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Get Married Folds. What’s Next?

December 1, 2011 By 6 Comments

All the buzz yesterday in the Wedding Water Cooler was about the demise of Get Married. According to their press release, the once promising platform will cease operation on December 16th, 2011.

When they first hit the scene, it looked like a winning idea; the marriage of print, online and TV. Sadly, they never got the kind of support from TV that was needed.  Web TV is still in it’s infancy and didn’t come fast enough for the folks at Get Married. They needed big backing from networks like Bravo or Lifetime and it didn’t come. Now whether that was a money thing or the programming they were producing just wasn’t that good, it was still a fail. Without the TV component being big, really big, Get Married was just another national wedding portal. Yawn.

Another nail in their coffin was the deal with Taylor Corporation. While I’m sure it brought a much needed cash infusion, it came at a price. The magazine became little more than a catalog for Taylor’s products. That was a slap in the face of any small local advertiser that Get Married hoped to attract. It also brought the unwanted problem of corporate masters. As long as Get Married retained it’s independence, it could remain nimble. Not so much with old school corporate investors breathing down your neck every quarter.

In short, another one bites the dust.

There was much discussion yesterday about whose next on the chopping block.  Here is how I see it:

The big boys aren’t going anywhere. Oh they may hunker down, shrink and layoff some folks, but I don’t see them folding. For instance, I can’t see Conde Nast folding their one remaining bridal title. David’s and the Knot have enough cash to ride out the economic storm for a while longer. They are the exceptions. What I don’t see them doing is gobbling up the small competitors as they start to devalue. Get Married tried that and no one was buying.

 

Here are the losers:

The Gajillion small websites that thought they could be the next Knot. National portals are dead and they are going to start folding quietly but at an amazing rate.

You will probably see more closings along the line of Encore Studios. I don’t just mean in the invitation business, but bloated, old-school thinkers that deal in volume rather than service. This group may or may not include some more bridal gown manufacturers.

I think a large percentage of the folks that rushed into the bridal world when they lost their corporate gigs or graduated university and couldn’t find a job will give up. It isn’t the “paved in gold”  party all the time, recession proof industry they thought it was.

What does this mean for we that remain? Hunker down, market local, build your own online presence and sit back and watch. It’s gonna be fun!

Filed Under: Ask Christine, Horror Stories, Trends Tagged With: , ,

Is The Knot Not Happy?

November 9, 2011 By 1 Comment

Thanks to some  ongoing discussions in The Wedding Water Cooler I became aware of a recent statement by the XO Group, parent company to The Knot.

You probably missed it. Heck I missed it. It was buried on page 17 of their most recent Q10 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (You read those, right?) anyway, thanks to reporter Paul Pannone for doing the due diligence of wading through this thing to find this statement.

It long, so I’ll highlight the good parts.

The Internet advertising and online markets in which our brands operate are rapidly evolving and intensely competitive, and we expect competition to intensify in the future.1 There are many wedding-related and baby-related sites on the Internet, which are developed and maintained by online content providers. New media platforms such as blogs are proliferating rapidly.2 Retail stores, manufacturers, wedding magazines and regional wedding directories also have online sites that compete with us for online advertising and merchandise revenue. We expect competition to increase because of the business opportunities presented by the growth of the Internet and e-commerce. Competition may also intensify as a result of industry consolidation and a lack of substantial barriers to entry in our market. In the wedding market, we also face competition for our services from bridal magazines. Bride’s magazine (published by Condé Nast), Bridal Guide (published by Meredith), and Martha Stewart Weddings (published by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia) are dominant bridal publications in terms of revenue and circulation.3 We believe that the principal competitive factors in the wedding market are brand recognition, convenience, ease of use, information, quality of service and products, member affinity and loyalty, reliability and selection. As to these factors, we believe that we compete favorably. Our dedicated editorial, sales and product staffs concentrate their efforts on producing the most comprehensive wedding resources available. Generally, many of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories, significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources and high name recognition. Therefore, these competitors have a significant ability to attract advertisers and users. In addition, many independent or start-up competitors may be able to respond more quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies and changes in Internet user requirements,4 and other competitors may be able to devote greater resources than we do to the development, promotion and sale of services. There can be no assurance that our current or potential competitors will not develop products and services comparable or superior to those developed by us or adapt more quickly than we do to new technologies, evolving industry trends or changing Internet user preferences. Any such developments or advantages of our competitors may have an impact on our future operations and may cause our past financial results not to be necessarily indicative of future operating results. Increased competition could result in price reductions, reduced margins or loss of market share, any of which would materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Ok, so I highlighted most of it.

This might help.

1Ya think? What have you been in a coma for the last few years?
2 Go bloggers! Again, this is new to you people? I have been screaming from the roof tops for years. The portal sites are DEAD.
3 Did they just notice that they aren’t the only game in town?
4Well of course they can. That’s why the blogs have been eating your lunch for at least the last three years. The internet today is about being nimble.

 

My point is that the only thing new about any of this is that the Knot is coming out and admitting what we have all known or suspected for years.
My question is are they just noticing this or has someone clued them in that we are sick of their fairy dust?

 

 #   #   #

 

Great I just found more to love about the Knot… I went looking for an image for this story and I ran across the company description. Clearly, their focus is on the “catalog” sector. In other words, they want to sell their products to brides and could care less about whether or not they buy from local vendors.

XO Group Incorporated Company Snapshot

Business Description:

XO Group Incorporated operates in the Catalog and mail-order houses sector. XO Group Incorporated Formerly known as Knot, Inc. (The). XO Group Inc., formerly The Knot, Inc., is a life-stage media and technology company. The Company connects engaged couples, newlyweds, and first-time parents with the community, products, and inspiration. The Company’s brands include The Knot, The Nest, The Bump, Weddingchannel, Wedding.com, Registry Services, Wedding Shop, Wedding Tracker, Lilaguide, Partyspot and Great Boyfriends. The Knot (www.theknot.com) is the Internet’s wedding planning solution. Its WeddingChannel.com packages planning information with a registry search tool. Both brands also deliver listings of local wedding planning services. The Company has launched many services: e-commerce, which is focused on personalized products for weddings and baby gifts; personal Website builders, and local mom social networks.

 You want my advice?

It hasn’t changed. Go local and build your own web presence. Yep, it may be easier to write a big honkin’ check each month to companies like the Knot instead of doing your own homework on local and building up your site. But then, so is just throwing your money in the fireplace; same results.

Filed Under: Announcement, Blog, Horror Stories, Rants & Raves, What's Not

The Encore Invitation Debacle

October 24, 2011 By 3 Comments

Have you been following the Encore Invitations bankruptcy story? Paul Panonne has been doing a great job on it on his website eWedNewz.com. 

While Paul reports the news, my role is analysis and here is my take on this whole mess.

If you have been watching the trends, DIY is huge and invitations and the entire paper suite are at the top of the list.  Additionally, more and more couples that are having them professionally done are opting for one of a kind, hand crafted invitations from artists like Michelle  Mospens.

My feeling is that as word of the Encore failure and the deplorable way they handled it filters down to the consumer the net effect will be to drive more and more brides away from the large traditional invitation companies and into the waiting arms of the hand-craftsman. Whether those hands are their own or those of a professional artisan.

And why not?

Brides today are hell bent on as much personalization as possible. This is just going to increase an already hot trend.

Let’s take it a step further. If you add this mess to other things like Priscilla’s of Boston and countless other closings, you begin to see a picture being painted for today’s brides that leaves them fearful of ordering anything. They want it in their hand, or they want to find a small, reputable craftsman that cares about what they create that they can build a relationship of trust with.

If you are one of these small craftsman, as am I, now is your time to shine. Build trust, build relationships, show them that you aren’t some large corporate entity that sees business only in spreadsheets and ignores the human quotient.

Filed Under: Ask Christine, Horror Stories, Trends Tagged With: ,

DIY Your Niche

February 14, 2011 By 4 Comments

My friend Sheryl shared a press release she ran across about how Micheal’s is upgrading their wedding section to add more upscale designs. It just so happened that I had the opportunity yesterday to poke my head into the wedding aisle at this mecca of DIY. What I found got me thinking.

It wasn’t the products that intrigued me, but the shopper. Here stood a lovely young women, looking flustered, frustrated and not at all happy. Such is the truth about DIY.

To read the forums, the blogs and the magazines, crafting and creating all the details of your perfect wedding are a pleasure and a joy unspeakable; something akin to walking barefoot through a field and picking daisies. Well, as a life long crafter, I am here to tell you that is about as far from the truth as it gets. Then you go and add a deadline, a million other tasks and the looming presence of “The Biggest Day OF MY LIFE”  and you have a recipe for a major meltdown. I wonder just how many weddings have been canceled by grooms witnessing an overload of DIY?

I know, just make them stop doing it and we will all be a lot happier. Sorry kids, that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

But…

You can use it to your advantage.

How you ask?

Trust me, when they finally cry “uncle” the person that picks them up, dusts them off and helps then finish is going to be their hero and they will pay handsomely. You have to have the right attitude about it, you can’t be all “I told you so” you have to be the kindly big sis/brother that just wants their day to be perfect. You will want to explain ~gently~ that you do of course have to pay your staff.

Business success has always been about finding a problem and then solving it. I am here to tell you, this is a problem!

Filed Under: Blog, Building Your Business, Horror Stories, Trends Tagged With: , ,

The End of Marriage?

August 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It has been a long held belief that the wedding industry is recession proof; couples would always marry. I’m not so sure that is always going to be true.

Let’s start with some simple things. Several years ago it was predicted that as Gen Y started hitting the prime marrying age (27 for women) that the number of weddings would see a steady increase for at least a 10 year span. This was the largest generation since the baby boomers and all things pointed to golden days for the wedding industry based on the power of the sheer number of individuals.

Instead, the number of weddings has fallen. Of course the standard answer is “It’s the economy, stupid.”

Well, that’s true, but maybe not just for the reasons that you think.

Yes some couples are postponing their weddings to wait for better economic times but there seems to be some recent data that says women are beginning to fore go marriage altogether. A read of this recent article in The Atlantic, The End of Men, will give us a few clues.This article expands on some of the data uncovered in the University of Virginia report, The State Of Our Unions

Today’s generation of marriage age women come from a much different framework than women of past generations. These women were raised in a post-feminist era. They were raised to believe that there were no limits on what they themselves could accomplish.

Past generations were concerned with choosing the right mate to anchor their financial situation and allow them to provide a stable environment in which to raise a family. For most everyone, marriage was an expected life-stage and two parent families were the expectation. As a generation that became accustomed to seeing the ravages of divorce, they no longer trusted that model. Today’s women are more likely to pursue a career that will provide them the level of financial security they desire rather than seek a husband. They have been taught to put their trust in themselves and that has come to include having and raising children.

Here is one more point to look at. What was the traditional nuclear family of the pre-feminist era? The man was the primary breadwinner, the woman was the caretaker. The man went out into the world and earned a living and the woman stayed home and took over all the functions that allowed him to do so:keeping the home, raising the children.

As our society has changed and seen the rise of the service industry, there is nothing to do with keeping the home that can’t be hired out. Children are customarily raised by nannies and daycare, even the education system is pushing children into formal education at younger ages.

In short, creating a home in which to raise a family no longer needs two people; just one with a good enough paycheck. If you have read the Atlantic article, then you know that the effect the current recession has had is that increasingly, it will be the women that will be the ones best suited to earning that paycheck. They are educating themselves at a higher rate than men and of the 15 job categories projected to grow the most in the next decade in the U.S., all but two are occupied primarily by women.

Which brings us back around to marriage and weddings. What does this hold for our industry?

I don’t think that weddings will go away, but they will be more thought out and will happen for different reasons than traditionally.

Traditionally weddings were to mark a change in life stages. I see them becoming more and more a public declaration of a commitment to travel life’s road in tandem.

Saying that, yes, I think that there will be fewer weddings, but boy, will they be special. They will be more personal, and less conventional. We are already seeing that begin to manifest itself in the spurning of some traditions and the additions of new ones. Brides are no longer holding on to any pretext of the past. Couples are finding their own meaning and crafting their own celebrations. What’s more, I think that couples having these new types of weddings will be willing to spend more to get what they want simply because they are now doing something they truly want to do rather that something that is expected.

As wedding professionals, to survive, you will increasingly have to look and think outside the box.

Start out by reading both of the articles. Yes I know they are long. Then do some thinking on your own. The celebration of two people choosing to publicly declare their love for one another isn’t going to go away, but I feel that it sure is going to change. How are you going to roll with it?

Filed Under: Facts & Stat, Horror Stories Tagged With: ,

Budget Cutting Tips?!

July 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
From The Archives, August 2007

When I started out researching this article it was intended for the “What Brides Say” column, but the more I read the more I realized that it really, really needed to be under horror stories. So if you are inclined to fits of apoplexy you might want to just skip this column this month!

I surfed through the Planning board on the knot.com and the Cutting Cost board over at IndieBride.com. Here are some of the best of the best along with a bit of pithy commentary from yours truly. If you want to chime in just cut and paste along with your comments over on the forums.

“I cut the middle man out of purchasing my gowns. I would have paid $1900 for the formal gown and $900 for my dance dress. I hired a company that operates in Shanghai, sent them detailed photos and measurements and paid 215 for both gowns. I can now afford to do the gift bags and extras.”

Oh I can’t wait to see how this one turns out. She may very well end up in a dress from Target but she will have lovely gift bags, won’t she?

“if you’re not completely set on having flower centerpieces, you also could do something with paper lanterns – i’m ordering the red 12″ lanterns from this website and illuminating them with votives, and then surrounding them w/ 3-5 votives on each table”

Doesn’t this strike anyone else as a bit of a fire hazard?  I hope she saved enough to buy some really good insurance and lawyers.

“-bought our sheet cakes at Costco, instead of through our baker. They taste great & are only $15-serves 50pp”

Just who decides which guests get the cheap cake? “Oh, you are on the groom’s side? Here we have special cake for you”

“-making our own cd favors-total cost is less than $1 each”

Living in Nashville and being very aware of the ramifications of illegally downloading and then reproducing the pirated tunes I am waiting for the day that some bride gets handed a subpoena at her own reception. Again, I hope you save enough to hire a good lawyer.

I think we have all heard this one before.

“We also only have 1 hour of formal pictures knowing that everyone in my family is big on digital pictures and will send us the photo links and get thousands of improptu pictures that way.”

I am sure your photographer is thanking you even as we speak for the opportunity to set up all those shots for the amateurs. Isn’t that what they live for? sigh

I think we can all relate to some of the nonsense that goes on in an effort to have the wedding they want with out actually having to pay for it. Every now and then however one of them gets it. This was listed under smart splurges.

“1. our wedding planner – she has already more than made up for her fee by negotiating photo, band, catering and rentals costs”.

As one parting shot at how some of our brides think, read this with special emphasis (mine) on the italicized word. You have to kind of feel sorry for everyone involved in that wedding.

“I just recently underwent my own wedding and wanted to share a few tips I discovered along the way.

Filed Under: Horror Stories

The Bigger We Grow the Bigger Target We Become

June 30, 2010 By 1 Comment

This is from the “Way Back” machine. It was originally published on Think Like  A Bride in November 2006.

I am adding it to the archives because it highlights how we got to where we are today.

November 2006

If you think the wedding industry isn’t poised to change in some pretty radical
ways over the next few years you aren’t paying attention. You have only to look at this recent press release. If bridal wasn’t a hot market financial advisers and investment firms wouldn’t be taking notice. David’s isn’t on the verge being snapped up by someone in retail, a mergers and acquisitions firm is bidding it on. Do you remember the film Wall Street? These people pick business the size of most of ours out of their teeth. Watch your backs my friends.

October 30, 2006 10:00 AM Eastern Time

U.S. Wedding Industry Booming, Despite

More Cohabitation and Smaller

Percentage of Married Households

$100 Billion, Highly Fragmented Market Primed for Continued Growth, Says Study by The Mercanti Group

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Recent census data may suggest that more couples are cohabitating rather than marrying, but growth in the $100 billion U.S. wedding industry certainly isn’t showing any signs of slowing. According to a report issued by The Mercanti Group, a financial advisory firm focused on providing merger and acquisition, capital raising and strategic advisory solutions for small and middle market companies, the cost of the average wedding has nearly doubled since 1990, to $27,000, a rate more than 25 percent ahead of the average annual U.S. GDP growth rate during the same period.

The report, authored by Mercanti Principal Dave Remick and published in the firm’s October 2006 issue of the “Mercanti Chronicle,” predicts that the wedding industry will continue to generate compelling year-over-year growth for the foreseeable future. Given the approaching marital age of the country’s largest generation since the Baby Boomers, Mercanti expects overall growth of 20% or more in the wedding business over the next 20-25 years.

While the wedding industry is flourishing, it remains highly fragmented and may not be conducive to traditional market consolidation, the report states. Since most industry participants are small, independent local businesses, such as caterers, wedding planners, dress shops and photographers, so-called “pureplay” investment strategies are scarce.

“Our research indicates that new investment opportunities capitalizing on the positive wedding industry dynamics are most likely to result from an ‘adapt’ rather than an ‘adopt’ strategy,” said Mr. Remick. “Companies that can modify or augment a portion of their existing business models to focus on wedding-related products and activities will be best-suited to meet the growing demand from a difficult to reach, and yet very desirable, demographic group.”

Mercanti’s report does identify a few existing pure-play investment opportunities, including such well-established media, Internet and retail companies as:

  • Condé Nast — owner of Fairchild Publications (which publishes such magazines as Bride’s, Elegant Bride and Modern Brides).
  • The Knot Inc. — owner of TheKnot.com, WeddingChannel.com, TheNest.com and thelilaguide.com Websites.
  • Federated Department Stores (NYSE: FD) — whose Bridal Group (consisting of David’s Bridal stores, After Hours formalwear and Priscilla of Boston) has been widely rumored as a potential acquisition target.

According to Mercanti, an example of an effective adapt strategy is the success The Men’s Wearhouse (NYSE: MD) has enjoyed in starting and growing its tuxedo rental business. Between 2003 and 2005, tuxedo rentals nearly doubled as a percentage of the company’s sales, translating to additional revenue of $45.1 million during the period.

“Not only did the move add an incremental, higher-margin revenue stream, it also drove additional customer traffic to the company’s stores,” said Mr. Remick. “We expect an increasing number of businesses to employ a similar approach, with increased capital investments from private equity firms playing an important role.”

Other key statistics from the report, based on Mercanti research and data published by Conde Nast, The Wedding Report and Fairchild Bridal Infobank, include:

  • There are currently more than 44,000 weddings each weekend in the U.S., or 2.3 million per year.
  • The average cost of a wedding has nearly doubled since 1990, from approximately $15,000 to more than $27,000 (excluding ancillary wedding-related expenditures such as the honeymoon, engagement ring and gifts, which on average can total an additional $14,000 or more).
  • Today’s newlyweds are older, more established and are staying engaged longer. On average, today’s bride is 27 years old and her fiancée is 29. Their household income is $74,000, and they remain engaged for an average of 17 months (compared to 11 months in 1990).
  • After the $100 billion spent on the wedding, honeymoon and gifts, couples, on average, spend an additional $80 billion within their first year of marriage on automotive, financial services and home-related purchases.
  • Echo Boomers (the sons and daughters of the Baby Boom generation) are just starting to reach their mid-20’s, and represent the largest U.S. generation since the Baby Boomers, encompassing more than 70 million men and women.

About The Mercanti Group

The Mercanti Group is a results-oriented boutique financial advisory firm that embraces a fierce commitment to client service and provides creative Merger & Acquisition, Capital Raising and Strategic Advisory solutions to small and middle market companies, private equity firms and individual business owners in the consumer, health care, technology,

Filed Under: Horror Stories, Trends

It Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

March 2010

I really didn’t want to write this article; what with not wanting to be the bearer of bad tidings and the thought of “Don’t shoot the messenger” ringing in my head.  I know you expect the no BS truth out of me, so I might as well be the one to take the hit. I don’t think we have seen the worst of the recession yet. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.

There I said it. Now here is why.

This thing has its root in the housing bubble and mortgage crisis. There is another wave of really bad news on the horizon on that. I have seen it described as a “coming tsunami.” Great.

First this from BusinessInsider.com

FHA Mortgage Default Rate Soars, Here Comes Another Tidal Wave Of Foreclosures

dateline: February 2, 2010

The share of borrowers who are falling seriously behind on loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration jumped by more than a third in the past year, foreshadowing a crush of foreclosures that could further buffet an agency vital to the housing market’s recovery.

About 9.1 percent of FHA borrowers had missed at least three payments as of December, up from 6.5 percent a year ago, the agency’s figures show.

This came from Housing Wire. Financial news for the mortgage market

Mortgages Keep Falling Behind in Q309

Dateline: December 21, 2009

Seriously delinquent mortgages – those behind 60 or more days – climbed to 6.2%, a 16.7% increase from Q209. New foreclosure actions took place on more than 369,000 loans, and of all the mortgages studied, 3.2% fell into the foreclosure process.

The report also showed delinquencies creeping into prime mortgage pools. The percentage of prime mortgages falling into serious delinquency reached 3.6% in Q309, up 19.6% from the previous quarter.

This from the Huffington Post confirms the trend in the above article

Housing Woes To Continue, More Losses Coming

Dateline:February 24, 2010

The nation’s second-largest bank expects the number of delinquent home loans to skyrocket over the next year, echoing analysts’ expectations of a gloomy housing market that is nowhere near recovery.

JPMorgan Chase’s pessimistic outlook cuts across the entire housing market. In its annual report filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the lender says its writeoffs — those loans so delinquent they’re uncollectible — could jump 26 percent for its prime mortgage loans, 25 percent for subprime loans, and 19 percent for home equity loans.

Something else to think about, from the information I have been gathering, these are not the sub-prime mortgages that got this all started. Those ill-conceived loans that went to borrowers that probably shouldn’t have qualified in the first place are pretty much already gone. What is fueling this crisis are the Adjustable rate mortgages that were originally made in2007 and 2008 that will start readjusting in 2010.

Here is the thing that has me concerned. You keep seeing the news reports that the economy is recovering at least slightly. That may be true but it is on the back of an unprecedented economic government handout that goes by the name of TARP.  Well what happens when this next round of foreclosures hits? I do not think that the government has it in their guts to go back to the American people and tell them they are going to finance another round of bailouts. The politicians in Washington are already petrified of the midterm elections in November. They don’t dare risk another handout to the investment banks.

Oh, and do you think we have seen anything but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to commercial real-estate? You’ve been to the malls, you’ve seen the empty stores.

This from the Huffington Posts

Elizabeth Warren Warns About Commercial Real Estate Crisis, ‘Downward Spiral’ For Small Businesses, Local Banks

Dateline:February 11, 2010

Even as the economy shows signs of recovery, a government watchdog is warning that another financial crisis is coming round the bend — and that the Treasury Department and financial regulators are not prepared to deal with it.

“There is a commercial real estate crisis on the horizon, and there are no easy solutions to the risks commercial real estate may pose to the financial system and the public,” says a report issued Thursday by the Congressional Oversight Panel,…

… Over the next five years, about $1.4 trillion in commercial real estate loans will reach the end of their terms and require new financing. Nearly half are “underwater,” meaning the borrower owes more than the property is worth. Commercial property values have fallen more than 40 percent nationally since their 2007 peak. Vacancy rates are up and rents are down, further driving down the value of these properties.

When the reckoning comes, it could threaten everyone from banks and pension funds to renters and small businesses — and small banks could be particularly vulnerable.

Like I said, I didn’t want to write this article but I would have be a liar if I didn’t. Keep your heads down, your eyes open and keep doing what you have been doing.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep reading all the nasty stuff out there for you and report on it when I must.

Filed Under: Horror Stories Tagged With:

Battleing Bad Advice

May 27, 2010 By 2 Comments

From the time I first started Think Like A bride one of the major complaints I have had has been the abundance of BAD information that brides receive.
This slants their views and makes our job harder.  Whether that information comes from authors like the Fields with their bestseller Bargain Bride or small little websites like the DJ I once saw telling brides that if their baker wouldn’t agree to bake their cake on the day of their wedding to find someone else; it has been a never ending battle.

Similarly I have long advocated trade groups as a way for we small wedding professional to fight this battle. The problem has been that the trade groups by and large have just stood by as their members complained or they simple failed to take notice. Well that may be starting to change.

In the last few weeks I have seen 2 trade groups start to stand up and fight for their members. BSPI and the Society  of American Florists. Maybe it is the economy or maybe they have some new blood in leadership roles but something has caused it to hit a tipping point. For the florists, it was this segment on the Today Show.

{I originally had the video clip embedded here but The Today Show at MSN.com has replaced the link with one of Venus Williams. Hmmmmm? Curious.}

When a source with as big of a following as the Knot goes on a show of the stature of The Today Show with what is completely bullshit information the florists themselves took notice and apparently created a big enough wave of comments that their trade organization had to step up and be counted. Bravo!  My question is: is this an emerging trend or a flash in the pan?

If you are a small independent wedding professional your only hope in combating this kind of stupidity in information is to belong to and strengthen the organizations that represent you. You have to get behind them and demand that they speak out loudly when they see this kind of misinformation being hawked as the truth.

The piece on the Today Show was Not an isolated incident, just a very public one. As more and more people create content for the internet as a way of marketing themselves, more stupidity comes out every day. Where is the watchdog for the wedding vendors?

The stance of Carley Roney and the Knot is that they are and will continue to be advocates for the average bride. How does giving bad, if not blatantly false information to the group they say the advocate for doing anything but hurting them. Why arm brides with unrealistic expectations?

It is the time that fighting back is becoming the only smart option. Unfortunately, one or two upset vendors have very little voice. Simply complaining about it on your blog won’t do any good. You will be a voice in the wilderness with the distinct smell of sour grapes. It will take the louder voices of trade organizations speaking on behalf of their members to get the kind of attention that is needed.

I am not talking about shutting down these voices, I simply want them to be held accountable for the inaccuracies in the advice they are doling out to unsuspecting brides.

Here is my advice, build your networks. Strengthen your trade organizations. Run for leadership roles if you must. Keep the many eyes and ears of the members open to the inaccuracies and then demand that your organization jump on them with both feet. They need to defend you, the members. That should be a major part of their purpose.

My friends, this will only get worse if something is not done. If you choose to stand idly by and do nothing, then do not complain when brides walk into you shop with the most unrealistic demands.

You have the power and the responsibility to protect yourself and your business.

Filed Under: Horror Stories Tagged With: ,