Small Business Brief

Retail

Top 10 Bridal Shop Marketing Tips


The wedding business is booming like never before, which means competition is more fierce than ever. Here are 10 tips for marketing your bridal shop.


As a bridal shop owner, your No. 1 goal is to make sure that each client who enters your shop ends up saying yes to the dress. The question is, how can you get more clients to pass through your doors?

The wedding business is booming like never before, which means competition is fiercer than ever. For this reason, marketing plays an essential role in your bridal shop’s success.

Here are 10 tips for marketing your bridal shop effectively during wedding season in 2018.

1. Conduct Online Research For Marketing Your Bridal Shop

If you’re a small business owner, believe it or not, you have an advantage that bigger companies don’t have. You can offer amazing one-on-one customer service in a way that your larger competitors can’t.

An easy way of doing this is to put your detective cap on and start researching your clients online before their appointments with your shop. For instance, check out their Facebook or Instagram profile pages.

This will allow you to match these clients with the sales associates who best fit their unique personalities.

For instance, maybe your next appointment is with a diva bride-to-be, or maybe she’s more laid back. Either way, you can pair her with the associate who will give her the interaction she truly wants.

But don’t just do this. Advertise that you do this — that you are all about putting your client’s needs and interests first.

This will spark positive word-of-mouth, or WOM, promotion of your business from your current clients to prospective clients.

2. Advertise Online

Another important step when marketing your bridal shop is to take advantage of paid Web advertising.

Ad companies will pay the owners of sites associated with bridal shop keywords to place your advertisements on these websites. These keywords may include, for instance, “affordable bridal gowns” or “plus-size bridal shop” — whatever fits your shop’s focus area.

Then, you’ll pay the ad company based on click throughs — when internet users click on your advertisement — or when users perform certain actions, such as completing your shop’s email form.

Additional methods of Web advertising include paid weblog posts, text links, and banner ads.

3. Visit Online Sites

While we’re on the subject of being online, here’s another way you can market your bridal shop: Visit online websites that target brides (for instance, The Knot), and become an active participant in bulletin boards and forums.

You can even ask representatives of the site if they could publish a blog of yours that contains a link back to your website. In addition, some sites might accept ads from you instead of from an ad company.

4. Partner with Related Businesses

One of the most effective ways in which to draw more clients is to partner with related businesses who already have them.

Brides-to-be require a large range of services and products, not just the ones you offer through your shop.

For instance, Morilee Madeline Gardner offers bridal gowns along with bridesmaid dresses and accessories. A shop like this may benefit from teaming up with businesses that sell flowers, provide limo service or offer wedding cakes.

The partnership doesn’t have to be complicated. For instance, something as simple as placing your business cards by these other companies’ cash registers can make a huge difference.

Of course, don’t partner with companies that are your direct competition. Instead, focus on those that effectively complement what you have to offer.

5. Take Part in Trade Shows

If you’re serious about getting your name out there, why not get out there physically by being a part of a trade show?

Trade shows are held in multiple places due to the large size of today’s wedding market. In addition to attending a wedding-specific show, you can make yourself available at shows that focus on women in general.

6. Create Free Guidebooks

If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you know that everyone loves free stuff. So, why not win consumers’ hearts by offering a short guidebook regarding a topic that guides would find interesting?

For instance, maybe your guidebook can be about wedding planning, wedding reception tips or even creating a budget for a wedding. You may even describe in detail how to select the right wedding dress.

If you’re not interested in writing the content yourself, simply hire a freelance writer to get the job done. Then, make your guide downloadable once an internet user provides you with her name along with her email address.

Finally, get in touch with the bride-to-be each week via email with extra tips and hints, which will serve as gentle reminders of your shop.

7. Maximize Social Media

If the majority of your business comes from WOM referrals, you’re not alone. In this situation, it only makes sense to keep allowing your customers to advertise for you on social media.

In other words, let them be your company’s walking billboards.

One creative way of doing this is to write a client’s name on a chalkboard and have her take a picture beside her name and your company’s name. Then, let her post this picture on Instagram or Facebook with a hashtag featuring your shop’s name.

This is a simple way of creating awareness about your bridal shop without spending a penny. Plus, it’s a credible form of promotion, as your client is sharing her own excitement.

8. Offer a Contest

We already mentioned earlier that people like free stuff. So, it should come as no surprise that consumers love contests.

Your shop could easily offer a contest and promote it on social media. Maybe the winner will receive a discount on a select item in your shop, for example.

Just make sure that your contest is set up to where brides-to-be have to be active on social media platforms to enter it.

9. Pay Attention to Your Bridal Shop Website

Your website is a critical part of your marketing efforts, so make sure that it is in tip-top shape.

This includes updating the site with your shop’s best offerings. Also, make sure that your “About Us” page accurately reflects what your company is all about. And don’t forget to update your sales page copy.

In addition, hire a search engine optimization expert to improve your site’s searchability so that your business climbs higher on search engine results pages.

10. Prioritize Online Customer Service

Finally, take customer service seriously — not just in person but also online.

For instance, reply to online inquiries as soon as possible. And take time to reply to users’ questions on Twitter, even if the questions aren’t necessarily directed at your shop.

Trust us: You’ll stand out for all of the right reasons.

How We Can Help

We are your leading provider of comprehensive small business information and news.

Contact us to find out how we can help your shop to grow and maintain a positive reputation this year and in the years ahead.



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