It’s bridal show season and if you’ve been an exhibitor, keep in touch with the brides who visited your booth so they think of you when they are ready to hire a wedding planner. This Q&A shares tips on how to follow up.
Question
How do you recommend following up with potential clients whom I meet in my booth at a bridal show? What do I say in an email, mailer or phone call?
Answer
So glad you realize the importance of follow-up, wedding planners who don’t often don’t get any clients after exhibiting in a bridal fair.
Here are 4 tips for following up along with ideas for what to say:
1) Reach out within 48 hours after the show
Brides are busy and many go to multiple shows. You want to reach them while you’re still fresh in their minds.
2) Call your top leads
Personally call and confirm any appointments you made with brides and call any whom you and your staff thought were extremely interested in your services.
Chances are good that you will get their voice mail so leave a message reminding them who you are and where you met. Then mention something the two of you discussed and ask them to call you to set up an appointment so you can help them further. You can also send them a personalized email message.
3) Email everyone else
If you got permission to email brides when you collected their contact information, you can send emails through an email service. Don’t attempt to send large quantities of email from your own email address or your Internet Service Provider may tag you as a spammer.
The subject line of your email should include the bride’s name and a reference to the show so the bride knows it’s from someone she met.
Example: “Jane, thinking of you after the Anytown Bridal Show”
Include a photo of your booth or another image that will remind brides of who you are. Mention any special you offered at the show, whether it was a free consultation or discount, and the expiration date.
4) Stay in contact
Continue to email your brides to establish relationships and help them see you as the expert they can trust. Your emails should remind them when your show special expires, provide them with wedding planning tips and let them know the benefits of your services.
Always close your emails with a “Call to Action,” ask them to “Like” you on Facebook, follow you on Pinterest, Instagram or Twitter, visit your website or blog (these should all be clickable links) to learn more about you and get your latest wedding tips or contact you for help with wedding planning.
You can also stay in contact by mailing a series of postcards, they are more expensive than email but they may be just the thing that captures the attention of the brides you want.
And if you have a pressing question about starting or running your wedding planning business, you can send me an email at questions@sharonhill.com. I will answer them on this blog or in my ezine, “Wedding Planner Tips,” which you can subscribe to here.