Great Networking and Education at Fairway Terrace by Putters
LVWN at Fairway Terrace Video from tonights meeting! Enjoy!
What a great group of wedding professionals! The evening started with great food provided by Soiree’s Catering and the venue Fairway Terrace @ Putters was perfect for this fun and informative event. Tonights seminar presented by Monica Morgan of VegasVows was on working with Constant Contact. Andy Ebon was there to add his advice too. Harry O provided the background music and everyone was treated to a Candy Station provided by Sweet Sensations. Thanks to everyone of our wedding professionals that provided their time and products for this event.
We look forward to seeing everyone again on July 1 at Canyon Gate where the topic for the evening will be preparing for bridal shows!
To Blog, Or Not To Blog?
… is probably the wrong question.I must admit I been infused with a heavy dose of Seth Godin logic. It comes with reading his books and blog, and understanding his perspective. His angle is consistent. Ask different question. Suggest to his readers that they ask different questions.
So when one of my business friends posted the title, “To Blog, Or Not To Blog” on a private message board, I could help but suggest, “Perhaps that’s the wrong question?”
Just because blogging is almost free, in terms of hard dollars, doesn’t mean it’s easy. If you are not a natural writer, you may spend more time per post or have challenges with subject matter. At a lecture last week, I invoked the quotation: “Anything worth doing well, is worth doing badly at first.” (Ben Franklin, I think).
FACT: A well-crafted, well-maintained WordPress blog, that lives on your website server is perhaps the greatest search engine optimization tool, around, today.
The benefits of engaging customers, prospects, industry peers and media are tangible and incalculable. Actually, not entirely incalculable.
Another FACT: The longer you wait to blog, the more run-up time you give to your competitors.
One of the most important facts of life is: Don’t kid yourself. As my friend likes to say: “It’s a no-brainer.”
The answer to the question: “To blog, or not to blog?” (as part of my wedding marketing plan) is, indeed, a no-brainer. There are other good question to ask, but from where I sit, this isn’t one of them.
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority
What's The Value Of One Business Card?
You know the feeling. You dash out the door, jump in the card, headed for a networking meeting. You arrive on time, just barely, and then it hits you.You forgot to stock up on business cards. It’s too late to go back to your office and retrieve them. You are now going to look like a rank amateur. Not having business cards in your pocket will subconsciously cause you to minimize making new connections. The scary part is that you never know the value of just one business card exchange.
There is a simple bit of preventative wedding marketing maintenance to make certain this never happens. When ordering or reordering business cards, buy an extra 1000 and stash them everywhere. You should never be at any networking event without 25-50 cards.
Stash a reserve 25-50 cards in the following places.
- In your car glove box or center console
- In the glove box or center console of your significant other’s car
- In one pocket of every suit coat or sport coat
- In every purse your own
- … fill in your special place, here
We’re talking about a few hundred extra cards, for back up, We’re not talking about your special business card case. This is back up.
You’ll never have that sick feeling, in the pit of your stomach, again.
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority
Wedding Professionals Unite Against These Suggestions!
This link was sent to me the other day from one of my fellow bridal show producers. This article titled “The Big Wedding Money Wasters” will make your blood boil!
Now I know you, as true wedding professionals, can come up with better advice for todays brides planning on a budget than these concepts which could lead to a very bad wedding day experience!
So, no matter what your professional category, send in your suggestions for how a bride can cut costs and lets create our own “money saving” suggestions. You can either comment here or e-mail me at deb@bridalspectacular.com
I hope you will take the time to read the whole article but just to give you an idea here are some bulleted guidelines they are suggesting. THESE ARE VERY BAD TIPS!
- Don’t get Save The Date cards
- Shop for your dress somewhere besides a bridal shop
- Use an i-pod for your music
- Bake your own cup cakes instead of a wedding cake
- Hire a friend or college student for your photographer instead of a pro
- Skip the favors, limo and any other “wow” extras.
Now, to be fair there were a few good tips in the article on ways to save on flowers and the dinner costs, but the other advice was so …….
What say you? Put your advice and comments here!
Debra Hansen, The Bridal Spectacular
Is your pricing and service structure working against you?
Wedding vendors are often frustrated that brides don’t appreciate the value of their services. Ultimately, aside from ‘customer service,’ there are three major factors that come into play.
- Hours of service
- Price for product/service
- The quality of the result
One major problem is the tradition of how pricing is presented. Often, particularly for entertainment, photography, videography, the pricing presented to the prospect is based on ‘time in direct contact with the client.’
That method, while customary in the wedding industry, understates the time directly serving any single client, not to mention their share of overall service and time from your business.
Until I went through the process of being a groom, I never realized how much time a videographer or photographer spent, after the wedding, before presenting the final result. Contracts for services show beginning and end times at the event, but I’ve never seen an informational description of how much time is spent in post-production, for example.
When a prospect doesn’t know how many hours it takes to edit one hour of raw footage from one camera, it’s hard for her to understand why the price is $4000 rather than $1000. Hours are tangible measure of your effort. The result is more subjective.
It is not sufficient to show a prospect samples of your reel or finished photos and expect them to understand the degree of difficulty. A photographer who shoots a sunset wedding has a great degree of difficulty. If one doesn’t explain the situational differences in equipment, lighting, etc., then you are just hoping that the client figures it out. That’s not good enough.
A DJ service or band prices itself for a specific number of hours of performance. Travel and set up are typically not shown, unless the event is outside the local market area.
What effect might it have if proposals and contracts had a simple ‘informational statement’ that indicated a list of additional tasks associated with the event that do not happen during the precise reception time frame? Effective implementation includes discussing the total scope of your service with the client, including a summary of those points, in your proposal, and briefly including it in (or as an attachment) to your agreement.
Maybe this should be an industry-wide standard for wedding marketers? What would change in the process of selling if every prospect understood you total measure of service, and its impact on the final result for the bride?
I know, I’m turning the pricing and selling approach on its ear. Maybe it’s time we do that.
I invite your specific comments, and how you think this might apply within your slice of the wedding industry.
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority
Industry Stats from The Knot
Found this great information today! Some of these stats have more than likely declined further in recent months, but you can still glean some great information from them. Enjoy! Debbie Hansen
Submitted by The City Wire staff on Wed, 04/08/2009 – 3:53pm.
The average spent on a wedding in the U.S. during 2008 was $29,334, up 5.2% over the 2007 average.
The Knot Wedding Network surveyed 18,000 couples married in 2008 to gather information on the costs and trends associated with weddings during the year.
The top 10 average costs of a 2008 wedding were:
Venue, $13,667, up 7.4% over 2007
Band, $3,633, down 11.5%
Photographer, $2,655, up 0.2%
Florist/decorations. $1,924, down 2.4%
Wedding planner, $1,907, up 8.6%
Rehearsal dinner, $1,640, n/a
Videographer, $1,591, up 1.2%
Wedding gown, $1,032, down 22%
Reception DJ, $943, up 0.3%
Wedding day transportation, $725, up 6.7%
The top 10 most expensive places to get married, according to the survey, are: Long Island, N.Y.; New York City; Northern New Jersey; Hudson Valley, N.Y.; Chicago; Connecticut; Los Angeles; South Florida; Rhode Island; and Orange County, Calif.
The Knot survey noted that the big question now is how the recession will impact 2009 wedding plans. According to a survey completed in March 2009, a majority of brides (60%) indicated that wedding spending will not change, while 40% have reduced their wedding budgets by approximately 16%.
Other interesting wedding trends and info include:
• The bulk of the average wedding budget is dedicated to the reception venue ($13,667, a 7% increase over 2007); followed by the reception band ($3,633 on average); and photography ($2,655 on average).
• Budgets are bigger and everyone’s contributing: The bride’s parents (44%) and the bride and groom (43%) are paying for the majority of weddings. Grooms’ parents also contributed (12%) in 2008.
• Couples are engaged longer: Couples marrying in 2008 were engaged for an average of 15.7 months, more than 25% longer than those married in 2007. A majority of couples (71%) lived together prior to getting married.
• Photography Is editorial and digital: Almost all (93%) brides chose “documentary” style photographers, and 90% of photographers shot in digital.
• Brides are hot on do-it-yourself: More than half (55%) of brides made their own favors and ceremony programs. Other top DIY categories were escort cards, save-the-dates, invitations, and decorations.
• New York City has the oldest brides and grooms, with average ages of 31 and 33. Respectively, Utah has the youngest, with average ages of 25 (bride) and 27 (groom).
• Iowa and Nebraska couples have the largest weddings, with more than 200 guests.
• Hawaii, Maine, and North Carolina have the most casual weddings. Connecticut, South Florida, Chicago, Detroit, and New York City (and surrounding areas) have the most formal (black tie).
Exhibit Design – Start Early for Maximum Effectiveness
If bridal shows are in your future (and they certainly ought to be if your target market is brides), there is no time like now to start designing what your booth will look like.
One of my favorite sources over the years for good tips has come from Susan A Friedmann the author of “Exhibiting at Tradeshows: Tips and Techniques for Success”. Then add over 20 years of bridal show experience to the mix and here are some basic things you need to keep in mind when planning your display.
- What is your budget? This will dictate just how much you can do, but even a small budget display can be an effective one.
- What image do you want to project? Quality, high tech, traditional, trendy, cutting edge?
- Use of Color: Color can create many different physiological or psychological messages.
Blue: Calming
Red: Emotionally Charged
Yellow: Best attention getter
Green: Positive and Calming
Orange: Cheap
Gold, Silver & Platinum: Symbolize premium
Black: Power
White: Denotes honesty and purity
Pastels: Have a welcoming affect.
Now this color advice is standard for trade shows, but for a bridal show you might also want to consider using the colors that are popular for weddings right now. Check with the bridal shops as to the most popular colors for this season.
- Graphics and Signage: They need to tell the bride and groom you are, what you do and what the benefits of your products and services are. The bridal show producer will more than likely provide you with an identification sign, but that is not enough. If the attendees are to walk away and remember your name you need to invest in a banner. Generally 3 x 8 is plenty big enough and will probably run you around $80.00. You will be able to use this banner for every show you participate in so its a worthwhile investment.
- Copy writing Guidelines: Be buyer focused, concise, stress one benefit only and be action oriented.
- Lighting: Bring your own lighting to accentuate product displays and create moods. Halogens are not allowed as they are a fire hazard. You will require electricity in order to use lighting features.
- Carpeting: Generally, large bridal shows are in convention centers that are not carpeted. Carpeting will make your booth look more luxurious and inviting. Either order it from the show decorator or check to see if you can bring your own. This is generally allowed as long as you make sure it is taped down securely. Your feet will love you for it and the brides will spend more time in your booth.
- Furniture: Tables should be used on the sides for displays and not create a barrier between the booth and the aisle. Save your chairs for bride use only! Don’t sit down or you will look bored.
- Make sure the booth reflects what you do: While it is nice to decorate your booth with flowers and other decor, if you are not a florist don’t over do it. The attendee should be able to tell at a glance if you are a photographer, baker, reception facility, invitation company, etc.
- Know how much space you have to work with. Mark out a 10 x 10, 5 x 8, or whatever size booth you have and practice with the items you plan to show.
- Don’t over fill your booth with too many products, focus on your main product.
We hope you find these tips helpful in planning for your next bridal show experience.
Debra Hansen, Show Producer
Memory Lane Video
Serving Las Vegas wedding professionals through networking, education, and synergy.
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