How to Convince Your Ideal Client that They Need a Wedding Planner
As we are finishing up 2020 (for good, yay!) and rolling on into 2021, you have some pretty lofty goals about how many weddings you want to book this year. But the thing is, there's a lot of doubt and confusion in your mind about how to actually do that. I'm here to help you convince your ideal client that hiring you as their wedding planner is just what they need. We are going to talk about 4 ways that you can position your business as the best option for your dream brides.
Know your target audience and well, target them.
As a wedding planner, you may be thinking you already have a target audience picked out for you. That makes your job easy-peasy, right? It might be a little bit more complicated than that. Have you ever heard the phrase "if you're speaking to everyone, you're speaking to no one?" That's still the case in the wedding industry. Think about these few things when choosing an ideal client as a wedding planner...
Do I want to plan destination weddings or small, local weddings?
What is the budget that I'm going to be working with?
Am I going to plan luxury weddings?
Where will I find my ideal client?
What kind of brides do I want to be working with? What kind of wedding do they want?
What unique services can I offer? What kind of brides with these unique services target?
Asking yourself these questions will help you decide on the target audience that will want to work with you. When you know your target audience, even as a wedding planner, it makes all of the marketing tasks easier and more effortless.
Now, in your marketing, it is important to write and market your business as though you're talking to the one Bride that you want to be helping. This means marketing your business where you'll find them, whether that's Instagram, Facebook, or elsewhere. It also means writing and language that is going to attract them and make your services appealing.
Imagine how it will feel attracting all the brides that you want to work with! You can wake up with all the right leads in your inbox ready to sign a contract and start working with you. Next, we are going to talk about creating a strong and consistent brand you need to market your wedding planning business online.
Create a strong brand and consistent presence
One way you can stand out from other wedding planners is by taking an unorthodox approach to marketing. But you're probably wondering, how do I think outside the box? What is so different about my planning services than the business next door?
The answer can be your brand! The best way to stand out is to not look like everyone else so create a brand and a website that is true to self but also shows how your business is unique. Craft a clever mission statement that tells people who you are, what you do, and who you serve. This way, everyone who comes across your brand will know immediately whether they're in the right place or not. By doing this, you also prequalify everyone who inquires about your services because they immediately know whether or not they're talking to the right person for the job.
But the problem is, as a wedding planner, you aren't familiar with creating a branding website for your business. That's why I've outlined these five simple steps for you to follow to create an online presence that will attract and convert the right audience for your dream clients!
Create a mood board! Gather photos and images of what it would look like to work with you, pictures your ideal client would be drawn to, and ones that you just plain enjoy looking at. From these images, detect 5 to 7 colors that you can use when creating graphics, your website, your logo, and all other brand and marketing materials.
Design a brand! This can be a bit more tricky since there's a lot that goes into your brand as the wedding planner. Not only do you need to create all of the branding materials like a primary logo, secondary logo, submarks, and business cards, but you also need to make sure it evokes three feelings, draws people to you, and inspires action. I suggest working with a professional brand designer for this step! (Hey, I do this! - link to contact page on my website)
Build a website! Decide on a web-building platform that will work for your business. I suggest Squarespace, Showit, or Wix for the best visually appealing websites. On your website, you should include details about what it's like to work with you, testimonials from past clients, who you serve, how they can learn more about working with you, and where they can go to find free information that will position yourself as the expert within your niche.
Use it consistently! A brand will only work for you when you are intentional. Whether you're writing an Instagram post or putting together printed advertisements to market your business locally, your brand should stay the same so that you can create the awareness you need to be recognized as the go-to wedding planner within your industry.
Evaluate how well your brand is working for you! A good brand is better based on research and data. After you've been using your brand consistently for a period of time, it's a good idea to see how well it's been working for you. To figure this out, ask yourself questions like, "How many inquiries have I gotten in the past few months?", "How many leads booked with me?", "What have people said about my brand?" Things like these will help you see if you need to make any changes or if your brand is already awesome enough ;).
Identify a need and position yourself as the solution
Within your industry, what is the biggest struggle your ideal client is facing? Once you know this, use it to your advantage! Make your ideal client aware of their pain points and then position yourself as the expert and the solution to their problems. When people are aware of a problem you're facing, they're quick to find a solution. If the problem and the solution or presented together, it's easier to make a final decision.
So ask yourself, "What is the biggest struggle? How can I solve this struggle?" Then make this the why behind your business. As you market your business on social media, a potential client should be able to answer these two questions when they see your Instagram bio, mission statement, and land on your website.
If you're wondering how the problem your ideal client faces is different from the problems other wedding planners are solving, then it's time to take a step back to the beginning and see what makes your business different. Once you know how your business is different, you can have a completely different problem or put a new spin on the average problems to make your offer unique and stand out as different!
Speak to their pain points
If your focus is to book more clients, educational content isn't going to make you more money. What you need to do is to speak to the pain points that your brides are facing so you can show them how working with you is going to fix that problem. Most brides' struggles are going to be emotional, and their emotions are going to be what moves them to buy from you. So here is a mini-cheatsheet of five emotional struggles your potential clients may be facing...
They're too stressed out to care about all the little details that would normally consume them
Their relationships are suffering because no one can come to an agreement
They're wasting hours of time on things that don't really matter
Their dreams aren't coming true because they're letting other people make decisions for them
They're downright exhausted and are ready for someone else to take over (that isn't the future mother-in-law)
How are you feeling?! Are you all equipped and ready to go tackle the new year and book all those weddings? I sure hope so! If you need help with any of these steps to market your business in a way that convinces ideal clients that they need your services. I know a pretty great marketing coach for wedding pros that will help grow your business and become your best friend. If that's the kind of package deal you want, then learn more by heading to my services page!