New Leads

[Darin Holiday]

I am looking for some ideas on how to get new leads. I have advertised in magazines over the years and they no longer work for me. How do you guys get your leads? I have great relationships with vendors already and I have an established name an have gained respect in my industry. I have noticed a drop in referrals from photographers and other vendors. Is it just me or is this happening to anybody else?

I am looking for new marketing ideas. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

[Noel Lising]

Hi Darren, I use Bridal Network & Eventective ( pay per lead). I booked one this season, not bad on a $ 2.50 investment. I tried Facebook marketing but it did not work for me although some people have success using Facebook.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Darin

I have never used any printed media advertising. Just my website and listed a a couple of wedding directories which allow the bride to click thru to your site. eBay also generates quite a few leads by using an eBay classified ad. Just to no confuse you...Philip calls Wedding Directories "Internet Malls" so I'm not sure which term you guys use.

Works for me!!

Chris

[Philip Howells]

Darin, what you're seeking is akin to the Holy Grail for mediaeval knights; if you find what works for you just do it.

Two things I can promise you, it's probably been done before and there'll be someone who, based on their personal experience - and you can't challenge that - is ready to diss it.

FWIW, my views:

I find print a complete waste of money and I only do it if I'm offered some good editorial as well.
Radio a similar waste of time
TV too expensive
Internet malls, internet directories - possibly - we've never done it before and it looks interesting.
Cheap Wedding fairs - waste of time and money
Local wedding fairs - expensive and tiring but OK
Regional and National wedding fairs - very expensive and very tiring - you need lots of manning help
Wedding Fairs by invitation - very good, though tiring - I refer here to prestige fairs organised by churches, hotels, department stores which you can only get into by invitation.
Accredited video producer to venues, hotels etc - very good especially if they'll hold a supply of demo packs and brochures throughout the year.
On car advertising - you own it!
Website - very good.
Commission to other vendors - waste of time and money.
Google adwords - even bigger waste of time and money - many people actively avoid google paid for ads.
Last minute offers to participate in wedding fairs etc - never, always a waste of time.
Joint promos with bands etc - where we've recorded a band and trade promotion on site as well as links - Ok as long as the trade off is reliable.
Satisfied clients referrals - invaluable provided your prices are increasing too much - remember most referrals run at least a two year delay.
Wherever you are appearing a good stand with plenty of visual material is vital - we use at least two Full HD screens, often three, plus vertical banners, posters, and pictures.

Our objective with all advertising or promotion is to get our demo pack including demo DVD, brochures, value comparison charts etc into people's hands. That represents us at our best and if we can get them to look at it we have a very good chance of conversion.

Always follow-up - if only to find out what people preferred in someone else to choose the over you.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Philip

That's probably the best summary ever and worth taking note of!!

However some ideas work in some areas..some don't. I have steered clear of Wedding Expos here because they will not allow you to actually take orders!! only hand out material. I have heard that at a recent fair the exhibitor took something like 29 enquiries and on follow up didn't get one sale!! Our "Expos" will set you back a good $5K in expenses and time!!!

Yeah, I forgot about car ads...they last forever and are well worth doing!!

I do get a lot of "views" on wedding forums...and for some reason, search engines also love forums and topics are on Google the next day so a couple of posts a week on these will give your web site great traffic!! Just make sure that the forum will allow you to have a "signature" with your weblink on it...they usually allow it as long as you advertise with them.

Chris

[Johannes Soetandi]

Do you advertise at the venue where you are working on a wedding? Maybe leave a business cards/brochures on the sign in table?

I always think SDE would be a great ads as well. If you can deliver good SDE, you'd get atleast 100+ potential referrals/clients from the guest. And it can be powerful tool to impress them too. But I haven't done SDE yet, so this is just my assumption.

[Philip Howells]

I'm sure Johannes is right but in all truth I invariably go out without my business cards. However, when somebody asks for one, I ask them to contact the bride and groom - thus, I hope converting them into a referral or if it's appropriate, to contact the venue - assuming it's one I have a solid relationship with.

I've also been thinking about keeping a few welcome packs containing the Demo DVD and brochures in the car.

[Alec Moreno]

Careful with the car ads. Around here, it can be an invitation for criminals to break into your vehicle looking for gear.

Alec Moreno
Wedding Art Films - Southern California - Los Angeles - Orange County - Video

[Philip Howells]

Alec is absolutely right - we have a note in all our windows stating that no equipment is left in the car - and it never is - but we're relying on the thieves being able to read.

[Darin Holiday]

Thanks for all of the great input guys!