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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: , , , ,

New Ideas for Bridal Show Email Follow-up

February 3, 2012 By 2 Comments

OK, you’ve invested your time and treasure in a bridal show, or several and you have a fat, juicy lead list. Now what?

I have already given you tons of ideas to use both short-term and long-term like cherry picking your lead list and outrageous marketing. The question people still are asking is what  to put in that first email?

An interesting answer popped into my inbox just this morning that I think you should give a try.

How about instead of telling them something you ask them something?

Check this quote from today’s Research Brief from The Center for Media Research.

A new survey from Cint shows that 62% of those surveyed said they were more likely to purchase a brand’s product if their opinion has been sought by brand in a study. The survey highlights the importance of customer insight, says the report, as over half of the 1,200 consumers polled felt more loyal to a brand if it takes the time to find out their opinion.

Personally I can’t think of a better way to get them engaged from the very beginning. You know me, here is an example. If it were me sending the email for Indulgence Custom Bakeshop I would have said something along the lines of:

“Hey there {add first name}, it was great to meet you at the XYZ Bridal Show.  I was wondering if I could get your input on something. It’s a new year and I really want to add some new and exciting flavors to the menu.  If you could have any flavor or combination of flavors for your wedding cake or dessert what would it be?”

Better yet, put in a very brief survey or poll.

Don’t be crass and ask what their budget is. Ask them something that they may just have an interesting opinion on and ask it like you mean it. Give them some reason to believe that their input matters. Tweet the answers like a horse race. Build some excitement. Keep a tally going on Facebook. Foster engagement.

Here is one more tip that you probably already know but needs to be reinforced.

That email needs to be finished and uploaded to your bulk mailer BEFORE  you set up your booth. As soon as the show is over you need to load the emails you collected in your booth and hit the send button. That night. I know you are tired; shows can be brutal. Not taking care of the follow through is the biggest mistake that bridal vendors make when using bridal shows to market.

 

Bonus.

Here is another great article I just found on Asking as Marketing.

Filed Under: Back to Basics, bridal shows, email marketing, Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Wedding Industry Renaissance

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Is that a break in the clouds I see?

A stray ray of sunshine on the horizon?  

Why, by George, I think it is!

On last week’s post about bridal shows the poll results are more than 50% positive. I would have liked to see a landslide but any improvement is a good thing.

It is more than just the numbers though, it is some of the comments that I have gotten not just on the post but in private emails and on Facebook. There is an upbeat feel in their messages. Positive energy is crackling in the air. One client tells me she is so busy with appointments she doesn’t have time for laundry or groceries. Another is so backed up writing proposals that she is looking for a temp secretary!

This from Cathy in Wisconsin:

Better than the last 2 years. Booked 4 at the first 2 day show, and more after at our studio.

This from Angie in Preston, UK

Hi ,We are late in starting this year 1st one 19th Feb but everybody seems to be buzzin about an upturn in the market this year.

This from Tony in Long Island

yes! I’ve had great success thus far at bridal shows

What I am trying to say here is that I firmly believe we have turned a corner.  Maybe it hasn’t trickled down to everyone yet, but it will.

No, it isn’t rockin’ at the rate it was before the bubble burst, but it is on the upswing for the first time in years. There is hope, there is a glass half full attitude.

The wedding market is different. You can’t market to brides the way you did, the same buzzwords and triggers don’t work today. Engaged couples today have less of a “This is the BIGGEST day of my life” attitude and more of “This is important but I am not going to break the bank for it.”

Pitch your product accordingly. Show value. Work within the brides budgets. Offer alternatives. Make it personal.

There are ways to sell and there are couples to buy.

Filed Under: Back to Basics Tagged With: ,

Are you Selling “Happy”

December 16, 2011 By 2 Comments

I was doing some much needed maintenance today on my Google Reader and ran across a post from last week on Broke Ass Bride and had another one of those light bulb moments. Take a second to run through the images on that post and see if you get they same “well damn” flash.

There are few moments in life that should evoke “Happy” the way a wedding does. It is at its heart a day of joy and hope.  Shouldn’t  a smile be one of the symbols used to market it? Now look at all those faces in that post. One, only one shows any real joy. Guess who’s ad it is.*

I know, you are thinking, “But C, those ads are about the dress, not the wedding.”  Hold it right there Bucko!  Everything we do is about the wedding, it’s about the fairy tale, it’s about the JOY!  Are you selling JOY or just some item or service?

Have a look today at your marketing materials. Is there JOY? Are people smiling?

There is an old saying, that no one ever goes to Home Depot because they need a drill; they go because the need a hole.

Your client needs JOY, not a flower or a planner or a dress. Those things are there to help create the fairy tale that she envisions. The fairy tale that, in her mind, will bring her JOY.

* Oh ya, the ad is from David’s Bridal. Any wonder why so many brides gravitate to them. There is a sense of pure joy in their photographs, not high fashion.

Filed Under: Ask Christine, Back to Basics, Marketing Tagged With: , ,

We All Just Want To Be Big Rock Stars*

December 13, 2011 By 2 Comments

I watched an interesting documentary this weekend, Page One. There were several takeaways that I discussed with my journalist friends. There is one I want to share with you.
Have you noticed the growing industry within the industry?  Wedding industry sales and training conferences.  Why is that? With even more information on the web everyday you would think that getting people together to hear the same group of talking heads spout generalities and rehash the same old tips would be fading. I wondered why people would continue to pay thousands of dollars to have someone blow fairy dust up their skirt.You’ve seen them.

Double your income in 5 easy steps!
Be a six-figure wedding planner!

Now I think I understand.

In the film, Page One, Brian Carr, a long time reporter for the New York Times, was asked why there were suddenly so many conferences for newspaper professionals. His answer set off a light bulb in my head. He said that it was a way for people in a deeply troubled industry to get together and feel like they are still relevant.

Oooo, ouch. You aren’t going to like my correlation.

I have always maintained that the most learning at these conferences took place in the halls and over food and libations with the people you met. I stand by that. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against learning and expanding your view and knowledge, but there is one of these “Industry Expert Conferences” every month now, if not more often. So why bother with the conference part? Because there are people that make a heck of a lot of money off them for one thing.

Another thing is all that fairy dust. The cold hard numbers about the wedding industry aren’t anything to write home about. Brides are spending less, in more unconventional ways and there are more people entering the industry than ever before. Yet here are these ‘experts’ sprinkling fairy dust and telling everyone to “believe.” Every one goes home in a bright eyed endorphin fueled haze, been there, done that. Six months later they crash and need another fix. Quite simply, the fairy dust merchants make them feel better.

OK, here is the rock star tie in…
Have you ever wondered about these industry experts? There are a few out there that I have a ton of respect for, like Jacqueline Johnson and Sheryl Davis. Oddly, those are the ones you rarely hear about. They go quietly about their jobs of helping to shape their part of the industry with out waving banners proclaiming themselves know -it -alls.  Most of the rest of them, they are either selling their product or they just want to be industry rock stars. Either they rehash the same old information over and over again or instead of teaching you anything you are subjected to a very thinly veiled sales pitch. Oh, but you did get your dose of fairy dust.

*Thanks to Nickleback for the inspiration and the headline.

YouTube

Filed Under: Announcement, Back to Basics, Rants & Raves Tagged With:

Increase Your Bridal Show ROI

December 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It’s that time of year again. Bridal show season is right around the corner. Are you ready?

Do you know how to pick the right show to reach your target bride?

Do you know how to take advantage of pre-show publicity?

Have you designed your show collateral?

Do you know how to design your booth for maximum effect?

Have you written your post show follow-ups? You are doing more than one, right?

I have said it before and I will say it again, bridal shows are expensive in both time and treasure. You need to get the best return on your investment that you possible can and there is only one way to do that.

Be Prepared!

Proper planning from the moment you decide to do a show gives you the jump. One of the keys to high ROI is a total cohesion of all aspects of your show marketing. Decide early on your message and then don’t vary, just keep pushing that one message home.

If you want more information, in a clear, point by point style, you have to read the book. Don’t wait until the last minute, do it now. You need time to develop your message, get stuff printed, get the word out early to build interest and get the booth designed.

Seriously, if you are going invest money in a show, (not to mention a day on your feet) don’t you deserve to get all you can out of it?

Bridal Show Success is the only comprehensive guide to trade shows written specifically for the bridal industry.

It takes you through the planning, to the show to the follow -up. Step by step it will teach you how to produce the most ROI off any bridal show.

Think of how much you have riding on your bridal show marketing, $14.95 is a drop in the bucket to make it all work flawlessly. Heck that’s less than you are going to spend on coffee for your team the day of the show! Isn’t that a small price to book more brides?

Buy the book today, reap the benefits for years to come!

Here is what one reader had to say…

TaylorMade Weddings>Think Like A Bride

My Bridal Show was a success yesterday. I took your advice – “Go big or go home”– and made quite the impression. Let’s just say…the fish was a BIG hit! Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge in your book. It pays!

 

Filed Under: Announcement, Back to Basics, Blog, bridal shows, Marketing Tagged With: , ,

Hire a Photographer!

November 29, 2011 By 3 Comments

I hear it and see it all the time: wedding vendors that do fabulous work but have lame photos to show for it. They spent hours sweating over the perfect food display or those gorgeous tissue paper pom-poms hung perfectly from a tree or the centerpieces on top of the perfect linen. Then after the fact, often months after the fact, the wedding photographer, after much arm twisting and begging sends them a file of stunning prints of the B&G, the wedding bands and a picture of shoes! Wow, score!

Now whose fault is this? Well it damn sure isn’t the photographers. They were hired to shoot the B&G and the list they sent them, not your details. (unless they were on the brides list, that is)

Here is a tip: 

Hire your own photographer!

Then they are working off of your list. You should get the images in a timely fashion and have just the shots you want.

OK, here it comes…

I am about to get hit by photographers that forbid other shooters at their weddings. In this instance, get over it. These vendors are hiring their own professional so they get the marketing materials that they need and have every right to own. Besides, you obviously aren’t shooting what they need in a way that helps them. Your client is the bride. You need to find a way to work this out. I mean come on, 9 times out of 10 this outside shooter will be done before the guests arrive and you won’t ever see them.

But WAIT! There’s more!

Hey you photographers just starting out…

I am always asked how you can break-in with the top designers and planners. How about you start hitting them up to shoot their details? Do a good job over a period of time and they may just add you to their roster.

In my outsider, twisted opinion that is a win for everybody.

  • The vendors get exactly what they need.
  • The wedding photographer doesn’t have to worry about shooting for the vendors.
  • The new photographer gets some real world experience and some new contacts.
What’s not to love?
Oh, and I get great images to work with when marketing my clients.
Filed Under: Ask Christine, Back to Basics, Building Your Business, Marketing, Outrageous Marketing, Website Design Tagged With: , , , ,

Wedding Blogs. Good Guys or Bad Guys?

November 10, 2011 By 1 Comment

So what’s with all the hate lately?

It seems that photographers are stepping up on their blogs to trash wedding bloggers. Really?

First this from Hindsight Bride.

Then this from Jonas Peterson, The Mason Jar Manifesto.

Then Off-beat Bride stepped up to defend Mason Jars.

Heck I have even had my own say in the matter a few months back.

Here is the deal, gang

Photographers want to get published on the top blogs. Bloggers want to do what pleases their readers.  Those aren’t always the same goal.

Heck it has even gotten to the point where brides will tell their planners, ” I want my wedding published on Style Me Pretty.”

Ya’ll are acting like Kim Kardashian. It’s supposed to be about the wedding, not the publicity.

but that isn’t my point…

You, photographers, your job is to give the client what they want. In most cases, that is pictures of people. Their friends and family.

Bloggers, your job is to give your readers what they want. In most cases that is detail. Who gives a rats ass about people they don’t know? All they want are ideas they can be inspired by and snag for their own wedding.

You are both right. You are both servicing your client.

So here is the deal. Photographers, if your goal is to get published, give the blog editors what they want:details. If that means hiring a second or third shooter to get those shots then that is what you have to do. You can’t expect the blog editor to throw their readers under the bus.

Read the editorial guidelines on the blogs you want on and follow them. When you interview your bride ask them questions about the details of their wedding. Is it going to be worth you paying another shooter to get them?  Notice I said ‘you paying’ not the bride. It’s your goal to get published, not hers.

It is time for everyone to stop the madness and start working together.

Know what you want and what it is going to take to get it. don’t just whine about it.

For the record, I’m not a big fan of mason jars, but if that was what my readers wanted to see they would be all over my blog! Check out Wedding Dish? Do you really think I love candles all THAT much?

I big hat tip to loyal reader and friend June Hoffman for pointing this nonsense out to me.

Filed Under: Ask Christine, Back to Basics, Rants & Raves Tagged With: ,

What Do Hotdogs Have To Do With Brides?

October 27, 2011 By 3 Comments

Way back in November 2006 I published an article about the wedding industry becoming a target for anyone thinking they could make an easy buck.

We have all seen the droves of people try and parlay their experience in meeting planning, their kids birthday party or their love of cupcakes into wedding businesses. Then it started on the B2B side.

Those of you who are really, truly in the wedding industry, those professionals among you that have worked with brides and grooms and MoBs and even the occasional Maid-zilla know what a wacky world this is. Our industry, because of the emotions, the budgets and the drop dead deadlines is a pretty unique playing field. You don’t just walk into it  from the corporate world and think you can understand it.

More and more people get displaced from the corporate world and as a traditionally non-corporate industry made of primarily mom & pop businesses bridal looks like a great place to land. ~sigh~ I am sorry, but if you haven’t been in the trenches, you just don’t understand it.

Ok come on board, but for lands sake at least dive in and get your feet wet first. Work with us to understand the uniqueness of this world. You may make it you may not, but at least you will know what it’s really like.

Recently I ran across a prime example of the arrogance of some of these people. There is a person out there with an all in one, do it yourself content marketing system built for wedding professionals.  Great, content marketing is a good thing.  That is if you know what the hell you are talking about. How can you possibly write content to market a wedding business if you have never WORKED with a bride?  I have no doubt that her ‘system’ is well organized and planned but my problem is with the content. The media is already flooded with bad information for brides, now someone is mass producing it. Lovely.

Oh, the headline? Well this particular persons bio very proudly states her marketing experience for Oscar Meyer and Kraft Foods. I can think of no way that hot dogs relate to brides. Unless of course you count pigs in a blanket as a reception food!

You may see this a just another rant, but understand, I have been in the wedding industry since 1988 and I am very protective of it. I was all prepared to just drop this company as another flash in the pan. That is until they contacted me and offered to guest blog. Needless to say I had some questions for them in terms of experience in the wedding industry. Here is a direct quote from that correspondence.

{name removed}1 doesn’t work with brides.

She also has years of experience in market research and used that to help her learn about brides and their buying habits by interviewing friends, family and online research, as well as talking to other wedding professionals to learn more.

Ok, you want my respect? Get your butt down here in the trenches and begin to really understand what the wedding industry is all about.

 

1I thought long and hard about whether to include a name or link. obviously, I opted not to promote this company.

 

Filed Under: Back to Basics, Blog, Rants & Raves Tagged With: , ,

Facebook or Your Website? What’s More Important?

October 25, 2011 By 2 Comments

I was out trolling the internet for inspiration this morning and ran across a  little website I rather liked until I saw this on the portfolio page…

For current photos, please visit our blog or facebook fan page.

 

Excuse me but that is exactly backwards. Exactly Backwards. Your social media presence is (or should be) designed to funnel people to your website, not the other way around.

Your website is the main hub of all your marketing. Everything else you do should be designed to get them to that point. It is where you have (or should) the most real-estate to capture their undivided attention. It is where your contact forms are, your full portfolio, your pricing information and for goodness sake your freaking sale pitch. Why would you use it to send them somewhere else?????

But wait! there’s more…

What this one statement told me is that first off, the website was not designed with the clients needs in mind. You, as the site owner, should have full control of your site. You should have full reign to update any and everything on it. Moreover, you should have been trained on how to use it. If you weren’t, you are being held captive by your web designer.

Then there is the issue of the blog being on a different url. Why? Your blog should be a fully integrated part of your website. Your blog is one of your best SEO tools. It is a near effortless way to add important keywords and tagged images for the search engines to delight over. Why put that much effort into a blog in the hopes that people will make the leap to your website. Dang it, they should already be there.

{can’t your tell I am just slightly irritated}

How about this…

Your blog is an integrated part of your website, just another page really. You work hard and keep updating your blog. The best of the best pictures you also ad to your gallery/portfolio. Every time you do that, your site is set up to automatically post it to both your Facebook page and your Twitter account. Now doesn’t that sound simple?
How about…If you have a website, a separate blog and are still putting all you effort into your Facebook page you are working way to hard. Just like the hub that it is, your website should not only be the central point you bring everyone, but it should also radiate out your hard work.

One page to rule them all

or is that to Lord of the Rings?

Filed Under: Back to Basics, Blog, Rants & Raves, Social Media, Website marketing Tagged With: , , ,
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