dresses coming out of the Chinese manufacturing sector. That is a noble and much-needed cause and I applaud Steve Lang in his herculean efforts to get this going.

I believe that is where the ABPA’s strengths lie and where they should concentrate their efforts. They have a long uphill battle ahead of them and I don’t think they should scatter their focus.

Additionally, as it stands now, the founding members come entirely from the garment and publishing industries. What do they know about the rest of the industry? How deeply do they understand the problems facing a single mom planning weddings? Or a young couple starting out photographing weddings? Or the sometimes insane life of a caterer with 3 full-time employees and a list of 30 or more on call waiters and prep-cooks? These are the true backbone of our industry. These are the people who need help NOW.

I also find fault with this intended goal:

the plan is to consolidate and eventually replace product specific organizations

My problem is that many of these organizations, like WEVA, WPPI, ABC, NACE, ISES and NAME do a good job of providing up to the minute information and continuing education specific to their members. Their survival is important to maintaining the integrity of these very diverse disciplines. What they don’t provide are the services for which we, as small business owner, all have a common need.

  • Insurance
  • Legal
  • Human Resources

Last I checked, the best guess anyone had was that there are approximately 160,00 core wedding businesses in America. That doesn’t count the part-time workers those businesses employ. Nor does it include those allied business that are also involved in our industry; everybody from behemoths like   Traveler Insurance to dentists that run pre-wedding teeth whitening promotions.

This is, on the low estimate, a $40 billion  industry.

That is a lot of people and a lot of money. The garment sector is only a fraction of the picture.

Don’t you think we need something for ALL of us?

I have a few ideas on how to make this happen, but I need to know if you agree that the time has come for a true wedding industry organization.

 

 If you believe as I do,that the time for a National Wedding Industry Organization is here then share this with your ENTIRE social network, get them to pass it along. Talk about it on Twitter and on your blog. Show me that the energy is out there.

Hit the share button>

Filed Under: Announcement, Building Your Business Tagged With:

“What’s Dangerous Is Not To Evolve”

April 21, 2012 By 1 Comment

This from the ‘way-back ‘ machine!

I was looking at my stats today and found an old article that was trending so I read it to see why. Well, I didn’t find the answer to that question but I did find something else interesting.

If you are a new follower then you may not know that in the beginning Think was a subscription only website. There are a few gems that never made it to the free side, this is one of them. Originally published in March 2009 in the early days of the Great Recession, I can’t believe how prophetic it was. The lessons in it are still important.

 

“What’s Dangerous Is Not To Evolve”

That is a recent quote from Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.

People are always picking my brain about the wedding industry; how to grow their business, what steps to take, how to survive right now. That kind of thing. I think what Bezos said is the key for every small business, particularly in our industry.

You look around at the changes that are taking place right now. Look at this month’s Facts and Stats column. For the first time in recent memory the overall value of the wedding market is in decline and it looks like it will not fully recover until 2012. If you sit around on your hands and try and wait it out, hoping things will go back to the way they were you are in for a rude awakening. What are you doing to evolve?

I come on here every month with thoughts and ideas on how to grow your business. Ways to fine tune and tweak. How many of them have you implemented? What is stopping you? I watch some of the people that have come to me for advice actually use it. I am watching their market value grow every day.

The ones that are winning aren’t taking one little idea and trying it once. They are taking the body of advice and using it to formulate their own transformation. They are changing what they do and how they do it on a fundamental level. They are doing it deliberately and fearlessly and they are succeeding. What are you doing?

I am a faithful participant on a forum for bridal salon owners. Day after day, year after year they are struggling to find tools to fight the same battle.  Screw that, pick a new battle.  The single hardest person to shop for in a wedding is the MOB. Cater to her. Oh I know, you sell wedding gowns, there is more profit in a wedding gown. Oh really? Not when you are fighting the discounters every day. Brides buy one dress; my mom bought 5 MOB outfits, all from the same shop. You know something else; today’s MOB’s are baby boomers, the single largest demographic on earth.  Not only that, but these women often find themselves in the position to wear similar gowns for other functions. They have to buy them somewhere. So, market to brides for a single event or build a customer base for many events for years to come. Think differently.

I have a florist friend that saw the writing on the wall. Flowers are a place that brides are cutting back. With the rise of flowers at Costco and online, brides are doing them themselves. So did she bemoan the fact and try to convince brides what a mistake that was. Nope. She started teaching classes for brides on the fundamentals of creating a simple bouquet and boutonnière. Additionally she is renting out all the beautiful containers she has amassed over the years. Yep, that’s thriving too.  She is thinking differently.

What about cakes? I know a bit about those having done them for almost 20 years.  I read a quote recently in a Boston paper and I apologize on not having saved it. A baker was saying that more and more brides are choosing cupcakes over traditional cake because of the cost. I say start putting cupcakes front and center in your business. People will buy cupcakes every day of the year, not just on their wedding. Get them to take them to work, to church, home for dessert. Sell them every day. The brides that had cupcake wedding cakes can relive that moment once a week for a buck or two. Put as much style creativity and effort into them as you do your wedding cakes and your cupcake sales will more that make up for the decline in elaborate wedding cakes. Cupcakes are a small thing and relatively inexpensive.  In this economy, people will often shower themselves with small treats because they can no longer afford the large ones. Evolve with the market.

Even I’m doing it. You know that I design and sell websites for wedding vendors through my division, The Agency. Recently we discovered another market that was facing a lot of the same issues because of the economy; probably more: realtors.  For years they were riding high and getting taken for ridiculous sums by web designers that were holding them and their hosting hostage.  We are using the same skill set to create sites for them. We are saving them money and increasing their traffic exponentially.

Again I ask: what are you doing to evolve?

Filed Under: Ask Christine, Blog, Building Your Business Tagged With: , ,

What is the Purpose of Your Website?

March 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Really? Have you actually asked yourself that question recently?

In yet another epic example of “the cobbler’s children have no shoes” I just recently asked myself that question. The answer was to sell my services. Yep seems pretty simple, doesn’t it. The problem was, years ago when I first started TLAB the goal was to sell subscriptions and the site was still set up that way.

That isn’t what I sell anymore. Now I sell website design, ebooks, consulting and copy writing. Hmmmm, time for a change.

I am sure you have noticed the changes on the website recently, those are all a reflection of finally doing what was right for my own marketing.  Front and center are now 3 calls to action: website design, consulting and other services.  Those pages used to rank at the bottom of my stats. Now I am pleased to say that they are in the top 5 pages every single day.other services

My homepage has my most current blog posts and those are what draw visitors in, but once here they can’t miss the calls to action. Aren’t those really the point?

So back to the original question; what is the purpose of your website. Ask yourself that question and be as brutally honest and precise as you can. Then take a fresh look at your website and see if it is doing what you pay it to do.

One more note about all this, stop looking at simply how pretty your site is. Yes it should be attractive and reflect your unique style and branding but if it isn’t doing the job you pay it for it’s just eye-candy to make you happy. Isn’t that kind of like hiring a supermodel to be you receptionist even though she can’t figure out how to answer the phone? (no disrespect meant to supermodels, just trying to make a point)

Frankly I think TLAB looked better before the change but it wasn’t doing half the job it is now.

Filed Under: Back to Basics, Building Your Business, Marketing, Website marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

BHLDN by Anthropologie Turns 1

February 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I am always talking about change and thinking differently; well here is an example that seems to be working.

BHLDN, the bridal and party dress line from Urban Outfitter, parent company of Anthropologie turned a year old on Valentine’s Day.  They took the position of being centered more on changing things and offering new options than just trying to jump into an already saturated market.

“”What we saw was a limited market,” said Kristin Norris, chief creative officer at Anthropologie and the creative force behind the BHLDN concept.

Elizabeth Cooksey works to set up the new bridal and event dress store BHLDN from the owners of Anthropologie on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012 in the Gold Coast.

“We saw a lot of space for dresses that weren’t the princess dress, maybe with details and embellishments that are less expected. Maybe the bride didn’t want to pick up the dress nine months ahead of time.”

The chain launched the concept online to test the waters, followed by flagship stores in Houston and Chicago’s Gold Coast. While they state no plans for more stores in 2012, if the concept holds strong they would like to increase to between 50 to 100 locations.

Also from the same article

The idea behind the BHLDN shopping experience is to erase the intimidation that can often accompany shopping for a wedding dress, said Elizabeth Cooksey, director of stores.

In contrast to bridal salons, where a sales clerk sizes up the bride, disappears into a stock room and brings out gowns she thinks the bride will like, BHLDN keeps its wedding dresses on the racks so shoppers can browse on their own. And one room is devoted to a dozen mannequins dressed in wedding gowns and posed as if at a party, allowing shoppers to walk among them.

In a nod to both nostalgia and modernity, sales clerks are dressed in gray pinafore shopkeeper uniforms, while oversized dressing rooms tout iPod docking stations that allow the bridal party to listen to their own music selections as they shop.

Party dresses are near the entrance so shoppers don’t feel they have to be a bride to enter the store. Dresses and gowns range from $400 to $7,000.

Thinking differently seems to be working out for Urban Outfitters. ”According to the Chicago Tribune article, “ the company has said initial sales exceeded their expectations.”

How are you thinking differently?  Are you trying new things, boldly and fearlessly? You better be!

You can read the full article here.

 

Filed Under: Back to Basics, Building Your Business, Trends, wedding marketing, What Brides Say, What's Hot Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Wedding Industry Has Turned the Corner

February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I keep hearing the rumblings of recovery in the wind.

It’s little things. Bridal show attendance is up nationwide. Brides are booking appointments at the show and after. Vendors are telling me that brides budgets are creeping up. The median price of bridal gowns is up. Vendors are hiring and expanding their business. The business’ that are making it are starting to buy up the one’s that are failing.

I spoke with one bridal salon owner that increased her business 600% over last January. I spoke with a caterer that is up 130% over last year and almost on track with 2007′s numbers.

Everywhere I hear “It’s gonna be a helluva year.”

 

So here is my question, why are the same people who were tossing fairy dust last year now spreading volcanic ash telling people how bad the industry is and that you have to buy their seminar/coaching/white paper?

Oh right, it’s a sales tactic.

Don’t listen to them, listen to your gut. Listen to your phone and the brides you talk to. Hope and the power of positive are powerful things. Don’t let the volcano ash merchants steal that from you.

You know that if nothing else, I tell it like it is. I was one of the first ones out there to tell you it was bad and going to get worse. I was right then and I’ll bet my lunch I’m right about this.

Listen, our country has been through some tough economic times. We have learned some lessons and made some adjustments. Now those are starting to pay off. Couples that put off their weddings were busy making adjustments, now they are ready to go. They are booking in larger numbers and spending in greater amounts. Last night a caterer was telling me how nice it was to have couples once again have decent budgets for 250 guests.

I am not the only one seeing this trend.

According to Paul Pannone of eWedNewz,

No one I have spoken to that has an established business has told me things are still bad. Over the last two years, they have looked at the parts of their business that were lacking and have made adjustments. Whether it was a website that needed upgrading or styles that needed to be brought up to date or investing in social media, the downturn highlighted them. Two years down the road, the adjustments have been made and the businesses are starting to take off.

This from Jim Duhe, long time publisher of Bridal Guide,

Today’s bridal couples are older, better educated, and more affluent than ever before in history.  It’s logical to assume that there will be tremendous changes in the bridal market place — changes that affect the way that we all do business.  In spite of these changes — or maybe even because of them — there are amazing opportunities for all wedding professionals.   That doesn’t mean that business will fall in our laps but it does mean that it will be there for innovative professionals who embrace the change rather than fight it.

This from Steve Lang, CEO Mon Cheri,LLC

All I can add is that I had a record year in 2011 and so far my shipments are up 11% this year
January was the single largest shipping month in the history of my firm.

 Have you used this time wisely?

You see, back before the bubble burst, the money was rolling in so fast you couldn’t see the parts that needed improvement. The positive thing to come out of the economic upheaval is that the smart entrepreneurs used this new lens to take a good look at their business and make the adjustments needed. Now that the brides  have made their own adjustments, it’s time to rock and roll.

Are you ready for this?

 

Filed Under: Back to Basics, Blog, Building Your Business, Inspiration Tagged With: , , , ,

Is E-commerce Something You Could Do?

January 6, 2012 By 1 Comment

I am seeing the twinkling of a trend among small independent wedding vendors. E-commerce is beginning to come into play more and more as either an additional service or product or a full on pure play. Monday I’ll start my third E-commerce site in the last 2 months.shopping carts and ecommerce for wedding vendors

How, you ask, are wedding vendors using Ecommerce? They are using it in a variety of ways. I’m not going to give away their ideas, but I can tell you that it runs the gambit from hand-crafted products, to personalized design services to gift cards.

This all ties into what I have been saying about really thinking about what makes you unique and how you can use that to enlarge both your offerings and your niche.

Capitalize on your reputation to expand your business.

Think about what you can pre-package, so to speak. Suppose I were still baking. Now my wedding cakes were all one of a kind designs and not something I could have sold on the internet, but my hand made truffles would have worked. For that matter, if I had really wanted to go for it, I could have sold just the designs, cake blue prints, if you like. Brides could have then taken them to their auntie or local baker to bake and decorate.  Do you see where I am going with this?

Put on your thinking cap and go for a walk outside the box. 

One of the amazing things about the internet, is that you can try these kinds of things out relatively cheaply. Put a page on your site with your products and a simple shopping cart for a small investment. If it works, then you can think about really investing in it. If it doesn’t, take down the page off your site and you are out a couple of hundred buck, tops.

Next week, I’m going to take you on a tour of what I think are a couple of the best sites to emulate to market both your current business and an eCommerce play.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Ask Christine, Blog, Building Your Business, Trends, Website Design, What's Hot Tagged With: , , ,
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