Promoting A Wedding and Event Planning Business

[eventplanner]

Hi everyone. I am writing because I am in need of some help. I recently started my own wedding and event planning business. I live in a small town and there was nothing like this at all when I started researching this 4-5 years ago. I wanted to be prepared...I took courses , I visited venues, I did everything to be completely prepared to open my business. Business is slow but that is to be expected, I am new and willing to give it some time.

However, here is the catch. Since I officially opened my business, 2 women have each started their own wedding planning businesses. I have been working on this for a while, but I guess with all the tv shows on now it has become a Fad.

I am wondering if anyone has any unique ideas to help one promote a business differently and to stand out from the rest. I have done all the advertising and the normal things, but now am looking for something a little different.

NEED HELP FAST as I am starting to stress out and wonder if this is for me.
Thanks in advance.

[Logan]

Welcome aboard

I don't have a magical answer, but partly just wanted to welcome you. It can be stressful, but take a deep breath and keep things in perspective. While I can understand your concern, I also had some other thoughts when reading your post that you might not have considered. While you are concerned about the new competition, some consider this to be a plus. Since there has not been party planning services in your area before, it is relatively new. By other companies also joining in the market it helps establish/reinforce what you are doing. In a small way, when they advertise wedding planning they are also reinforcing to others that the services are valuable/important. I would imagine that regardless of what you do, you will always have 'some' competition. No one spends money without considering alternatives - even if do it yourself. Now as these potential clients call your new competition, they will also likely call you. Of course this works the other way around also. I would be prepared. Also you might want to consider (quitly/secretly) have someone else mystery shop their services to identify how you are positioned regarding important factors such as services, quality, customer service, price, etc.

For now, keep doing what you are doing. Don't lose focus - it may be your biggest opportunity ... and get busy with the motivation you've within your post. Competition is a good thing, and it is spurring to do what you should have always been doing. Hopefully others will give you some specifics, there are also a zillion ideas within the other forums already so go through them. Best of luck, and we are here when ever you need some help

[eventplanner]

THank you so much Logan for your response. You had some great points and actually made me look at this is a positive way. I will take those tips and just run with it. I have been planning this for 5 years now and cant let a little competition ruin my dream. I have talked to family about this but sometimes I think they tend to just say "oh dont worry" with no advice, so its great to have a stranger put things in perspective. With this kind of business there is no overhead so even if things are slow....I already have a full time job so I can take the time to slowly move into it. You are so right about the shopping around part. I do it myself so all I need to do is sell myself and my business .

I apprecite you taking the time to write me .
Thanks again!!

[east2west]

That was great advice Chris, as usual. (I wish I had someone like you on my staff) I agree that competition can have as many positives as negatives.

The only thing I can add is that I notice you have no website in your signature, so forgive for making assumptions, but this may indicate you don't have a website. In this day and age I think this is a must for any business. Almost everyone I know searches on the web in instances they are going to spend any significant amount of money (including planning for a wedding)

A website is a small investment and the return can be phenomenal. Not to mention adds legitimacy to your business in my opinion.

[Logan]

Thanks - I'm happy to hear it was helpful.

I agree regarding the website. I was thinking a bit more about your scenario and here are a few specific tactics I would do. I hesitate to throw them out, because people shouldn't just do this and think they are set. You need to promote your business, just as if you never did these.

Since your business is very local in nature, I would ....

1) Referral program - do you have one? If not that is where I would start. What is the incentive for anyone in the world to refer another to you. Put a system in place, promote it and be generous when others are generous in referring their family and friends to your business. The incentive can be anything - but make it good. It doesn't have to be related to your business - (i.e 15% off your next wedding ... lol) - but be creative. Refer someone to us and get a free weekend in Las Vegas to play. I'm not suggesting that, but giving an analogy.

2) Advertise. You need to figure out the businesses and places where those you are targeting might be. Off the top of my head .... churches. How many churches are in your area? Every church I've been in has small ads. Members can buy these to support the church - usually the only ones who do by the way. But they accept ads even if you aren't a member. If you advertise consistently in a bulletin - many will see every week. That may provide a lead, but more likely when the church is asked - you'll be top of mind because you advertise with them. What other businesses can you network and advertise with.

3) Website/advertising - I agree with Jason/east2west. On top of that I would do two things. The first is I would buy Jen's ebook on beginning seo - Small Business Guide To Search Engine Marketing. Do this before building your website. I realize it costs money - but if you get a single sale from it eventually it will have more than paid for itself. I have read it, I am familiar with SEO, and I honestly think it is one of the best things you can do. Also take some time to read this Free Small Business Startup Ebook. Good stuff in there, for examples people walking around town with cool shirts promoting your business might not be a bad idea. Heck, you could sell custom wedding supplies. Read that ebook to understand more what I'm talking about.

Outside of that and search optimization ...

3a) Setup a google adwords campaign limited to only showing ads to those searching in your geographical area. When someone in your city searches for wedding planning - you want your website to show at the top. This is on a pay per click basis - but if you only show ads to those in your geographic area then there should only be a few and those are very targeted people you do want to pay to advertise to. Do keyword research, what search terms are popular? If you need help getting the ads to show only for your area, let us know. You can set by zip code, mileage radius, and just about anything you can imagine.

4) List your business within local online directories. The bonus of this one is that if you don't have a website, you can still list your business. For example www.google.com/local/add. You can also submit your business to the yellow pages. Are there popular directories in your local area. Make sure you are in the yellow pages, and as many as possible. Some are free.

Hopefully that will help you get started. As said though, don't do this instead of what you were going to do. Do this in addition to other things you need to do to promote your Business. As you work thru that, here is another thread you might want to check out - 13 Ways To Promote Your Local Business For Free.

[LsuTigers]

First of all welcome! Some great feedback with truly understanding your competition and how that in itself an help differentiate you from the others. You mentioned you have advertised your business, one area you will see many rewards from is using other businesses in the wedding industry. Develop relationships with bridal stores, caterers, photographers, florists etc to help spread the word of you and your business. There are many local networking groups that regularly meet that allow you to introduce yourself and your business. Keep the passion and drive, its great being able to follow dreams and the rewards generated.

[AdamG]

LsuTigers best me to the relationships so I'll just reinforce it. You want these other suppliers to weddings to refer couples to you. Is it possible to set up some cross-referrals with them? If not, just make sure you keep in touch with them on a regular basis.

Another is testimonials from couples, preferably with photos, to tell people what a wonderful job you have done. These should be more than just 'gushy', give more of the story, speak of the unexpected etc.

Testimonials are a form of risk removal. They tell potential clients that you can be trusted to do the right thing form them on their special day

Is you market big enough to specialise in a particular niche. I had a wedding celebrant in a recent workshop. She specialised in tailor-made ceremonies and avoided the 'here is a menu of services' to choose from. She worked hard to get a really good understanding of their needs and designed the ceremony around them. And of course charged a bit more.

[Peter Bowen]

Hi,

At one time I owned a business in a related field (sound and staging and lighting hire) and found that most of the work was from a few clients and almost all the work could be traced back to one or two initial contacts.

I'd suggest advertising using a two part strategy - this is a well known concept so you might have already done it - compile a report - "10 things that can go wrong on your wedding day and how to avoid them" or something along those lines. Advertise the free report in "exchange" for contact details. A tiny advert like this is much cheaper than a large one so you can feature it more often with your budget.

Once you've got the details - then you can send personal advertising.

Put the invitiation to get the report on your business cards, everywhere.

Don't forget to advertise (very subtly) to the people at the events - they're know what you can do.

More ideas will be provided once you've done the first two

Cheers

Pete

[laurie1009]

Hi,

These have all been great responses and ideas.

I want to just reinforce what Adam said about a niche. Is there something that you can do that your competition doesn't? Something that will make you stand out? I think that is one of your best bets to make people notice you.

Of course, there's no guarantee that once you do it, your competition won't copy you, but you have to do your best and hang in there. There will always be competition. I have a business to help others find home businesses and there is a lot of competition. But you can learn from your competition too and try to improve on it.

Best of luck.

[UrbanDan]

I have a friend who is a videographer and does a lot of weddings. He didn't get a lot of business until he started networking with other wedding providers-- florists, DJs, bakeries. Once he networked with them, referrals came his way. Perhaps you should try that angle.