If you are a wedding vendor, one of your most important forms of marketing must be face to face marketing. One of the best ways to meet brides and begin a face to face relationship is by having a booth at a bridal expo. However, booking the booth is only half the battle. Once you have your booth, you will need to attract brides to it. One way to do this is by offering brides a chance to win a free service or a product like save the date custom magnets.
In addition to sponsoring a give-away, you can attract potential brides to your booth by using other means as well. You should make sure that your booth is both compelling and professional looking. If you are willing to invest a few thousand dollars, it may be worthwhile to purchase a custom designed booth. This is a great option if you do several shows a year. However, you can achieve a similar effect by using a combination of cheaper products. These can include professionally printed banners and retractable banner stands.
Once the bride to be has stepped into your booth, your staff should greet her. You will want to send your most knowledgeable staff members. If possible, you should attend the show yourself as well. Bridal expos are more about creating contacts than closing deals. Thus, you should offer a soft sell approach. However, you should collect as many contact details as possible. In addition to attracting people to your booth, a drawing is a great way to entice brides to give you their contact details. Whether the prize is a small item like save the date custom magnets or a large item like an airline ticket, brides will sign up to win it.
Once the show is over, your work is just beginning. At this point, you should start to use your contact list. If you have collected email addresses, you should make sure to email the brides and remind them of your services. If you have collected phone numbers, you should call the brides to discuss your services. You should keep in mind that all of the other vendors at the bridal show will be doing similar things. In order to stand above the fray, you should try to think of something that will make your marketing efforts seem unique and enticing.
In spite of the growth in internet marketing, face to face marketing is still extremely important. The bridal industry is no exception to this fact. Bridal expos are a great marketing venue for companies who sell quirky and unique small items like save the date custom magnets. They are also a great venue for companies who sell larger items like hall rentals, catering, or honeymoon packages. The most important things to think about, however, are how to get the brides into your booth and how to convert your relationship with them into a sale. If you are successful at both of these things, you will increase your business and your profits.
