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Brian McGovern

Looking for more ways to promote your wedding planning or wedding services business? Today’s brides are online … and are overwhelmed by too many choices and poorly designed websites.

Some event planners tell me they love advertising on The Knot. Others tell me it’s a waste of time. How can that be?

Successful wedding businesses know how persuade brides to click on their links. The others do not.

The ones who succeed know how to convert clicks … into leads … into appointments … into contracts … into happy clients … and into word-of-mouth referrals.

The others throw up a confusing, wimpy website and blame the internet.

Please stop sending paid traffic to your crappy homepage. Build a custom landing page that targets your traffic.

Believe me, right now there are photographers, DJ’s, bands, florists, travel agents, bridal shops making a ton of money advertising on WeddingWire.com, The Knot.com, GetMarried.com and more.

If you have no sales conversion system in place – don’t waste your money. You need to optimize your site and create a lead generating system and not a static website.

Download Free Report

Want to learn more … download a free copy of More Clients Now. I’ll show you how to get started in the right direction … and give you 10 Free Breakthrough tools that will generate business.

Here’s The Knot … they just announced the launch of 75 new wedding websites. Check it out.

Ahead of Schedule, The Knot Continues to Grow Hyper-Localized Planning Sites and Dominate the Online Wedding Space

NEW YORK, NY (March 31, 2009) —The Knot Inc. (NASDAQ: KNOT) today announces the launch of the next 75 wedding websites in its growing portfolio of niche wedding destinations. In less than three months, The Knot has launched over 80 new planning sites, leveraging its vast content databases to offer the most robust local resources available for today’s couples tying the knot.

On these hyper-local sites, brides and grooms can browse for inspiration from more than 1,700 Real Wedding photos, get instant community feedback from other brides planning in the same locality, and immediately email thousands of wedding vendors who can help make their dream wedding a reality.

“At a time when the economy is pinching all advertising budgets, The Knot is focused on adding value for our local advertisers by maximizing their exposure online,” said David Liu, CEO of The Knot Inc.

The new sites are search-engine-optimized to appear in natural search results, offering brides and grooms the best tools for wedding-planning on the local level where other national brands are notably absent. The company anticipates it may have as many as 200 niche sites launched by the end of 2009.

About The Knot Inc.
The Knot, Inc. (NASDAQ: KNOT; www.theknot.com), is a leading lifestage media company. The Company’s flagship brand, The Knot, is the nation’s leading wedding resource, reaching well over a million engaged couples each year through the #1 wedding website TheKnot.com. Other products from The Knot include The Knot national and local magazines, The Knot books (published by Random House and Chronicle) and television programming bearing The Knot name (aired on the Style and Comcast Networks). The Company also owns WeddingChannel.com, the most visited wedding gift registry website.

Want more free marketing ideas? Download “More Clients Now” and discover how to attract more clients with low-cost and free promotions. Download it here.

If you’re looking for a fast way to generate more event bookings – try this strategy.  You can actually increase the amount of advertising you do AND decrease your advertising costs … in fact you can even make advertising a source of revenue instead of an expense.

Put together a group of 10 or more event services professionals. In the example I used in the video, an off-site caterer could partner with;

• Wedding Planners
• Event Producers
• Florists
• Limo Services
• DJ
• Entertainment / Talent Agent
• Tent / Marquee Rental
• Amusement Rentals
• Event Designers
• Event Staffer
• Event Marketers
• Speaker’s Bureau
• Awards / Gift Baskets

Next, contact 3 or 4 of each type of event vendor. Look to partner with the those who demonstrate a level of professionalism and entrepreneurial spirit.

Offer each vendor the opportunity to partner with you and a dozen other non-competing businesses who all share a common target market. Show them how, by combining resources, each member of the group will get more value out of their promotional budgets.

By combining forces with a dozen or so other event businesses – you can bundle ads and direct mail … and get a higher open rate. I used this concept to mail out my material to 5,000 prospects at zero cost to me – and I ended up making over $11,00o. The mailer cost the group  $6,000 to print, label and mail. Each of my ten partners contributed $600 – I contributed my time and energy and got the project done.

Remember, most event business owners will never take the time to do this themselves. It’s well worth it to pay 10% of the total cost, just to get it done. Off that one mailer, the photographer booked $2,100, the DJ got two jobs for $800 and my caterer grossed $15,000 and picked up a repeat buyer. Not bad for $600 each!

The secret to making this work is to just do it. Make sure each vendor contributes a very exciting discount or special offer to the group mailer. Your cover letter or brochure cover should read something like, “Over $2,000 in Special Event Services Savings.” Or, “Save Over $2,000 on Your Wedding.”

The event buyer will open, read and save a brochure like that. You’ll have more success in attracting new clients by teaming together.

So, are you going to give it a try? Any questions? Let me know.

Good Luck!

Brian

PS … have you downloaded your free copy of More Clients Now? It’s packed with great marketing ideas for event business owners. Get yours now.

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]]> http://brianmcgovern.com/marketing-ideas-catering-events-v/feed/ 12 http://brianmcgovern.com/marketing-plans-for-caterers-and-planners/ http://brianmcgovern.com/marketing-plans-for-caterers-and-planners/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:32:08 +0000 Brian McGovern http://brianmcgovern.com/?p=353 Marketing Plans for Caterers and Planners

Post from: Marketing For Event People - Catering, Wedding & Live Event Businesses

Love him or hate him, you have to admit Gordon Ramsay is a powerful brand. David Tutera may not plan events the way you would, but his client roster is pure A-list.

So what business lessons do a hot-headed chef or a celebrity party planner offer you? Plenty… here are just two lessons:

Thou Shall Not Be Fungible

Fungibility is the property of a good or a commodity whose individual units are capable of mutual substitution. Examples of highly fungible commodities are crude oil, wheat, orange juice, precious metals, and currencies.

If you are fungible it means you are easy to replace – a commodity.

You must be irreplaceable.  If you are just “a caterer”, “a wedding planner”, “a wedding photographer”, or “a corporate event producer” – you have to compete with everyone else in your category. Gordon Ramsay is not “a chef,” he is Gordon Ramsay.  David Tutera isn’t “a wedding planner,” he is the one and only David Tutera.

When you create a strong brand like Ramsay or Tutera – you don’t get price shoppers. You become an incomparable category of one. Customers know that if they want you, only you will do and they will have to pay the price you set.

Thou Shall Build a Great Reputation By Great Deeds

Cynics may think that the only reason these two men have strong brands is because they “know how to work the media.” While no doubt they know exactly how to exploit media – I don’t believe this is the secret to their success.  (But perhaps Tutera owes some of his success to that hair cut. Geesh, if I could only get my melon coiffed that way.)

Drawing attention to your business only works well – in the long run – if your business is worth paying attention too. The only way for a business to build genuine buzz is to produce a great product or service that’s worth talking about.

Build your reputation by accomplishing remarkable things. Create fantastic events and wondrous catered affairs. Be daring, be bold and be different.

Thou Shall Be Judged By The Company Thou Serves

People want the best. Whether they’re throwing a party or planning a big corporate event – they honestly want to give their guests the best they can afford. But food and entertaining is so subjective. How’s a bride to be supposed to know who is the best wedding planner? How is a posh party planner going to find the best caterer?

As I mention in my free report, More Clients Now, people who are shopping for event services use short-cuts to try and find the best vendors.

There isn’t enough time to try out every potential event service provider in town – so the typical shopper looks for shortcuts. The biggest shortcut is word-of-mouth – the shopper asks for referrals from the people she knows and respects. Failing to find a suitable referral, the shopper takes cues from strangers that she respects.

If while poking about the web, an event shopper discovers that David Tutera is the wedding planner of choice for Jennifer Lopez, the shopper automatically assumes David must be the best.When we read that Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants attract celebrities – we assume the place must be good. Otherwise, why would the famous eat there?

Might you do a better job than our famous peers? Maybe, but unless you have an equally impressive client list – Mr. Tutera will win that client (assuming she has the budget!)

Get Thee A Celebrity

It’s amazing how much a testimonial from a celebrity can boost your business. Humans are a herd animal and celebrities are perceived to be the Alpha.  Make it your mission to land a big-name client and make them so very happy – happy enough to grant you a testimonial.

One way to land celebrity clients is by donating your services to their charitable cause.  It’s easy enough to discover with Google search.  Don’t bother trying to make your offer directly to the celebrity. Contact board members or the director of the charity. Donate or deep-discount – do what you must.  Aim to be a big part of an event that your celebrity of choice will actually attend.  Do a great job and unless the celeb is a complete jerk you should be able to get a nice photo and thank you card. Bingo.

I show you  in More Clients Now how to get tons of testimonials and use them to generate new clients. Be sure to download a free copy of More Clients Now and learn how to attract new customers using free online tools.

Don’t limit yourself thinking to pop celebrities. Landing Fortune 100 clients has the same effect.

I talk to many business owners and salespeople and most don’t blog. To them, it’s a huge mysterious concept, blogging. That’s good news to those of us who do blog, but only if you use this potentially powerful marketing tool intelligently.

For example, a lot of wedding planners blog about getting ready for weddings and caterers blog about their day-to-day activities. What’s wrong with that? Plenty.

First – how are buyers supposed to find you- if you aimlessly blog? Let’s say you’re a wedding photographer and your market is Cleveland, OH. If the article of your blog headline is “Here We Go Again,” and your post is about doing your taxes – how is someone going to find that post if they’re typing “Cleveland Wedding Photographer?” If you want a platform for your personal thoughts, get a personal blog. If you’d rather blog to get clients – only blog about what your customers care about.

Thought Leadership Blogging is Stupid …

… if people don’t buy your thoughts. If I’m hiring a consultant, I want to read “thought leadership” blog posts. If I want to order a wedding gown – I want to see some pictures, reviews and prices. As a consumer, I really don’t care that much beyond, “Do you have it in my size?” (I doubt it, I’m 6′-3″ and 210 pounds and besides, I don’t have the legs for it).

Who Cares?

“Today I went to the car wash and aren’t my kids cute?” Really? Who cares? Not your potential customers. Save that stuff for your personal blog. If I’m searching for a local graphic artist to do my invitations, all I want to see is your portfolio and prices. Remember, I’m talking about local service businesses.

It’s OK to let potential buyers see you as a real person via blogging. But, if all you ever post about is unrelated personal drivel – how are they supposed to find you?

The Only Way to Blog & Attract Local Customers

You must think “keywords” if you want to be found. For local buyers to find you, think, “keywords + local appends.”  Huh? Stick with me, it’s easy.

I go into the subject in more details and include some links to video tutorials in my free e-book, “More Clients Now – Ten Free Tools.” But, let me give you the 5 cent tour. Here’s tip one;

Use the same words your buyers use.

Figure out how your clients search for your business online. What words do they type into Google when they’re shopping for services like yours? Don’t assume you know – it’s really eye opening to see how people really describe your services.

Too many times, we get caught up in out trade’s slang. Don’t use technical jargon unless your customers do too.

If it ain’t broke

Don’t get cute. You may be bored and want to describe yourself, as a “bridal consultant,” but “wedding planners” is better. Don’t believe me?

A quick check on Google’s Keyword tool shows the facts; just this morning I compared “wedding planner” to “bridal consultant.” The exact phrase “Wedding planner” gets searched 201,000 a month and “bridal consultant” only 36 times! That’s almost 6,000 more searches. Do you see why blogging strategically is so important?

I feel bad when I see a business owner create post after post the wrong way. What a waste of time and energy. So, here’s another tip – just because I like you.

Use local keyword phrases

How hard is it to show up on page one of Google for a keyword like, “catering?” It’s possible – but only if you work hard at it. You’ll have to displace sites that have full-time SEO squads and large budgets to do it. The firms that rank on top for your primary keywords are spending an enormous amount of time and energy to target the global market.

So, here’s the tip. Our wedding photographer would be wise to blog about “Cleveland Wedding Photographer,” one day and “Wedding Photography in Cleveland,” the next.

But why stop there? “Cleveland OH Wedding Photography,” “Cleveland Ohio Wedding Photography,” “Wedding Photography – Cleveland Area,” and don’t forget “West Cleveland Wedding Photography,” and “Cleveland Heights Wedding Photography,” too. Next, use your unique knowledge of your location to outgun the big sites. How many national firms are optimizing web pages for “Cuyahoga Wedding Photography?”

OK – so there you have it. YES – blog to get business. It’s easy, it’s free and it CAN work if you do it strategically.

Blog about high volume keywords that are most relevant to your business. Then add on your local phrases. Put your keyword+local phrase in your blog’s headline and be sure the content of the post includes the keyword+local phrase.

You won’t get 200,000 searches a month with this strategy but the traffic you get will be highly targeted.

Any questions? Download my free e-book for more instructions and leave a note in the comments section.

And, in case you’re wondering … this is how I look in a wedding dress …