Event / Wedding Planner Business and Marketing Tips

Pricing your wedding planning services

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 19:21:00 -0400

Today we are honored to have guest columnist Jill from The Main Event in Steamboat Springs, CO, which specializes in destination weddings, booking national and regional entertainment and event planning services. I love my career as a wedding and event planner, and for more than a decade I have had the privilege of planning weddings in one of the most beautiful places in the country; Steamboat Springs, Colorado. One of the more difficult aspects of running an event business is finding the right pricing for services. Our rates have waxed and waned a bit over the past decade what with the national economy still in limbo and the national trend to hire wedding planners being slightly down. Pricing for your wedding planning services may need to be flexible, as to accommodate a variety of factors including your geographical location, cost of living in the area, your planning experience and industry contacts. Many planners charge a percentage of the overall budget. To date, I have never met a client that opts for this rate structure unless we put ceilings on the fees as well as charge a minimum in the case of the planner saving the client money (which we often do with contract negotiations and long standing vendor relationships which allows us to take advantage of preferred rates.) The average percentage to charge for weddings is between 10% - 15% of the overall budget. Of course as a planner it is your job to come up with an accurate working budget. (More on that topic in a future post!) Other clients like a flat fee and most choose that option; but the fees you can charge need to be in line with what the local market will bear . Another factor for setting your fees needs to be your experience; a new planner with only a couple of years experience can charge somewhere in the range of $750 - $1250 for wedding day coordination while experienced planners can start day of packages at $1500 and run upwards of $3000. For full wedding planning packages fees could start around $3000 and can go up from there. Offering a set range of services to your clients will help them understand what is included in each package you create for each price range. Finally, don't price yourself out of the market: most clients will choose neither the least or most expensive planner, so be sure you are priced competitively and in line or just below your competitors.

5 unspoken truths about marketing your business with social media

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:08:00 -0400

With the arrival of social media, the Web world has changed dramatically. Before applications like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter arrived, most people used the Web for shopping, playing games and digging up information. Now, everyone from grandparents to tweens is online and posting to their favorite social media sites, and businesses are trying to figure out how to reach them. Unfortunately, there's tons of misinformation and bad advice out there (believe us, because we've sifted through lots of it). So, if you're considering diving into social media to market your wedding planner business, or if you're already using it to some extent, here are five things you should know. 1. Social media may not be for you
If you don't like small talk or chit-chat, then you probably also won't like communicating via social media. Unlike longer format platforms like blogging, social media requires posting lots of short updates, tidbits, tips, ideas, links, pictures and images. In addition, to gain a following you need to be regular and consistent about posting. If this sounds like chore to you, then you may want to consider another marketing tactic, because being an occasional social media marketer is really a waste of your time. An alternative: Have an employee or someone you know who likes to use social media post updates to your Facebook page or Twitter account. This involves a certain level of trust, so make sure the person speaking for your company will represent you appropriately. 2. Social media may - or may not - be an ideal fit for your type of business
Social media marketing is dramatically different from "normal" marketing. With social media, hyping your product or spamming people with promotional messages will, at best, get you ignored and, at worst, will get you kicked out of the community. Instead, your objective is to create a following around your posts and content, hoping that your followers and online friends will eventually need your services or refer someone who does. The assumption here is that your audience uses social media and is willing to engage with you, neither of which is a guarantee. Luckily for most wedding planners, 20 to 35 year olds are some of the biggest users of social media. But many of them also believe everything online should be free, making it more difficult to market a premium service like wedding planning. Herein lies the challenge. An option: Offer a free guide or white paper to potential clients for liking your Facebook page or following you on Twitter, providing them with enough useful information to establish yourself as an expert and to make them want more. To do this, you can create a Facebook reveal page (for an example, see the My Wedding Workbook Pro Facebook page; we used IFrameEngine's free tool to set up our Facebook page) or a free service like Pay With a Tweet . 3. You don't need thousands of followers ... just a few influential ones.
The great thing about social media is that it doesn't always matter how many people follow and like you; instead, what matters is the number of connections of the people you know. So rather than trying to follow everybody who looks like a prospect or a referral partner, look around at who in your industry or in your local target audience already has a large following, then start a relationship with them via social media. Retweet their tweets, comment on their Facebook posts. Once you have them as an online friend, their community opens up to you. Note: No matter what you hear, going viral is a crapshoot. There's a word for videos, pictures and articles that go viral, and that word is "luck." No matter how much effort you put into something, there's no guarantee it will go viral, so instead of trying to create something that hits the lottery and gets 3 million views, create content that will be treasured by your target market and that they will share with their friends. 4. You need to be strategic in your approach
Posting on Twitter or Facebook about your daily life isn't marketing, because your target market doesn't care about you picking up a cake at a bakery. Here's the odd thing about marketing on social media. Ordinarily, the social media experience is a "me" centered experience, in that it's all about the individual saying their peace and having their friends react to their content. But when it comes to marketing via social media, it's a "them" centered experience, meaning that your content should be focused on your friends' and followers' needs and desires, not yours. By being strategic, you need to focus on the content that would be interesting to your prospects. Think tips, ideas, techniques, inspirational photos and videos, special offers, timesavers, relevant industry/local news, events, etc. Also, being strategic includes the tone you will be using in your communications. A personal, friendly tone usually goes a long ways, but some people like to be more humorous, edgy or in-your-face. The tone you choose really depends on your personality and the way in which your audience wants to be addressed, so keep these things in mind when writing your posts. 5. You should automate the process
For most of us, we have a thousand other things we could be doing other than posting to social media platforms. Granted, some people like using social media more than others, but if you are going to use it to market your business, you need to do it on a daily basis (yes, I said daily). If that sounds imposing to you, fear not, because there are some great tools out there that let you automate the process. Tools like Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Su.pr and Later Bro let you schedule tweets and Facebook updates for down the road. What we do at My Wedding Workbook Pro is come up with interesting posts for the next 30 days and schedule these into Hootsuite (it's our Twitter and Facebook app of choice), and then let it run. In the meantime, we also make additional updates or tweets if we have something we want to share with our online friends. Automating the process can save you tons of time while still maintaining a daily presence in the social media. Best of luck, and remember that social media should just be another tool in your marketing toolbelt ... and another tool in your business arsenal along with wedding planning software ;)

6 things every wedding planner should know about today's brides

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:01:00 -0400

Brides are usually the ones who seek out and eventually hire wedding planners (grooms are usually along for the ride), and since we launched our sister site My Wedding Workbook a few years ago we have surveyed brides on a number of areas, including their thoughts about hiring a wedding planner. Here are the seven things you should know as a wedding planner about your target audience. 1. They are most worried about their budget, their dress and their appearance.
According to our research, the top three things brides worry about is the cost of their wedding and staying on budget; their dress and attire for the wedding party; and their physical appearance (physical fitness, makeup, hair, etc.). As a wedding planner, you can reassure them that, by hiring you, you can keep their wedding under their specified budget and make sure they and their big day will be elegant and beautiful. 2. The top three places they first look for inspiration are wedding-related Web sites, blogs and search engines.
In the past, the first place a newly engaged bride-to-be looked for inspiration was wedding magazines and publications. But today's bride is fully plugged in and online searching for wedding ideas within a week of her engagement. So, if you want to be found, you need to have an online presence and the ability to be found on the Web. 3. Most brides still attend bridal shows.
In fact, 70% of brides in our research attend at least one bridal show, with many attending 3 or more. So if you haven't exhibited at a bridal show yet, you should visit a local show as an attendee to see the turnout and get a feel for if paying to be an exhibitor would be worth your while (and you should definitely ask if exhibitors get the attendee list or can market to the list after the event). 4. They say cost is the main factor in considering hiring a wedding planner.
Let's break this down. Of the brides who didn't consider a wedding planner, 75% said they didn't hire one because it was too expensive. Of the brides who did consider a wedding planner, cost was the top factor in deciding who to hire. You probably already know this through your experience with prospects; however, it emphasizes the need to demonstrate to prospects how you can help them save money (through your connections with vendors and negotiation abilities) and help them get the most value from what they do spend (by avoiding pitfalls, bad vendors, etc.). 5. They're looking for a planner who they connect with, who has strong vendor relationships and who has experience.
First and foremost, brides place a premium on personal chemistry. For them, they want more than a taskmaster and a planner; they also want someone they feel a bond with. In addition, they want to hear about your relationships with vendors (so you can negotiate good rates for them) and your past experience. So in your pitch, make sure you provide plenty examples and proof of these things. Also, case studies and stories of your event productions on your Web site also help. 6. They're asking their friends for recommendations.
When brides look for wedding planners to interview, the first place they consult for suggestions is their friends and family, followed by Web sites and online wedding forums, bridal shows and search engines. This should certainly give you a road map of where you need to market your services, starting with actively and regularly asking for referrals from your past and present clients as well as industry partners (we go into more detail about this in our recent white paper, which you can download here).

Thanks for stopping by, and check out our online wedding planner software program while you're here.

DJ threatened by mobster for mispronouncing family name - Wedisaster Series, Pt. 3

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:46:00 -0400

It was Michael Swerdloff's first wedding as a DJ. He was nervous but felt he had prepared sufficiently for his first wedding ... or so he thought. "The groom was the older brother of my DJ partner, and the bride was a good friend who previously dated the younger brother," remembered Swerdloff, now the owner of DJ Mystical Michael. "I knew the bride, whose parents were divorced, and knew that she spelled and pronounced her last name in a Polish cultural accent." According to Swerdloff, the wedding went smoothly and the reception was a large one, with around 450 people all dressed to the nines. "I had never performed to such a large crowd, and I was given the list of names for the bridal party introductions about 10 minutes before I needed to announce them," said Swerdloff. After announcing the first groomsman and bridesmaid, a very large man in a three-piece, dark pinstriped suit approached his DJ booth and placed his hand over the microphone. Then, he slid back his jacket with his other hand to reveal a holstered .357 handgun. "He stared straight into my eyes with his scarred face and said, 'Mr. _____ does not like his name mispronounced. If you do it again, it will be the last time you turn on a microphone. His name is pronounced _____,'" recalled Swerdloff. As the man departed, the room fell silent as 450 people stared at the horrified DJ. "I gathered myself as much as possible and meekly introduced the rest of the bridal party using this new Italian pronunciation of the bride's last name," said Swerdloff. "To say I we shaking would be a gross understatement, but I survived and it was a great party." Later on, Swerdloff discovered that the bride's father was a local mob boss and that was why the mother-of-the-bride divorced him as well as spelled and pronounced their last name with a Polish accent. And what lesson is to be learned here? "Make sure you practice the pronunciation of all wedding party members in advance of the wedding with the bride or groom and ten minutes before their entrance," replied Swerdloff. "It's been 30 years since that happened, and I have not made the same mistake since."

Wedding cake disaster is a real howler and a smash - Wedisaster Series Pt. 2

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:07:00 -0400

File this one under "you always get what you pay for ... and then some." A recent East Coast bride was on a very tight budget (as many brides are these days) and, while browsing for vendors on Craig's List, found a great price on a wedding cake that she just couldn't pass up. Her wedding planner, Andria Medeiros with Infinite Events, had warned her against booking any vendors from Craig's List, but the bride insisted on using this particular vendor, feeling that they could handle her simple request of creating a cake with an "outdoorsy" theme. She was expecting a cake that was very elegant and pastoral, one that captured the lush ambience of their outdoor wedding. Instead, what she got was a flat cake with neon green icing, a blue river running down the middle of it and small wolf figurines scattered on the surface, presumably howling in laughter at being part of this atrocity. To add insult (or accident, as it would be) to injury, when delivering the cake, the baker's vehicle was rear-ended and the cake itself smashed into the dashboard of the vehicle, leading to the demise of a few wolf figurines. "In my opinion, it was the best thing that could have happened," said Medeiros. "This saved the bride the embarrassment from having to display the horrific cake to her guests." Instead of letting her guests view this literal car wreck of a cake, the bride had it cut up into slices in the kitchen and served buffet style. The moral of this story is to make sure that the vendors you hire for your wedding are true professionals and not unproven part-timers who don't really have the skill to pull off what you envision. "Don't book people who do this for fun or as a hobby," reminded Medeiros. "Use a legitimate business whose reputation is on the line. And if you must use Craig's List or even a friend of a friend, request three references and multiple examples of their work." And, if you do hire an amateur, be specific about what you want ... and don't want (say, for example, wolves). Have a wedisaster story of your own or know of one that is worth sharing ... tell us about it.

Groom gets plastered in face with falling planter - Wedisaster Series, Part 1

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:44:00 -0400

Note: This article is the first in a series of Wedisaster articles brought to you by My Wedding Workbook and My Wedding Workbook Pro on wedding mishaps, blunders, accidents and disasters ... and how to avoid these on your big day. Say you're a groom on his wedding day. You're standing on the shore of a glistening lake on a beautiful (but somewhat windy) day. You look out at the crowd gathered and see an ocean of smiling faces. You look in the other direction and see the shining sun reflected in the waves lapping up to meet you. And next to you is the woman of your dreams, dressed in a long, flowing wedding gown, as beautiful as you could ever imagine. You think to yourself, "It could never get better than this. I'm the luckiest guy in the universe." And suddenly a huge gust of wind knocks a large planer off a pedestal perched next to you, crashing into your face, blood spouting out of your nose and onto your tux, your shirt and your bride's face and gown. Certainly not the kind of colorful wedding you were expecting. Sande L Southworth, a wedding officiant who runs Delightfully Different Ceremonies, was officiating this ceremony when the groom unfortunately took one in the face, and although the wedding went on (with the groom dabbing at his nose with a cloth napkin full of ice cubes), she knew it didn't have to happen. "This could have been avoided simply by tying down the planter," she said. "It was a windy area and I was surprised things weren't battened down." Luckily, Sande was able to add some levity to the situation. "Before we continued the ceremony," she said, "I announced that now that the couple had had their first fight, so we could go on. People laughed." This is one of those occasions when precautions could have and should have been taken to ensure that things wouldn't go awry. Certainly there are time when things occur that you could have never planned for (such as acts of god like hurricanes or tornadoes). However there are occasions when just a little bit of extra planning, foresight or precaution could really save the day or prevent something bad from happening. Like getting plastered in the face with a heavy planter. The lesson here is that any piece of equipment or decor can become a projectile at any time and that you and/or your wedding planner should inspect your facility to make sure there are no rusty nails, weak floorboards or other hazards that could create a wedisaster. Next installment ... Unwanted wolves on a wedding cake.

Interview with Shane McMurray of The Wedding Report

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 20:20:00 -0400

For several years now, The Wedding Report (www.theweddingreport.com/) has been the best place to find accurate, insightful information about the wedding industry. From national statistics to local data on bridal preferences, wedding-related vendors and much more, The Wedding Report offers it all (in fact, My Wedding Workbook Pro subscribes to the service). And the man behind it all, Shane McMurray, knows quite a few things that you and I don't. So he was kind enough to take a few minutes out of his schedule to answer a few questions of ours.

My Wedding Workbook Pro (MWWP) - Shane, you have been researching this industry for quite a few years now. In what significant ways has the industry changed over that period of time?

Shane McMurray (SM) - In just the few years that I've been collecting data the industry has changed dramatically. A new type of couple is now making their way into the wedding market... the ways of the old are becoming old, places that use to be hot spots are no longer hot spots, and the recent recession proved that the wedding industry is not "recession proof" as once thought. I would also say that the supposed flood of new marriages never happened and never will. Marriage has given way to couples living together and waiting longer and new unmarried family types have emerged. How couples think about spending and the value they place on certain services like music, photography, video, invitations, flowers has also altered ... couples are much more do-it-yourself or having the whole family chip in, plus wholesalers are going direct to consumers. The market has changed completely in just 5 years. It was already coming ... but the recession made it come faster.

MWWP - Right now we're coming out of a deep, deep recession that has really hammered the wedding industry. Do you see any relief on the horizon?

SM - It looks better. Spending was up in 2010 after a 2-year decline. But I don't think we will see pre-2008 levels for a while. As long as we can continue creating new jobs and gas and food prices don't continue to skyrocket, things look better.

MWWP - Wedding vendors, including wedding consultants, are always looking for an edge in growing their business. Based on your extensive knowledge and research, do you have any quick tips for them in connecting with new prospects?

SM - The best way to connect with new clients is to stay connected with previous clients. If they had a great time, you are likely to get a referral. Stay connected with your previous clients after the wedding. Secondly, go to where people are and connect with them ... shows, online, local events. Anyone and everyone could be a lead or the gateway to a lead. Next I would say work on the funnel that converts them to a customer.

MWWP - Bridal show season is quickly approaching. What's on the minds of brides this year as they attend these shows?

SM - They are looking to connect and get ideas. To find the vendor that can give them the experience they are looking for. They thing they are not looking for is pushy sales people. Just be real ... if you offer a great product or service, it will show.

MWWP - I know you keep your eye on the performance of wedding-related businesses, and I was wondering if you could give us some insight on the performance of wedding planning businesses?

SM - Well, the demand for the wedding planning business has actually increased ... as weddings become more complicated and stressful for the bride, they are looking for help from planners. I would say services like "Day-of," "Month of" or simple consulting are becoming more popular. The only issue is that it does cost extra to provide these services, and many couples are hesitant because of the extra cost, but smart planners are finding ways to make it work.

MWWP - What do you think is the most striking thing you have discovered about our industry that has come out of your research in recent months?

SM - I think the most striking thing I've discovered is how many new competitors have entered the market. Planning, photo and video are low-cost entry businesses and many are doing it, either full-time or part-time. These new competitors are coming in at substantially lower cost points than seasoned pros and it's changing the business dynamics.

MWWP - Thanks, Shane, for sharing your insights.

Beyond wedding planning software ... putting the rest of the Web to work for your business

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 20:10:00 -0400

Here at My Wedding Workbook Pro, we're always trying out the newest Web-based tools and applications built to make people like you more productive. Not every tool or application is perfect for everyone, but there are some that are just so useful and cool that we had to tell you about them so you can try them out and see if they help you, too.

So here are our recommendations of essential tools and apps ... in addition to our wedding planning software, of course ;)

Social Media Sites
Social media sites have been hugely popular over the last few years (and almost over-celebrated). However, although sometimes the hype often doesn't match the usefulness of these sites, they are definitely used very frequently by your target audience (i.e., females of the marrying age - 18-35); in fact, some media outlets have stated that Facebook has more active users on it every day than all Google's applications and properties put together.

For event and wedding planners, the main usefulness of social media sites is 1) to be discovered by your target audience so they can contact you about your services and 2) to stay up to date with friends and colleagues regarding your profession.

If you haven't yet dived into the wild world of social networking, here's a quick primer on setting up pages and accounts with the main players.

LinkedIn - This is probably the main site for professional and business-to-business social networking. To take advantage of their free tools, just go to http://www.linkedin.com/ and click on "Join Today" in the top navigation bar. Once you have created an account, you can upload your address book from Apple Mail, Outlook or another file format (like a csv file) to connect with your peeps (and LinkedIn will then start making suggestions of other people you can connect with based on your current connections). Finally, you should create a page for your business in LinkedIn. Just go to the "Companies" tab in the main navigation of your LinkedIn account; click on the "Add a Company" link on the top-right side of the page; and follow the instructions.

Facebook - The current 800-lb gorilla of all social networking sites. For starters, if you don't have a Facebook account yet, just stop by http://www.facebook.com/ and create one. Just creating an account is only half-the battle, though, in reaching out to prospective clients. Next, you need to create a Fan page, which you can do in a few easy steps. First go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php. Next, under the area labeled "Official Page," check the circle marked "Local Business" and then choose "Event Planning Service" in the drop-down menu. Type in the name of your business into the field labeled "Page Name" and check the box saying you are the official representative of your company. Facebook may ask you if you already have an account. If you do, just type in your login information. If you don't, just follow the instructions to create your account. That's it ... now you can fill your page with lots of posts, pictures and videos of your clients and events and much more.

Review and Profile Sites
There are thousands of sites where you can create a profile for your business and have people rate your wedding and event planning services; however, there are a couple large ones where you should definitely put up a listing. These include:

Yelp! - Probably the biggest business review site going right now. On Yelp, you can post info about your business, directions, a link to your Web site and more. To create a profile, just go to http://www.yelp.com/business and complete the information for your free account. The power of Yelp, though, is in the recommendations that people can post about your business. If you have lots of glowing reviews on Yelp, this can reassure prospects about your expertise and give them more incentive to contact you. So make sure you encourage all your clients to leave a glowing, 5-star review about the service you provide them.

Google Places - Have you ever noticed that, when you conduct a search on Google for a local business or service, the search results often display local business listings associated with a map? This is the work of Google Places. Creating a business listing through Google Places is quick and easy. Just log into your Google account (and if you don't have one, you can create one by going to http://www.google.com). Then, navigate to http://places.google.com/business and click on the button labeled "List Your Business."

Blogging Platforms
In some industries, blogging is more popular than in others, and in the wedding planning industry, blogging is huge. Many of your competitors have blogs, so if you don't, you should consider starting one up. It's a great way to post stories and photos of your events and keep people up to date on your business. Many prospects check out planner's blogs to "see the product" before they call you, so a blog can just be another arrow in your quiver for getting a prospect to pick up the phone. There are several drop-dead-easy blogging platforms to use that require no technical expertise, and they include: Wordpress, Blogger, Blog.com and MyBlogSite.

Special note if you already have a blog - Having a blog is half the battle ... promoting your blog is the other half. And one way you can get people to share your blog on sites like Facebook and Twitter is via a tool like AddThis. It's basically a tool that allows you to put a button on each blog post so that all a user has to do is click on the button and they can post a link to your blog post on their Facebook page, Twitter account, Delicious account, Digg account and lots of other social networking sites. Just go to http://www.addthis.com/, create an account, copy the little chunk of code they provide, and paste it into every blog post using your HTML view option. (See the bottom of this blog post for an example of what the button looks like.)

Other Online Sites
Delicious - This is a Web bookmarking site that makes it easy to save, label and categorize the sites that you visit. This way you never forget a site that you've visited that you want to revisit.

Picnik - There are many photo editing, management, sharing and storage sites out there ... this is currently the best and easiest to use.

TweetDeck - If you tweet and post to Facebook regularly, then this is the one tool you can't do without ... keeps you completely organized with posting on all your social media sites.

DimDim - Although recently purchased by SalesForce.com, it is still one of the best free sites for holding collaborative online meetings.

Ning - If you're really ambitious and want to create your own online social space/forum for your clients, vendors and contacts, Ning is the tool for you. Very easy to use and you will have your own little community up and running inside an hour.

Meebo - Most of your clients probably communicate via instant message, and if this is the case, Meebo will be your new best friend. It basically lets you pull all your IM communications, accounts and information into one place and lets you IM with people who are on multiple IM platforms. It also has several versions for your computer and your mobile device.

Mobile Phone Apps
Most mobile phone apps are tremendous time-wasters (see Exhibit 1, Angry Birds ... although it sure is fun). However, these are a few that just might save you some time and give you an edge.

Color swatch app - Most wedding planners are very creative people who deal with colors and color palettes on a daily basis, and color swatch apps let you use your phone's camera to shoot a picture and then pluck colors from the photo. myPANTONE is a great app for the iPhone and Color Collector is a good one for Android phones.

Voice recorder app - Sometimes is really nice to record your meetings with clients, just in case you needed to confirm something or have a record of the phone conversation. Most PDAs come with a voice recorder, but we like iRecord.

Weather apps - Might sound like a "no-duh" recommendation, but any good wedding planner knows that the weather is a crucial (and often the most unpredictable) variable in wedding planning. We recommend The Weather Channel app, which gives you a 10-day forecast so you have a heads up if you need to arrange for a tent for that outdoor wedding next Friday.

Hopefully you found at least one or two helpful tidbits in this list of excellent resources.

Interview with Jayne Hallock, editor of WedLock

Mon, 16 May 2011 17:13:00 -0400

We are honored to have Jayne Hallock with us to answer a few questions about marketing a wedding planning business. Jayne is the editor of WedLock, the online learning community for wedding pros, which educates event and wedding planners on how to successfully market and promote your business on the Web and beyond. It's a fantastic source of ideas and inspiration, and we encourage you to learn more about them. Jayne has vast experience in marketing as well as in the wedding industry, and we wanted to get inside her head about what's going on today in terms of wedding planner marketing. Special Bonus: Jayne has offered a discount for all readers ... 15% off on a membership to their professional community (where you can get lots of exclusive resources, tools and guidance for marketing your business). Just go to http://www.WedLockmag.com and use the coupon code 3411 when you sign up. Thanks for that extra spiff, Jayne. My Wedding Workbook Pro (MWWP): The sluggish economy has really made wedding professionals change how they do business over the last few years. What advice do you have for marketing a wedding business in a tough economy? Jayne Hallock (JH): Roll your sleeves up and get to work on your marketing. You already know how to work at being great at your craft - and you're probably already doing it. But you also have to work at being great *marketing* yourself. So what if you don't have the budget to hire someone else to do your website? Or to help you with your Google rankings? Or set up your social media campaign for you? That doesn't mean you can afford to neglect your marketing. It just means its time to learn how this stuff works, yourself. Basically, the bad news is that a sluggish economy means its time for you to get DIY. The good news? Most of this stuff isn't that hard. So there's no need to be intimidated. If you're talented enough to be a wedding professional in the first place, you're smart enough to understand how online marketing works. MWWP: Event and wedding planning businesses tend to be small shops (usually around 1-4 people). What do you see as the biggest challenge to marketing a small business, and how can planners overcome it? JH: I can relate. WedLock is still a small company (although we have a lot of wonderful support from pretty big names). So although I'd never say I know what's it's like to be a small wedding planner ... I do get the challenges of being a smaller company. And to me, the biggest challenge isn't money or time, it's manpower! I have a jillion ideas and a (um, skabillion?) ways I want to grow my business, but I only have two hands. And one brain. And 24 hours in my day. Now this is where you can take the crummy economy and make it work FOR you. Say those two magic words with me now: Free Interns! Recently, I put a call out for an intern and got no less than six super qualified, bright, energetic, educated applicants ... all of whom who were interested in working in the wedding industry! And why were they willing to work for free? Because the economy is so bad, they can't find a 'real' job and they need something substantial on their resume. So I say this to small companies: get on Craigslist, pronto! Post internship flyers at your local college. You're in a business that many smart young graduates want to get into. So leverage that free workforce and get them answering your phones and running your errands so you can focus on the big stuff! MWWP: Selling any kind of service - including wedding planning services - can be challenging, so what can wedding planners tell prospects to put them at ease about buying their services? JH: I'd say: don't sell your brides a service. Don't sell them an itemized list of "what I can do for you." And don't try to sell them on how much greater you are than your competition. (If you're that great, they'll sense it, and they'll hear about it themselves.) Instead, sell them an emotion. Sell your bride peace of mind. Sell her how you can make her feel when she walks down the aisle and enjoy a day that is effortlessly, exceptionally joyful. When you think of your business that way, you stop hustling your wares and you start really connecting with your prospective brides. The brilliant marketer Seth Godin points to Barack Obama's presidential campaign as a perfect example of this. Obama didn't sell himself as a candidate. Instead he "sold hope." And that worked pretty well, wouldn't you say? MWWP: Marketing via the Internet isn't second nature for most people, so what three things should wedding planners know before they dive into marketing their business on the Web. JH: Hm, three things. The first thing to spring to mind is to "get Google." Note I didn't say "get GOOD at Google" (you can later hire someone to do that for you) but you have to first GET how it works. You have to get your head out of the sand and find out why Google ranks other sites higher than yours. There's a basic formula Google uses and you can't keep telling yourself its just tech-y stuff you'll never understand. Why is this important? For two reasons. Number one, there are a lot of scammy marketers out there trying to prey on your ignorance. Don't let them. Once you understand how Google works, you can separate those with real knowledge from those with empty promises and inflated prices. Another reason to understand Google is to understand some simple stats. If you can get to #1 on Google, the traffic to your site could be stunning. It could change your business. So what if you're already ranking somewhere in the first ten spots? Or even in spot #3? Well, statistics show that the third position on Google's search results get about 8.5% of the clicks from everyone visiting that page. The #2 spot gets more, at 11.90%. But the #1 result? Grabs about 42.13% of ALL the clicks on that page! Now do you get why being #1 is so important? So educate yourself on how Google 'grants' that spot to certain websites, and then either do your SEO yourself or hire someone who knows what they're really doing. The second big thing to remember online is that social marketing (like on Facebook, Twitter etc) is free! It's not! Sure, Facebook pages or Twitter accounts don't cost you any money ... but they cost you time. You can't just throw a page up and hope it works. Facebook, and any other social marketing, will cost you man hours of updating and interacting with your growing 'fan' base. So put time aside to do it right, and you'll be richly rewarded. And finally, the third biggie online is to keep the hard sell far away from your social media efforts. Social media is for relationship building. It's for talking to your brides and for her to get to know you. It's not for hitting brides over the head with sales pitches. MWWP: As a marketing pro, you've seen it all. What is the biggest mistake that most wedding consultants make in marketing their business, and how can they avoid it? JH: Not marketing enough! This is a big ol' drum I always beat to death with my WedLock members, but with good reason. Wedding consultants, and pros in general, are often very creative, artistic people. So they're not naturally inclined to enjoy the marketing aspect of their business. Many times they tell themselves they are doing 'well enough' with referrals, and that they don't really need to get this whole 'internet marketing thing.' But that's really sticking your head in the sand. Marketing online, once you understand it, can be easy and dare I say -- fun?! Get your feet wet, empower yourself to get out there and make a name for yourself online. Because even if you think you have enough business already, at the end of the day, if you're not online already and your competition is ... brides will begin to notice! They're out there looking for you online (even after if they have already met you in person!) So if your Facebook page is nonexistent and your competitor's is full of interactive discussion and gorgeous photos and engaging personality....who do you think she's going to hire? MWWP: Thanks, Jayne. We really appreciate your time and commitment to helping out wedding planners everywhere.

Finding clients for your wedding planning business

Mon, 16 May 2011 17:06:00 -0400

When most businesses land a new customer, they can often enjoy that customer's business for years to come. Unfortunately, for most event and wedding planners, this often isn't the case because once you have seen a client through to their wedding day, chances are good that you may never have them as a client again. Because of this, it is essential for wedding and event planners to keep your sales funnel full of prospects so that you don't have to endure any dry spells. Of course, this is much easier said than done, because marketing and sales can be the most difficult task in running an event planning business. With that said, let's take a look at some of the methods you can use to find more prospects. Ask for referrals
For most service-based businesses, referrals are the single most important source of new customers. Although you may only have a wedding client for a short amount of time, that client certainly has friends who are getting married and hosting events, so you should make it a point to periodically ask your current and past clients for referrals. You can go about asking for referrals in a few ways, but the most effective is a simple phone call that goes something like this: "Hi. I'm calling for two reasons. First, I wanted to check in and see how you are doing since your big day. Second, I wanted to see if you have any friends who are getting engaged and would find my services useful. Any referrals you could give me would be much appreciated, and I promise I will reach out to them in a very tactful and respectful manner. So, who do you know who I could help?" That's pretty much it. Some people feel a little self-conscious about asking for a referral, but you shouldn't. If you have a solid relationship with your client, they are almost always happy to refer you to one of their friends because they also see this act as doing their friend a favor. Identify your ideal customer's touchpoints
A touchpoint is any venue or locale where you can reach out and connect with your ideal customer. Take a moment to think about all the places where your ideal customer hangs out. Do they frequent certain coffee shops or restaurants? Do they shop at certain stores? Do they belong to any particular clubs, organizations or places of worship? Do they attend particular types of events or concerts? By answering these questions, you can begin to put together a list of all the places where your potential prospects might hang out. Once you have identified at least a few places, brainstorm how you can reach out to these customers at these venues. If they belong to certain clubs or organizations, consider joining those. If they frequent certain stores, coffee shops or restaurants, find out if those establishments will allow you to post a flier (or, even better, a flier with tear-off tabs that have your phone number on them) or leave behind a stack of business cards. Reach out to industry partners
What is one of the first things a couple on the brink of engagement does? They go engagement ring shopping, of course. So what better place for an event and wedding planner to promote their services than through a local jeweler. Businesses catering to the wedding industry like jewelers, bridal boutiques, florists, venues, caterers, bakers, DJs and photographers/videographers all can be great mutual sources of referrals to your business. Often, such relationships work along the lines of "you scratch my back, I scratch yours," meaning that if they are going to send prospects your way, they expect you to do the same for them. If you have an established business, you probably already have strong relationships with multiple vendors, so it wouldn't be any stretch to establish a more formal process of referring leads back and forth. If you have a newer business and are still forming these relationships, it's best to test the waters with vendors until you have found them to be reliable in terms of both their services and their willingness to refer clients to you. Note: Another great source of referrals is local clergy, so you should also look to establish good relations with these people, too. Teach a local event planning or wedding etiquette class
Many newly engaged brides are often in panic mode about planning a wedding and are hungry to soak up any information on wedding planning. As such, quite a few would jump at the chance to attend a class on the basics of event planning and/or wedding etiquette. Many professionals think it's a waste of time to teach a class that instructs people to do what they would otherwise get paid for. However, if done properly, teaching such a class can be a win-win for both the planner and the attendees. First, as a prerequisite for attending the class, you should require all attendees to provide you with their contact info (email and phone number being the most important); this way you can follow up with them after the class and put them on your marketing outreach list. Second, you should limit your class to an hour or two and cover very basic event/wedding planning topics, giving the students some helpful tips and techniques but not giving away the farm. Third, you should make it clear to the attendees that you are always available for a consult and for hire if they decide they need the assistance of an expert. If you want, you can even give attendees a special attendee discount for your services. Another big advantage that classes provide is that they help to establish you as a wedding and event planning expert, which can go a long ways in solidifying your local reputation. Interact with prospects online
Many women of marrying age have a Facebook account, and it would be in your best interest to be their friend on Facebook as well as get them to like you on your business Facebook Page (and if you don't have a Facebook Page for your business yet, create it here). You should start the process by establishing social media connections between your current and former clients as well as industry partners and friends and then reach out to prospects from there. By building relationships via Facebook and other social media apps like Twitter, you create more mentions and links to your Web site, which gives prospects more ways in which to encounter you. In addition, ask your clients and prospects what Web sites they frequent and find a way to connect with users of those sites, whether it be through forums and social media tools or even through some well-placed online ads. P.S. If you are using My Wedding Workbook Pro wedding planner software to manage your business and event details, we also provide lead management tools, and we will be updating these wedding planning software tools soon.

Wedding planner website do's and don'ts

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:03:00 -0400

In the 21st century, if you're in business, you better have a Web site. Your customers expect it, and as a small business, it should be your second best marketing asset (besides yourself).

With that said, I've been in marketing for 20 years (before I entered the wedding planning software business I ran a marketing firm), and in all honesty, you don't need to spend thousands of dollars on a glitzy, sparkly Web site with tons of bells and whistles. Your customers want enough information to decide if they want to call you, so it's best to get to the point and give them your story. Here's our list of things to do and not to do when you're building (or revamping) your site.

Do's

Do feature on your home page what sets you apart - Don't wait to tell your site visitors what makes you different and what you specialize in ... put it front-and-center on your home page.
Do put your phone number on every page - You never want someone to hunt for how to contact you, so just include your phone number in the header or footer of every page on your site.
Do buy your own domain name - Using a free Web site provider just shows that you aren't serious about being in business. Instead, go to GoDaddy.com or Register.com and buy your own domain name (these companies and thousands others also offer hosting services) under which you can put your site.
Do hire a professional to design your site - You work in an industry that prides itself in providing a custom, personalized experience for each and every customer. So what is a prospect to think if you use a boilerplate design cranked out by some online Web design firm or, worse yet, some off-the-shelf, default layout provided by a free Web site provider. Instead, have a professional Web designer create a custom site that expresses who you are and what your business stands for.
Do put your main navigation on the top or left of your site - Top or left-hand navigation is pretty standard, and putting your main navigation anywhere else just confuses people.
Do tell your story - People don't want to hear how great you are (most of use have learned to tune out marketing-speak). However, we all want to hear a great story, so tell us one about how you got started, what inspired you to become a planner, your first wedding/client, or any other great tale that shows us your passion and talent.
Do put your picture on your About page - Pictures of human beings warm up a site and let visitors put a name with a face, so put your picture (and those of your staff) on your About page. Additional tip: people especially love pics of dogs and cats (they make you even more human and likeable), so if you are completely shameless (and smart), put your pet's picture on your site, too.
Do create a page for testimonials - Your prospects will want proof of your abilities and experience, and nothing is better than letting your clients speak on your behalf.
Do list your training and credentials - This provides additional proof of your abilities (and acronyms after a name always impress, plus they show you take this stuff seriously).
Do post pictures of your past events - In this industry, pictures definitely tell a story, so include some slideshows of some of your more impressive events. Note: Make sure that the pictures you post are professionally done, and don't post every picture or every event ... just the ones that will wow people.
Do talk about your packages and offerings - You should give people an idea of how you work when it comes to the services you offer, so provide a basic outline of your packages or how you structure your services.
Do put up links to your Twitter and Facebook pages - Brides are all over Twitter and Facebook these days. As such, you should guide them to follow you on Twitter and like you on Facebook to keep the conversation with them going when they're not on your Web site.

Don'ts

Don't have a blog (unless you intend to post at least a few times a month) - Everybody's first reaction for their Web site is to put up a blog. However, unless you post somewhat regularly, it is fairly useless and can even give the impression that, since you don't regularly attend to your blog, you may also similarly neglect your business (people do sometimes jump to odd conclusions).
Don't include unrelated services - I've seen wedding planner websites that also promote the consultant's cosmetic sales business, home cleaning business and such. This only confuses your prospects and makes them wonder what you are really good at. Stick to promoting one business per site.
Don't post your pricing - The purpose of a Web site is to get someone interested in calling you and setting up an appointment. You don't want to post anything that would give a prospect the chance to eliminate you as a potential vendor. If you post your pricing, your prospects can immediately judge you based on price without hearing about all the value you deliver for that price.
Don't use reversed out type - An example of this would be white type on a black, dark blue or dark red background. Reversed out type usually isn't too hard to read on the printed page, but on the Web it really strains the eyes and could lead your visitor to leave your site without having read all about your services.
Don't use a Flash intro - 10 years ago animated Flash intros were all the rage. Today, they're not only passe, but they impede your visitors from getting to information about your business (which is why they are visiting in the first place). People want information; they don't want roadblocks to it.
Don't use background music - Again, background music gives someone a reason to leave your site. For example, what if you have easygoing lounge music on your site and your visitor likes country? They may think you're not right for them. Or what if they like listening to their own music on their computer and, when your site comes up, your unwanted background music blares at them. In the end, it's best to not have any music.

Hope these tips help in enhancing your online presence ... Jeff

Competing against your prospect

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:42:00 -0400

When I first went into business for myself, I imagined that my biggest competition would be all the other competitors out there trying to land the same prospective clients I was pursuing. So I prepared myself for all the objections I might hear regarding my offerings, approach, experience and pricing versus those of my competitors. However, in my first few meetings with prospective clients, I started hearing something completely unexpected. Instead of the prospects asking lots of questions about how I compared with the competition, they were saying things like: "I've been doing all this work myself, and I thought I'd call you to see if you might be able to take this over for me." ...or... "I'm debating whether to hire someone for this project or do it myself, so I'd like to hear the advantages of bringing you in for this work." After a few months of hearing the same story, I changed my approach from touting how much better I was than my competitors to how much better I was than the prospects doing the work themselves. Every service-based business runs into the same issue. Whether you're a plumber, photographer or an event and wedding planner, you will find that your biggest battle is not losing the job to the competition but losing the job to the prospect, whether they decide to take on the project themselves or end up doing nothing. This is especially the case in a bad economy when brides and grooms are trying to pinch pennies and make the most of a very limited budget. They figure they will save more money and make less sacrifices on other areas of their wedding if they plan their big day themselves. So it's up to you to let them know all the advantages of hiring you. Here are a few key points I have made to prospects in the past that helped them decide to hire me: 1. They will save tons of time - Although your prospect may know a thing or two about wedding planning, they don't do this for a living, so they will have to spend lots of time and effort getting up to speed, not to mention all the effort required managing all the details of wedding planning. By hiring you, they free up all that time and turn everything over to an expert who will get everything done in a fraction of the time that it would have taken them. 2. The will save money - The prospect probably doesn't have firmly established relationships with many wedding vendors, doesn't have much leverage in negotiating with them and doesn't know the going rates of what they should pay for wedding venues, catering, DJs, transportation, etc. You, on the other hand, have all this information at your fingertips and can probably negotiate much better rates than they can, and this savings can offset some or maybe even all the fees they would pay you. 3. You will help protect them from mistakes and fraud - Every bride wants her day to be perfect and error-free. Although there are always a few issues with any event, hiring you will help ensure there are a minimum of issues (plus, when there are issues, you know how to resolve them promptly). As a seasoned wedding planner, you have probably seen it all, so you know all the tips and tricks for avoiding mistakes and slipups. In addition, you can help them avoid being defrauded by a shady vendor by helping them navigate the minefield of vendor selection and negotiation. 4. They can focus on more important matters - Brides and grooms have enough on their plate with family, friends and social commitments besides trying to manage a handful of vendors and thousands of intricate details. Their wedding should be a day of bliss and enjoyment, not one of work and worry, and hiring you will let them relax and enjoy every moment. 5. Millions of people hire specialists every day - Point out that the prospective clients themselves probably hire specialists to take care of tasks in which they lack expertise (like fixing their car or doing their accounting) or don't have the time to do themselves (like housecleaning). Planning a wedding is a very big job, especially for someone who doesn't regularly plan events, with little margin for error, so it only makes sense to turn it over to someone who is an expert. 6. The job will get done right - When you try to take on a big project that is beyond your area of expertise, there's always that fear that you are making errors and leaving our important steps ... and you are probably right. So, by hiring an expert, your prospect can have the peace of mind that the job will get done the right way and that their wedding is in the hands of someone very capable of making their dream day come true. Hopefully these tips give you a good starting point in showing your prospects the advantages of hiring you over planning their wedding themselves (and hopefully our wedding planner software gives you another leg up in hiring them).

Event Planner Software - A primer

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 20:15:00 -0400

Many wedding consultants and event planners who stop by our site are looking at using event planner software for the first time, so if this is you, welcome to our site. I (Jeff, one of the owners, speaking here) ran a marketing business for years, and when I looked for a piece of professional business software about 7 years ago, I looked at a few options before choosing the one that fit my business the best. I'm obviously biased that I think our online system is the best one out there for wedding and event professionals, but to be honest, whatever system you choose in the end has to be right for you, whether you choose ours or not. With that said, today I wrote down what I would look for if I were looking for event planner software for myself to give you a start on a checklist of what you can look for (and feel free to add to this list on your own, and please drop me a note via our contact form if you have other ideas or feedback). Contact and lead management - Needs to have a way for me to manage all my client contacts and leads. Calendaring and appointments - I need to track all my events, important dates and appointments, but I would also like to sort based on each client, and I need to have these integrate with my existing online calendar (like Google calendar, iCal or Outlook). Finances and accounting - In my business, I use Quickbooks, but I realize that many businesses don't need such a comprehensive piece of accounting software (and don't have the time to learn it). So it would have to let me create and keep track of proposals/contracts, invoices, payments and expenses. Staff coordination and time tracking - I should be able to create accounts for my staff members and see their calendars as well as their timesheets and input into the system. Client and vendor interface - Collaborating with clients via the event planner software would give me a tidy way to exchange ideas with my clients, communicate with them re: appointments and dates, and keep a record of all decisions. Event management tools - There are tons of details for every event I plan, so I would need tools for attendee / guest list management; vendor management (including rentals, catering, music/sound system, flowers, etc.); to do / task list management; budget management; timelines and calendars; have an event website; and take RSVP/registration collection. Online vs. traditional - My software needs to be convenient and easy to start using and access. Backup and security - I want my information backed up at all times (preferably on a remote server) and it needs to be secure. Mac vs. PC vs. mobile device - My software needs to be capable of being on multiple devices. Help section, FAQs and video demos - I want easy to find and complete help assets so I don't have to always call customer support to learn something. Customer support - I need to be able to get answers if an issue comes up. Hopefully this gets your list started ... happy weekend, Jeff

Benefits of a solid florist program

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 17:45:00 -0400

Any wedding consultant knows that your vendors can make all the difference in pulling off a spectacular event. A proficient officiant sets the tone with their presence and thoughtful, inspiring words during the ceremony. A caterer can set the night off right with a meal that puts everyone in a great mood. A DJ can shape that mood and get people on the dance floor. And, surrounding everyone the entire time, providing color and a freshness to the event, are the floral designs and arrangements. Because flowers play such an instrumental role in every wedding, having the best florist program established and the best florist vendors in place is of vital importance to the success of your events. First, you must find the best vendors to work with. In screening vendors, experience should be the first thing you look for. As you well know, weddings are unlike any other events, and so a florist that has lots of experience with weddings (and the references and portfolio to prove it) has a definite leg up. Your florist program vendors should also work well with you and any design personnel who you bring on board. They need to be flexible and also have the ability to listen to your needs and provide helpful suggestions on how to accomplish the goals of you and your client. It's also critical that your floral vendors have an adequate facility and connections with suppliers so that they can access the flowers you need, when you need them. Finally, prices of flowers are always varying based on time of year, weather conditions in growing countries (most flowers from outside the U.S. come from Columbia) or states (most domestically grown flowers come from California), fuel/transportation prices and the like. Because of this, you may need to sometimes substitute out less expensive flowers to keep your floral budget under control, and an astute florist will be able to handle this easily and adeptly. In the end, your florist can make or break your wedding events, so just like it's smart to have the best tools to plan your events (like the best wedding planner software program), it's also smart to have the best florist on your side. Blogs Directory SoMuch.com

Photography studio software - A quick primer

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:45:00 -0400

All wedding coordinators know that their clients want the wedding of their dreams realized, but you are also very aware that your clients also want their memories preserved via photography and videography. You also know that not all photographers are alike and that certain photographers are great for certain situations. For example, you may know of a photographer who is amazing at capturing the essence of outdoor events, while another might be great with a more formal setting and formal poses, and yet another might excel at photodocumentary style. Although you may or may not be responsible for hiring the photographer, your clients certainly rely on your opinion in which photography expert they eventually choose. Because of this, it's best to have at least a few talented photographers at your beck and call who have amazing portfolios, a stable book of business and lots of experience shooting weddings (as we all know that shooting a wedding has its own unique demands and protocols). In addition, you want to make sure that the vendors you refer run a tight ship in terms of how they manage their business and service their clients, because you would certainly want your clients treated with the same excellent service by your vendors as you would treat them yourself. You use resources like wedding planner software to keep your business organized, and so you should also inquire if your photography vendors use photography studio software to keep their business details organized and their clients on track. Such photography studio software can give them essential tools to track all their appointments and client details as well as finances, leads, contacts and much more. By ensuring your photography vendors are using the best resources - like photography studio management software - to serve their clients, you can feel more comfortable referring your client to them and know your clients can count on them ... just as they can count on you.