At the Wedding MBA conference, in my keynote presentation, I took a few well-placed jabs at the brides, and their concept of budget. After pummeling brides-to-be for a couple of minutes, I asked 1500 attendees to raise their hand if they had a written marketing plan.
Precisely 12 hands were raised in the entire room. So few, I could count them. “The bride is getting married for the first time. You’re a wedding professional. What’s your excuse?“…… Stunned silence.
Last week, when speaking in Richmond, DC, and Baltimore, my host and co-presenter, Marc Macintosh (Bridal Showcase) made a parallel assertion.
He noted how outspoken wedding businesses are when they hear anything about a DIY Bride. However, when it comes to their own marketing, many of them become a DIY Business Marketer.
The question you should be asking yourself is this: What elements of my business image, graphics, website… are second or third rate, and what would it take to improve them?
- A logo that looks like it came from 1982 needs to go away.
- Am I using the bridal show ID signage, or have I created my own.
- Does my website say it was last updated in 2003?
One can make a very long list of these inadequacies. What one shouldn’t do is look at the marketing image we project through rose colored glasses.
Make your list. Set your priorities. Begin the process of improving how you project.
In the words of wedding professionals to brides: Don’t DIY. Hire a professional!!
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority
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