Bridal Show followups?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Adrienne Sasson on January 28, 2010 at 8:48pm

Hi Julie,

I too have found many brides not responding to follow ups. My order is: 1) thank you note, 2) Phone call, 3) Email, if the phone call was unanswered.

My thank you note and email remind the bride of course the fact we met at a particular function. I also remind them in both the email and note they are privy to a special amenity for their honeymoon or destination wedding when they book through us.

If I find the wedding date is more than 1 year into the future, I keep the bride's name in a reminder file and follow up one more time.

However, I do not beg for business and you cannot beat a dead horse.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Pizzuti Studios Photography on January 28, 2010 at 9:31pm

Hi Julie, I've been thinking a lot about this lately, as we just had a show this past weekend. Thanks for starting this discussion.

We usually send out an email to those that signed up for our list within 2 days. This is gives them a chance to immediately opt out of the emails. From there we'll send periodic emails every 1-2 weeks for about a month.

A follow up phone call after the first email can get a real good response, especially if you had a good conversation with a bride/groom at a show.

Then we'll send a mailer the day after we receive the list from the show. This is usually a flyer and a handwritten note thanking them for their visit to our booth.

You never know who's going to respond to which medium. A lot of bridal show attendants are people just starting to look around, so follow ups are key to getting a response one way or the other.

Thanks again for the post!
-Rich Pizzuti

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Glen Shevlin on January 29, 2010 at 10:46am

We have a draw at the show with a prize designed to target people who need our services/products. This gives us a " confirmed" list of people who are at least in teh market for us.

We follow up the list a week later with the anouncment of the winner by e-mail as well as the announcment that if they keep the ticket stub they get a discount.

We then follow up twice more if we get no responce the name is moved to another file.

All the names are given the option of opting out of ew-mail contact if they do not we add them to our newsletter contact list for regular, every 4to 6 weeks contact at this point if they reply is a bonus but we are not activly pursuing them unless we have contact from them.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Felicia on February 2, 2010 at 9:45am

Thanks for starting the discussion. I too have had the exact same questions. It seems that most brides do not remember even talking to you. I would be curious also as to how people book free consultation appointments as the show and is this a more effective approach for actually closing business.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Glen Shevlin on February 2, 2010 at 10:19am

The " WHO ARE YOU" question will come up all the time unless you give the bride a reason to remember you, as opposed to all 379 other vendors at the shows. There are a couple of ways to do this.
1) Make your booth memorable in a big way. That can be done a couple of ways some kind of a show at your booth , magician ,musician, juggler if the budget allows. If not make the booth stand out from everybody else, the goal is to make sure they remember you or your booth either is the first step.

2) Have a contest of some description that is worth the effort to hang onto teh tickets. We use this method with a draw the prize being a discount off the price of their invitations, as a bonus we give the people who did not win a smaller discount.

In either case the bride now has a reason to remember you or your booth, if it is going to be the booth they remember your followup must reflect that so that they connect the magician to your and your product/service. E-mail is wonderful method for this, for example

Subject Line We had a magical time at the show

You then do a follow up in the email that at least makes the connection .

The follow up must be done quickly following the show 1 week is generally as long as you want to wait, any longer and the bride will ahve been distracted by any number of things , like the next show she went to .

USing a service like vertical responce to manage your e-mails is also a bonus they are inexpensive and will not allow you to run afoul of spam or advertising laws.

One thing using a contest or guest book to collect e-mail address or contact information , make sure that they are aware that you will contact them after teh show. They can then remove themselves from your list if they want, unsolicited e-mails are spam after all.

Once you have made contact with the respective bride following the show you need to maitain contact, specifically in teh wedding industry, the time lines tend to be longer and if your name is not infront of them on a fairly regular basis you will drop from front of mind and you will ahve to start the process all over again.

Have fun

Glen

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Judy Chadwick on February 3, 2010 at 3:16pm

I tried booking consultation appointments at a couple of wedding fairs; I offered a coupon for a discount if they scheduled their consultation at the fair. But only one person who scheduled a consultation actually showed up for it (and they booked a cake, but broke up a few months later and cancelled), so I stopped using that technique.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dan Smith on February 3, 2010 at 12:04pm

This is a problem. Most of the brides saw so many people that day, they don't remember anything. The problem with emails is that most of your emails are going right to spam, so the bride never sees them. The only way, and I've been in sales many many years in different disciplines, is to call them.

After a phone call, the bride now has the opportunity to look for your email in spam, and hopefully remember talking to you.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Glen Shevlin on February 3, 2010 at 12:16pm

the who are you problem is a constant problem, that is why we make an effort to be memorable, through contests and displays. Once you get past the identification issue the emails and other contact systems work. Telephone calls also have the same issue of the top but are easier to control .

The issue is and always will be building trust and relationships.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Carmen Quirindongo on February 7, 2010 at 10:27am

Good morning Julie,

I am quite new to this, and so if you don't mind can you tell me how you got started in doing a bridal show. Were you alone at your table with your product? and did you have to have on hand for the brides. I would appreciate any information you might have for me................

Sincerely,
Carmen

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sandra Aaron on February 27, 2010 at 10:51pm

I simply e-mailed the bridal shows I was interested in and asked for an information kit. When I decided which ones to attend I teamed up with someone who does decor. She designed my space and supplied decor items for it. In exchange for her help I told everyone who would listen that the space was designed by event designer Carole Rame. I also had her cards available for anyone who wanted one.

For staffing I found some girls who had just become certified wedding planners through the association. They volunteered to gain experience for when they are ready to do their first wedding shows. One of my volunteers is doing her first show in March and is going to be absolutely awesome. I volunteered for someone else before I did my first booth. You could also use family, friends or hire someone off something like Craigslist. The only reason I wouldn't suggest doing it alone is that the days are long and you need to eat to keep your energy up. It's also nice to walk around and say hello to the other vendors when things are busy.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by sarah Bunnett _ Gibson on March 2, 2010 at 7:05pm

HI JUlIE , Yes I have done lots of shows. I have really the same experience as you .
Three tries then I stop .I do the combo of 2-3 emails and 1 call .then I stop . I think EVERYONE ! is reallly Busy and after a show they are in overwhelm for sure ! , So really My experience is the same as yours ! Does that Help you ?
Sarah Bunnnett - Gibson , OFFICIANT

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Bliss Honeymoons on March 16, 2010 at 12:48pm

I think if you're dropping them from your list after two or three contacts, that you may be missing out on some additional opportunities.
Please remember that a bride needs to see your name several times before she's ready to buy from you. And when their planning their wedding, they may be following a timeline or checklist. Since the honeymoon is one of the last things on the list, there is often several months that pass between the bridal show and when she finally contacts us to schedule her consultation. If we quit contacting her after the first two or three follow-ups, we would be out of business.
It's not uncommon at all for a bride to be in our database and receive our newsletter for over a year before she finally becomes a client. So if you don't hear from them right after the show, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are not ever interested in working with you. They may just be busy taking care of the other items on their planning checklist that have a higher priority.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page