If you are a wedding entrepreneur, the holiday season means engagement season and couples will start planning their wedding right after the big YES.
Stats: Most of the marriage proposals happen during the holiday season, and this means Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day. Right after the proposal usually comes the research, and couples jump on the internet to see what the next step is. Chances are, they will be looking for planners and vendors in your area and they might find you, Or not.
Here are some tips to make sure you’re ready to connect with clients this holiday season.

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Analyze previous data

A lot of us don’t do it and the main reason (or, should I say: excuse?) is that we don’t have the time. We are usually reaching the end of the year very exhausted after the busy wedding season, and we just want to take a break. However, this is the time where we need to get ready for a new busy year = busy wedding season, so we’d better start working! Where did traffic come from last year? Was it your website, your social media accounts, e-mail marketing, advertising, or just organic traffic? This could be referrals from past and current clients, vendors you work with, venues that have your name on their preferred lists.
Google Analytics is the best tool to identify this and create your action plan. For instance, if you see that Facebook brought you the majority of traffic that led to conversions, then focus on Facebook for this year’s holiday campaign as well

Update your website and social media channels / directories

If you are on WeddingWire, for instance, take a look at your storefront and make sure it’s up to date.
Since you’re working on your website, make sure that it is mobile-friendly. You can run a test through Google’s mobile-friendly tool, and you should also ask friends, family, to access your website via their mobile devices and have them navigate your pages, access your offers, fill out and submit contact forms, etc. Remember: people have a very short attention span and if the website is slow or it’s not easy to navigate (and if you’re not easy to connect with) they will just leave.

Make sure that your reviews are also prominently displayed on the website and on your social media directories. Couples love to read what other couples’ experience has been with you. They will trust their feedback more than your “About” page that says “let’s work together because I’m the best one in town!”

Schedule your engagement season social media posts

Now it’s the time to work on images and copy for these posts. You should post holiday-specific images, add relevant hashtags and deliver the right messages. A special offer is always something that can attract prospective wedding couples. Very important: You don’t want to automate all social media, maybe a few posts. But it’s nice to have your posts ready to go in order to attract clients and drive traffic to your website

Schedule a holiday email-marketing campaign (or more than one)

I usually connect with vendors, venues and past clients to say hi and maybe share some stories or pictures or news about the wedding industry. This should be something valuable to your readers otherwise they will not open your e-mails in the future. This is a great strategy to remind them that you are ready to take new business

Join forces with a local jewelry store

When the engagement ring will be purchased the jewelry store will inform the couple (bride- or groom-to-be) about you and your company, and the marvelous job you will do for them. Make sure you have a nice display at the store with business cards, your website link and social media handles so that the potential client can take a screenshot. Even better, include a QR code that takes to your website when scanned

Run a contest

You can either team up with a service provider (a florist offering a free bouquet, for instance, or a photographer offering a free engagement session). The contest could be something like: “Book your wedding with ABC Weddings by December 31 or January 31 and a lucky winner will get a free bouquet”. Couples love to participate! You should be very clear with the rules and restrictions: for instance, the free gift might be only for couples who book you as “full-service”, not as ‘day-of”. If you don’t want to team up with a service provider, you can just offer something extra in regards to your services, maybe “free design consultation” or “set of 50 thank-you cards”. I ran a contest a few years ago and it worked great! My gift was a free headpiece for the bride and free cufflinks for the groom (only for full-service clients), and I set a value (up to $200 combined)

Answer to the inquiries you receive!

You have no idea how many times I meet couples who are extremely frustrated by the lack of professionalism of wedding planners and vendors. They always tell me: “You were the first one to get back to me and you’ve always been on top of everything during our conversation before meeting today” That’s one of the reasons why I often get hired by the client and other colleagues don’t.
As soon as you receive an inquiry respond to them. Even if you don’t have the time or you are at an event or at a wedding, just drop them a quick line saying “Thank you for contacting me, I received your inquiry and I will respond in the next 24 hours” or, “I’m working at a wedding right now but I will get back to you tomorrow, when’s a good time to chat?” Acknowledge that you received their e-mail or voice mail (or phone call) and show them you care!

~~~ TAKE ACTION ~~~ Take a look at your 2015 campaigns and plan accordingly for this year’s engagement season

~~~ LEAVE A COMMENT ~~~ Was this post useful? What strategy will you implement to get the attention of new wedding couples?

Sabrina Cadini

As a Holistic Precision Life Coach and creator of the Life-Work Balance System, I empower ambitious professionals and high achievers like you to optimize themselves and unlock their full potential, fostering enhanced well-being and productivity in their lives and careers. I combine innovative methodologies (epigenetics, neuroscience, chronobiology, and positive psychology) to facilitate profound lifestyle transformations.