Essential questions you should be asking your couples in 2018

We know it can be difficult to squeeze in all of the essential things you absolutely must do to fulfil your role as wedding supplier.

But did you know that setting aside just a few minutes to ask your potential and existing clients the right questions at the right time is one of the most important and impactful things you can do to help grow your business?

Your most powerful source of knowledge is your consumer base – that is, your couples.

The insights you garner from clients and from losing potential clients can really make or break your future as a wedding industry professional.

So here’s our essential guide to the questions you need to be asking your couples and at which stage of their wedding planning journey.

Stage 1 – enquiry received

Send the couple an email thanking them for their enquiry, congratulating them on their engagement and inviting them to discuss their requirements in further detail. You can do this in the form of a wedding venue visit or by scheduling in a Skype or phone call to, for example, understand what the couple like about your wedding business and to talk them through your portfolio.

Tip – although email is the preferred form of communication for 88% of wedding planning couples, try to initiate a face to face conversation or phone call after you’ve received their enquiry. Half of couples say that they prefer in-person contact with the wedding suppliers they choose to use.

Not all wedding suppliers are good at doing this.

How professional will you look and how much will you stand out against the competition if you ask to meet the couple to discuss cake designs or insist on a phone call to introduce yourself as the couples potential wedding decorations supplier?!

Set the bar for excellent service and fantastic communication early on.

Stage 2 – after the venue visit or initial introduction

So you’ve met the couple face to face or at least spoken with them over the phone.

You should have gathered all essential information such as both of their names and contact details, and established when the couple are looking to get married (this is important regardless of whether the couple choose to use your services or not, as it enables you to track enquiry volume against seasonality).

A day or two after the visit or post-enquiry discussion, email the couple to follow up and express how much you’d like to work with them.

If it’s a yes…

If you receive positive news from the couple and they choose to use your wedding services, send them an email expressing how pleased you are to be able to help them create their dream day.

Here are some real examples of questions you could then ask your new clients, courtesy of the wedding venue Hedsor House:

1. What made you choose Hedsor House?
2. What were your favourite and least favourite things about Hedsor House?
3. Did you feel that pricing was good value at Hedsor House?
4. What other wedding venues did you consider along with Hedsor House? How did it compare to these other venues?

If it’s a no…

If you receive a rejection from the couple and they let you know they’ve chosen another wedding venue or supplier, you could ask:

1. Which wedding venue did you choose in the end?
2. What were your reasons for choosing this wedding venue over Hedsor House?
3. If you could do anything to improve or change Hedsor House and make it your ideal wedding venue, what would it be?

If it’s gone quiet…

If you don’t hear back from the couple after a week or so, you could email them to say:

We hope Heacham Manor is still in the running to be your wedding venue however if you have chosen not to hold your special day with us, we’d love to know which venue you did eventually choose, and what the deciding factor was?

It’s important that you learn from the ‘no’s’ and try to understand why couples don’t choose your wedding services. This knowledge can and will help you convert more enquiries into bookings in future.

Stage 3 – post wedding

Once your journey with the couple has come to an end and you’ve contributed toward delivering their dream wedding day, you can ask for final feedback and a review direct on your Bridebook profile – just share your link!

Tip: wait at least two weeks before asking the couple for feedback as they are going to be on a wedding high and you don’t want to seem inconsiderate. 

Here are just some of the questions you can ask a couple after their wedding day (pick a handful that work best for you and your wedding business):

• How would you rate your overall experience?
• How well was your initial enquiry dealt with?
• Do you remember who you dealt with?
• Would you agree that the website is easy to navigate and understand?
• When choosing us which other wedding venues made it on to your shortlist?
• What was the deciding factor that made you choose us?
• How would you rate the event staff on the day?
• Which caterer did you choose?
• How would you rate your caterer?
• Were you happy with the service you received from your suppliers (both recommended by us and others)? Please do give us details if any failed to meet your expectations or exceeded them…
• Would you recommend us to friends/family/colleagues?
• Would you use us for future events?
• Did you stay overnight with us? If you did stay overnight with us, how would you rate our guest accommodation?
• What was your favourite thing about your experience with us throughout your wedding planning journey? What was your least favourite part of your experience?
• What would you improve about our wedding business?
• Would you be interested in appearing on our website in a Real Wedding feature?
• Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?
• We’d love to hear if we did a particularly great job or if there’s anything we can improve on…
• Are we able to share the content of your responses for marketing purposes?

Ask the right questions at the right time in the right way.

How you ask your couples these questions is up to you.

We recommend using a simple survey tool like Typeform or Survey Monkey. Alternatively, start with an email and follow up with a phone call or face to face meeting. But remember to be flexible in communicating with the couple in the way that suits them best and works well enough for you.

Don’t ask too many questions and make sure you revisit the answers regularly and really use the insights these answers provide to help drive your wedding company forwards.

Ultimately, it’s essential for you to remember how important the answers to these questions are in helping your wedding business grow and develop.

Any questions? I hope so…

Looking for more wedding industry supplier stories and couple insights? Head to the Bridebook Business Hub, the home of wedding industry knowledge.