Over the years dealing with wedding venue businesses, I have heard the same three wedding venue myths repeated again and again, which are directly impacting upon venues’ conversion rates and ultimately their success and profitability.
So, let’s break down those wedding venue myths once and for all:
Myth 1: “Your Wedding Venue Needs to Appeal to Everyone”
The old adage, “you can’t be all things, to all men (or women!)” fully applies here.
Any marketing professional will tell you that you can never appeal to everyone and that it is vitally important before you launch into any marketing campaign, that you clearly identify your ideal client and then nurture your venue’s distinctive characteristics to enable you to market your product (in this case your wedding venue) to them and them alone, ensuring that you focus your marketing message and budget to attract the greatest return. Whilst it’s naturally vital to entice a sufficiently large client base, attempting to appeal to everyone with a scattergun approach will dilute your venue’s unique identity and will ultimately prevent you from hooking your perfect clients. They need to believe that you are talking to them and them alone, so you have to be really clear and precise as to who ‘they’ are!
Myth 2: “The Customer Experience Starts at the Point of Booking”
While the booking process is undoubtedly important, the customer experience begins far earlier. From the moment couples discover your venue be it online, through socials or recommendations, they start forming their impressions of you and your venue.
Ensure that your website and social media presence portrays a realistic representation of your venue’s atmosphere, the space, the offering as well as you, the wedding manager and/or team whom they’ll be putting their trust in to deliver their perfect wedding day for them.
Respond to enquiries the same day, provide clear information, answer their questions and demonstrate a personalised approach through all communications, in their preferred medium. Ensure you create an amazing first impression before they even step foot through your door, building trust from the outset and guaranteeing they book you.
Myth 3: “Keep Your Prices Quiet Before Couples Have Viewed”
This is my pet hate! I come across so many venues who believe that sharing pricing information upfront may deter potential clients, when in fact not doing so, can serve to lose you innumerable bookings that you’re not even aware of. Not giving your prospective clients an idea of what you cost can create a sense of uncertainty and frustration for couples who are trying to make informed decisions.
If they can’t afford you, springing the price on them after you have showed them round and helped them to picture their wedding day at your venue and ultimately fallen in love with it, isn’t going to help them to suddenly find the money. All it will do, is make them embarrassed and uncomfortable and ultimately waste everyone’s time.
Transparency is key to building trust and fostering positive relationships with your prospective couples. Consider displaying a pricing range or starting package rates on your website, to give couples a general idea of what to expect. This helps them determine if your venue aligns with their budget before getting in touch. Also, be prepared to provide a detailed breakdown of costs and additional services during their initial visit to enable them to make an informed decision and to help you to secure the booking.
Zoë Binning Ltd is Wales’ most recognised wedding venue business consultant, helping Welsh wedding venues increase their conversion rates, drive profitability and secure positive feedback.
Zoë is an advocate for developing sustainable, eco-friendly and ethical wedding practices within the industry and can provide advice and support to help your venue to become more sustainable and eco-friendly in its endeavours.
Discover more about Zoë’s wedding venue consultancy services here and book a consultation directly with Zoë here.
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