How to become a winning wedding supplier in 2018

All those things you promised yourself you’d do differently last year can finally be put into practice and you could make 2018 your best year of weddings yet.

That is, as long as you’re prepared to make positive changes now.

Here are 3 things that the most successful wedding suppliers of 2018 will be doing right now and throughout 2018. If you want to have a winning year too, you’d best get started…

1. Be stringent with time management and communications

Think back to how busy you were during peak wedding season 2017. Wouldn’t it be incredible if you could be equally as busy this year but without the added stress of feeling like there simply aren’t enough hours in the day?

Streamline your communications now and you’ll soon notice how much more efficiently you’re managing your time, and how much more you’re able to get done. We strongly recommend that you write down a basic communication plan and stick to it as closely as you can. It could look something like this:

• Enquiry: respond via email within 24 hours (tip – prepare a template and include personalisation fields)
• Follow up email / phone call: if you haven’t heard back since the initial enquiry, schedule a follow up email and / or phone call 5-7 days later.
• First meeting: organise a first meeting to discuss ideas and secure the booking. At this meeting, inform your clients of how you prefer to work in terms of ongoing communication between now and their wedding day. Perhaps you could share a Google document with the couple and ask them to input all of their ideas and requests there, and let them know that you’ll be free to discuss all ideas exactly 12, 10 or 8 months before their wedding day – whichever schedule works for both you as the wedding supplier and for the couple in question.
• Ongoing communication: set your second meeting (whether face to face, skype or phone call) and schedule a final pre-wedding meeting with the couple so that they feel comfortable knowing that you’re in control of things. This also helps you better manage your time.

Prepare for ad hoc email communications and phone calls but try to keep all communications direct and concise – it’s simply a better use of everyone’s time.

2. Be clear on your goals

What do you hope to achieve in 2018, both personally and professionally? It’s important to consider what a better wedding business and a better life means to you, and to think about how these elements tie together.

If you’re challenging yourself to generate more revenue and more bookings but are also determined to secure a better work-life balance this year, you’ll have to consider building a bigger team to free up your time. Is this financially feasible?

Carefully consider your objectives for this year and document three clear goals for you to work towards and remind yourself of regularly. Checking in monthly will provide reflection; enabling you to see how you’re progressing and helping you stay on track.

Tip: you’re much more likely to do something if you write it down so even if you work alone, note down your goals and display them in your office so they’re clear for you to see!

3. Build your online presence

It is getting more and more difficult to get noticed online but it’s absolutely essential that you try and that you’re consistently dedicating a fair proportion of your time to doing so.

Consistently produce and upload fresh, new, high quality content and stay abreast of new developments in SEO. If you’ve already got a great website and are present on social channels and online wedding planning tools like Bridebook, consider working with a local SEO consultant or digital marketing specialist to boost your presence and further build authority in search results.

Local pros can be found on Linked In and on specialist freelance sites like UpWork, but be careful to ask for examples of work and demonstrable experience before engaging a freelancer as specialist sites don’t always mean specialist services!

We’ll be sharing our top SEO tips right here, at Bridebook Business Hub, throughout the year so if you’re keen to have a go at becoming an online marketing pro yourself, stay tuned for hot new tips and tricks.

It’s time to change the game

To make a positive long-term impact on your business it’s essential that you focus on making small changes today. These super achievable game changing tips will make your life easier and your business better. Start today and become this year’s winning wedding supplier.

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