Some people call me an OG of wedding business marketing, but deep down I'm just another person wearing PJ bottoms on Zoom. I swear a lot, I share my struggles, and I don't pretend to be better than anyone else.
“I don’t know how to reach my potential clients”
or
“I’m doing all this marketing stuff but I’m not attracting clients”
or
“I’m attracting clients but they complain about my prices.”
If so, you’re in the right place and believe me, you’re not alone!
The problem lies in your definition of your ideal client.
It’s not that it’s wrong, it’s that it’s too shallow.
Maybe you’re thinking, “I know who my ideal client is Heidi, it’s a fun bride between 20-35 who doesn’t have time to plan her own wedding and are happy to pay my prices.”
Is your 30-year old a Walmart shopper or would she never be caught that there?
Is your 30-year old covered in tattoos and loves artistic creative things or is she straight-laced and thinks tattoos are gross?
Does she value tradition or is she obsessed with everything on Offbeat Bride because she loves going against tradition?
You see, people aren’t demographics. There are a LOT of different types of 20-35 year old women who don’t have time to plan their wedding and you can’t market to all of them. You need a target to aim at. (I’ve written all about why you need a specific ideal client if you’re not sold on that yet.)
Because your ideal client is a whole person, not just a bride or a groom, and their values directly influence their consumer behavior.
The key to marketing effectively is understanding those values that your ideal client holds and using them in your marketing.
Take your own consumer behavior for example. I’m sure there are certain places you love to shop and I’m sure there are other places you never shop at because you can’t stand them. If, for example, if you really value being green and ethical in your purchasing decisions, you probably take your own shopping bags with you on your trip to Whole Foods.
Why Whole Foods? Because that brand makes you feel good and secure knowing that what you buy is safe for your and your family, was made fair trade and came via their green distribution centers. Whole Foods gets you and your values and they market to you using those values.
Our values impact our consumer behavior and of course they do because where you decide to spend your money is incredibly emotional and personal. No one wants to support a brand they hate. These values matter whether we’re talking about grocery shopping hiring a wedding professional.
These values are intensely personal and powerful and it’s something you just don’t get when you only look at the basic demographics of who you think your ideal client is.
Most wedding professionals are far too vague in defining who their ideal client is. Get to a point where you can describe them like you would describe a friend of yours to someone who you think would be a great boyfriend or girlfriend for them. You wouldn’t describe them as being 20-35 and busy. That’s not what matters in that case and it’s not what matters in your business either. I challenge you to go deeper.
Because when your marketing doesn’t line up with who your ideal client is and the problem they want you to solve, they won’t buy from you.
You do what almost no one does. You listen.
You can’t just assume you know what your ideal client wants, needs, cares about, etc. You have to test those assumptions and the best way to test them is to actually talk to your ideal client (a past client you just LOVE or someone who you think fits that profile) and listen.
This is a process I take members of The Wedding Business Collective through and I’m giving you access to it too.
All you have to do is click here and you can get access the webinar replay where I walk you through this process and the guide to interviewing your ideal client that I ripped directly from The Wedding Business Collective. Get it here, all totally free.
Speaking of going deeper, if you want deeper help and support you can try The Wedding Business Collective free for 10 days and start getting help and results today. Click here to start now!