marketing consulting for wedding professionals    Writing, branding, logo design.newsletter design

Bring Back the Lost Art of Civility

I read an interesting article on Freelancers Union today about the way we communicate and the effect it has on creativity and yes, even our passion for what we do. This quote got me thinking:

I just hired an illustrator and a graphic design team for two different projects. During a call, the illustrator spoke in a glib and slightly cynical manner, and I got the sense that he’d been used and spit out by clients in the past. He seemed taken aback when I said that we were excited to work with him and that he was very talented. It was clear he’d never heard that from a client. He warmed immediately, his follow-up emails showed more enthusiasm than his initial correspondence, and the ideas started flowing. I told him he was talented and we were honored to work with him because it was true. I wasn’t trying to butter him up. I was grateful because he was going to be able to materialize the vision for the brand and already had the work to prove it. If he didn’t, I wouldn’t have hired him. But saying so is necessary. Praise or positive reinforcement is important every step of the way. That’s the way we humans actually work. Endorphins and energy rise with positive human interaction.

How many times have you read an email from a client and felt like they really didn’t have any respect for your work?

Here is what it got me thinking:positive reinforcement

I have been reading a certain website that encourages vendors to rant  about their clients in an effort to educate brides on how they should behave and how they should treat their vendors. I understand completely how frustrating some brides can be, been there done that and learned to refrain from throwing a giant wad of fondant at them!  However, I wonder if  parading our collective frustration out like so much dirty laundry isn’t doing more harm than good to our vendor/client relations.

How can we, as wedding vendors get out clients to treat us with respect? Maybe we need to start the reaction by being more civil on our end. Pay it forward.

I am not saying that we are intentionally rude or short with our clients, just that we may be short-changing the niceties of polite discourse in favor of expediency in our busy lives.

I am as guilty as the next person. If you have worked with me on a project then you know that in the middle of it, my emails tend to the quick, clean and to the point style. In fact, you have probably at one time or another gotten an email from me that simple read “done”, meaning that the task in the email I am replying to has been completed. Heck, made sense to me, but I think I need to change that.

Reading that article made me realize how important positive reinforcement really is. It made me think about how much more creative I am with clients that show me that they value my skills with more than a paycheck. (not that I don’t value the hell out of that) If you think about it, I’ll bet that you will find that you have worked harder and with more joy for the brides that let you know that they are loving what you are doing.

Maybe, just maybe if we start it on our side, and set an example, our brides will begin to act more civilly. Tell them the choices they have made that rocked. Tell them about the parts of their wedding that you’re excited to be creating. Validate them. It is entirely possible that they will return the favor, that the bride that was at risk of tipping over into bridezillaland may just turn it around.

You never know. It’s worth a shot anyway.

Oh, just to keep me honest, during the month of October, if you get a “done” email from me, call me on it!

 

 

What’s Up with Think’s Website?

The short answer is that I’ve been playing!

The long answer is a bit more complicated.  Have you ever heard the old saying “The cobbler’s children have no shoes?”  What that means is that way too often, people are very good at what they do but they stay too busy to get around to doing whatever ‘it’ is for themselves. The classic example is that in all those year that I owned one of the top bakeries in the city, my kiddos usually got a cake from Baskin & Robbins for their birthday! I know, it’s pretty sad!

It’s the same thing now that I do marketing and design website. I can’t remember the last time I updated Think, a year and a half maybe. Sure, I did a tweak here and a tweak there, but nothing major or thought out. Besides, I really like the way my site looked. marketing consulting

Two things caused me to get in there over the weekend and start rooting around.

Call to action. I preach it all the time that all of your marketing material needs really clear calls to action. No,duh!  You would think I would have had mine front and center. I imagine it was a bit of not seeing the forest for the trees. I had a session with one of my consulting clients last week and in the course of conversation it came up that they didn’t even know I designed web sites. Well Shit! How are going to sell something people don’t even know you do?

Mobile Responsive. The second thing that made me do it was the recent launch of some really sweet mobile responsive child themes for the Genesis framework.   What is mobile responsive you ask? I am not just talking about having images that show up on iPhones and Androids.  My new site will resize itself depending on what device you are viewing it on. No more scrolling from side to side. Really, try it out.

That is a really cool thing, but there is a learning curve and I wanted it on my site, not a clients. There are still things to tweak, like I have to find a new way to display my portfolio. That will come.

Anyway, that’s what’s been going on. I’ll continue to play, especially with the graphics. I’m not in love with those, but you see one of the things I love about the web is that it’s “liquid ink.”  Don’t like something, you can change it on the fly. Keep watching as the new site and framework evolves.

 

What Happened to the Fun

I have been listening to some interesting chatter lately in our industry and it’s not good.

It seems that there are a lot of people in our industry that have gotten bitter and are sporting a platimum sized chip on their shoulders. What gives? What we do should be fun. It isn’t statistics or rocket science or brain surgery. It never carries terms like idictable or inoperable. Ultimately, we are in the business of helping people throw a party.Party

I understand that things have been a little rough lately; between the economy and the changes  from elegant to casual. The thing is, we are the ones that are supposed to bring the party, bring the fun, bring the confidence. It’s time for an attitude check.
You have the power each and every day to get out of bed and make it the best day possible. Or not.

You can look at the day and your work and tell yourself that no matter what comes I will make it great and fun, or you can bemoan the fact that things are to tough and just slogg through it. It’s your choice.

 

You can wish and beg for things to go back to the way they were or you can decide to find the fun and the magic in the newness of the changes in our industry.

 

 

You can greet the changes with open arms and delight in how you can take them to new and amazing levels. How these changes can open the door to things and ideas never before possible. Or you can sit in your rocker on the frontporch and reminisce about the good old days while the newcomers eat you for lunch. Your choice.

I know, you want some examples, don’t you?

Photographers: Your clients want instant gratification more than they want prize winning images. Learn to edit in camera and get them their unphotoshopped images within 7 days of the wedding when they are still in that “wedding high.” Or you can spent 7 weeks editing and color correcting every image to within an inch of it’s life and deliver in that zone when reality has set in and they are questioning every dollar they spent.

Planners and designers: You can fight and argue with your clients over DIY details. You can refuse to participate in them. Or you can listen to them and see how you can help or aid and abet and make some money in the process. They might have a few really clever ideas you can use.

Bridal salons: When she wants to try on bridesmaids dresses in white you can discourage her or lie that it doesn’t come in white. Or you can highlight the maids dress that do come in white as a viable budget friendly alternative and maybe, just maybe, save a few brides from David’s.

We are in a whole new game, a new market place. Stop trying to bring back 2007 and take a look around you. The changes can be fun and exciting if you choose to view them that way and you had better. If you are bitter and cranky and obviously not having any fun, no one is going to hire you for what they want to be the most important and fun day in their lives.

 

Group Therapy for ‘Gorilla’ Marketers

I can not believe the tremendous response to the video presentation on ‘Gorilla’ Marketing that aired yesterday on Book More Brides’ 6 Figure Wedding Business Summit. If you missed it, you can see  it here.

I want to thank Stephanie and Jeff for hosting such a wonderful program.

Having viewed the comments that poured in, it occured to me that for many of  you leaping out of the comfort of the vanilla box of marketing can be a little daunting. What if there was a place that you could bounce all those wild ideas off a select group of like minded gorillas? Kind of like group therapy for marketing.

Here is what I propose:

  • Small groups of 5 or 6 for video conferences.
  • Organize groups based on geographic location so that you aren’t sharing with competetors in your own market.
  • Meet once a month to help each other create and flesh out plans for outrageous marketing and mostly to learn from each other.

If there is a big enough response, I will be happy to put it all together on Skype. All you would need is a free Skype account, a web cam and a high speed connection.

 

Look Outside of The Industry for Ideas

Are you stuck in a rut of only doing either what you have always been doing or just doing what is working for your competetors? What makes you think that the only ideas for the wedding industry are IN the wedding industry?

It’s time to start thinking out side the lines.

Here is just one idea.

I am working with a bridal salon that was struggleing with whether or not to stop taking walk-ins. Brides keep telling her that she is the only salon in town that will take walk-ins and that is what brought them in. Her staff was getting overwhelmed trying to wait on everyone at once. The brides would get antsy waiting and this was putting a lot of pressure on the sales consultants. All in all it wasn’t working and the owner was ready to abandon, rather than embrace one of her strongest selling points.

After a bit of conversation we came up with an idea.

Nobody likes to wait, but with a few accomadations, clear communication and the right reason, we all do it. Really? Yes really. Have you ever been to a hot restaurant on a Friday night with out a reservation?

The restaurant takes your name, gives you an idea of how long the wait is and points you to the bar. I suggested she do the same thing.

They set up a comfy little area with drinks and tiny snacks, stacked the coffee table with wedding books (not magazines, we don’t want them looking at other gowns) and pointed them in that direction.

If they are really busy, she now has a list of nice little restaurants in the area that she suggests and gets their number and offers to send them a text when their name comes up. The bonus with this is that our owner knows that brides get hungry and cranky during a long day of shopping, this fixes that.

It has taken a few Saturday’s to get the system running smoothly but her staff love the idea and the brides still get to just walk-in.

Where can you look to find answers to the issues you are having in your wedding business? What other industries have similar problem? There is your answer.

The Power of No

Sometimes the best sales tool you have is to just walk away from a deal.

Because of the economic reset button in 2008 I have seen brides trying just about everything to get wedding professionals to lower their prices. They are looking for every deal, nudge and shave they think they can get. They will badger, push, praise and conjole.

“We really love your work.”

“The guy across town will do it for $x less than you, will you match it.”

“I am a high profile {whatever} and it will be great to have me in your portfolio.”

“What kind of a discount can I get if I put you in the program?”

“What if we did this part of it ourselves. How much can you cut off the price.”

Oh for the love of all things holy! Do not buy into to this and whatever you do, don’t lower your prices. As long as you keep shaving, they will keep pushing. The minute you stop, they stop.

I know it gets tedious to keep fielding this nonsense. I also know it can be scary to watch a prospect walk out the door. Hey, if they don’t see the value in what you do then they aren’t your client. If you don’t respect yourself and your talents, neither will they. Don’t be afraid to say no, to just walk away. I am finding more and more that once you do, they will come back at your price. You can’t just pretend to walk away, you have to really do it. Put them out of your mind.

Mind you, you have to be polite and professional. You don’t want to make them mad, you just want to stand your ground. Remember, if you don’t respect yourself, neither will they.

So how about some responses?

Them: “I really love your work.”

You: “Then I am sure you can see the value in it and why I charge what I do.”

Them: “They guy across town will do it for $x, can you match it?”

You: “No, I’m sorry I cannot. Our businesses are different and I’m sure you will be fine settleing with my competetor.”

Them:”I am a high profile {whatever} and it will be great to have me in your portfolio.”

You: “As a high profile {whatever} you really do deserve the very best and I’m sure you can understand its value.”

Them: “What kind of a discount can I get if I put you in the program?”

You: “We believe that you wedding is about you and would prefer to be left out of the program.”

Them: “What if we did this part of it ourselves. How much can you cut off the price.”

This is a tough one. Depending on what they want to do, it may end up costing your more, so it should cost them more to. Take for instance, a bride wants to provide her own votive candles. If you are going to have to set them up, remove the votive candle item on the bid, but explain that the labor charge will go up {the same amount}.

My point is, there is power in saying no. Look at it this way, you will either get your price or you won’t have a client that you are going to lose money on. Either way, it’s really a win.

What To Do When The Phone Isn’t Ringing

I was following a thread on a pro forum today about the sudden silence on the phone and in the inbox. The original poster was panicing because they had just done a very modest price increase. She was starting to second guess herself.

Here is the very first thing you should do when you find yourself in this position. Don’t panic and look for patterns.

Go back over the last few years of your business and look for patterns in bookings. You all know when to expect to be busy with weddings, right? They are seasonal, right? Well it only stands to reason thet since bookings mirror that seasonality you will have coresponding lulls in booking, ie. your phone ringing.

I will bet that you will see the patterns.

I know that for me, I didn’t hear a peep from the end of August until the middle of September. Not only did this season affect the number of brides I had calling but weddings were down and the business I did with restaurants was off. For the first couple of years it scared the bejeebus out of me, “What had I done to cause this suden downturn?”

But then I realized that it happened every year.Cool, I could work with that!

By following the patterns I also knew that October through Valentines day would be zoo city for my little business. This early fall hiatus became a time for me to recharge and renew. Just knowing that it happened annually made me relax enough to be able to enjoy it and use it to my advantage.

Have you taken the time to look for the paterns in your business?

What Are You So Afraid Of?

Or, Cowboy Up and Get Some Damn Self-confidence.

This is going to be one of my ‘beat you up a little bit first ” pep talks.  Fair warning.

I was chatting with a new client yesterday and we got to talking about how many wedding vendors are so afraid of having their work displayed along side the work of their competitors. Why? don’t you think you are better than (or at least on a par with) them?  Aren’t you proud of your work? If you really seriously think that your work won’t hold up to the other vendors in your market at your price point you shouldn’t be in business!

Seriously.

You do what you do (hopefully) because you believe that you have talent and skills, right? So why should you be afraid to show off your talent in the company of other talented, skilled practitioners?

This seems to be most prevalent among photographers but applies to most creatives. “Oh I don’t what them coping my style” Please, if they can copy it, then it isn’t a style its a formula.

“I don’t want them copying my poses.” Newsflash, they are going to do that anyway. That is why you have to be the innovator, constantly creating new and different to stay ahead of the pack. Rather than worrying about someone copying you, start delighting in having them wonder just what the heck you are going to do next. If they are so busy watching you they don’t have time left to develop their own style.

“Oh, I would rather they don’t explore my competitors.” Second newsflash. Trust me, your brides are online and have already seen them.

If you don’t think your work will stand up in a head to head viewing than you have a lot of work to do. You either have to bring your work up to the level needed or work on your self-confidence. I’m betting it’s the later.

Let’s talk about that for a moment. Would you for one minute consider displaying something that you didn’t think was your best work? Of course not; so don’t doubt yourself.

I was taught along time ago the when we look at others we see only their shiny side and we then compare it to our dark and wrinkled side. Stop that!

I know that to this day, when I look at a  shot of one of my cakes, all I can see are the flaws. I focus on what I could have done better or maybe done differently. Yet when I look at a cake in a magazine or someones portfolio all I see is the cake and the skill needed to create it. I’ll bet that you are guilty of doing the same thing.

One of the first things to remember in marketing is to believe in the product. Doubly so since this is your product. As creatives, every time we display our work we are displaying a piece of ourselves and that’s scary. Be proud of who you are and what you create.

I’ll tell you a little secret, every time I hit publish on one of these articles it scares the bejezzes out of me. Not as much as it used to, mind you. Do you know why that is? Because of you and all the positive feedback I have received from my readers over the years.I have begun to see the shiny side. You need to do the same.

Re-Invent Your Business

How are you re-inventing your business?

Last night I was at a networking event and had the opportunity to speak with quite a few wedding professionals in a wide range of categories. I saw an interesting pattern emerge.

There are a lot of very smart people either in the middle of or in the beginning phases of completely re-inventing their businesses in light of the new economic realities in the wedding market. Instead of continuing to do the same old thing they are reading the market and rolling with the punches.

Two different photographers are seeing the light, one is fairly new and the other is a seasoned pro, but both are no longer putting their emphasis on shooting weddings. Instead, both are moving into the portraiture market but in entirely different ways. Both are using their established connections and unique skill sets. Very Cool!

I spoke with a new linen company that is completely re-inventing the wheel. I am interviewing them later to get the skinny for an in-depth article on this topic for the members content side of Think.

I also got to check in my florist friend that is placing her emphasis on rentals to both brides and florist. She is in the unique position of having ‘things’ that other, new florists haven’t had the time or treasure to amass.

I also met the owner of an invitation company that is branching out into event planning. (OK, don’t get me started on new planners but at least they are re-inventing)

What I want to know is how you are reading the market and re-inventing yourself? You all know what I did six years ago to re-invent brand “ME”. What are you doing?

I am putting together an article and if you would like your unique story included, just leave a comment of send me an email.

My readers are some of the smartest wedding professionals out there, I can’t wait to hear your stories.