Email & Snail Mail
You can meet an incredible number of brides at just one wedding trade show. If you have presence at two or more, it becomes overwhelming.
The same is true for the bride. She trolls the aisles with her entourage, having abbreviated discussions with a plethora of wedding vendors. She is inundated with information, propaganda, coupons, discounts, sales pitches, parlor games, fashion shows, and general hoopla.
By the end of the day, she has collected a bagful of printed matter, CD-Roms, DVDs, buttons, stickers, and who-knows-what-else. When she gets home, more often than not, that bag of information and goodies lands in a corner, to be visited much later, or sometimes, never again.
In my recent years, when attending bridal shows, I would register as a groom (for research purposes). The shocking result was the total lack of follow up. No one seemed to do telemarketing. Email and snail mail usually totaled a combined 5%. One pair of shows, for example, had a cumulative unique vendor count of more than 200. I received 6 emails and 2 letters.
From my viewpoint, only 2 of the 8 communications were worthwhile.
That means it included three basic items:
- Well written
- Sent in a timely manner
- Included a call-to-action
Plainly put, one should be communicating with every qualified prospect that enters your booth (signing up for something). Secondarily, one should process the show leads-list, and follow up with a slightly more general message.
If a bride has conversed with 5 to 10 wedding vendors in your category, they all start to look like a commodity. By using postcards, personalized letters, or emails, you can jump back in front of the crowd with a minimum of effort.
It’s wedding marketing basics, yet very few exhibitors do it.
How about you?
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority
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