​10 Tips to Growing Your Wedding Business During COVID-19

No one can dispute the significant impact that Covid-19 has had on weddings.  The good news is that love is not cancelled.  Weddings might look different now, but they are still happening.  And many couples are working on their 2021 wedding plans RIGHT NOW.  So, this is a good time for you to put a plan in place to help your wedding business bounce back. We partnered with WedSafe, the Wedding Insurance Specialists, to create these tips to help propel your wedding businesses forward in 2021 and beyond.

1. Don’t Panic.  This year has been so difficult, but the good news is that people are still getting married AND we are in this together.  Stay calm and remember that information is power.  Educate yourself on how to modify your business to meet local and CDC requirements.
2. Soften Your Tone.  Many engaged couples are in a different emotional state than ever before.  Address this by communicating in a calm, understanding and confident way.  And if you act like things are not different, you might seem “tone-deaf” or insensitive.
   
3. Build Credibility.  Especially during uncertain times, clients need to feel safe and vendors need to be trusted.  Make a list of all of the safety precautions that your business is taking and emphasize them across your marketing materials.  Update the photos on your website to show that you are incorporating social distancing and masks into your sales approach and services.  You can partner with local wedding photographers to obtain these images, and be sure to give them credit for their work.
   
4. How You Plan to Help Potential Clients Needs to Be Crystal Clear.  Now more than ever, engaged couples need to know how you can make their wedding easier and better than if they didn’t hire you.
   
5. Make Your Services Accessible.  In general, we’ve learned that Millennials prefer texting as well as fewer face-to-face meetings.  Add Covid to that and it has become even harder to get in front of them.  To overcome this, use video to create a virtual tour of your services.  This will make it easier for potential clients to choose your services.  Post the virtual tour prominently on your website and across your social media channels.
   
6. Recommend Liability Insurance.  Another way to build trust and credibility with your clients is to help them protect their wedding investment. Wedding Liability Insurance, often required by many venues, protects clients in the event of injuries, property damage or alcohol-related accidents. WedSafe is recommended by top wedding vendors and accepted by many thousands of reception venues across the country. With WedSafe, it’s affordable, easy and fast. Clients may simply request a quote today at www.wedsafe.com
   
7. Maximize Your Use of Social Media.  These channels are free and people are using them more now that Covid has limited their in-person activities.  Take advantage of that by posting beautiful wedding photos on Instagram each day and incorporating popular hashtags like #weddings, #engaged, #weddingtrends, #weddinginspo, #weddingplanning, #weddingideas, etc.  Post beautiful content on Pinterest as well.  Be sure to leave comments on other vendors’ posts, and share their content.  The more you do this, the more your own posts will get noticed and shared.  Finally, use a call-to-action at the end of some of your social media posts to encourage potential clients to reach out and schedule a meeting with you.
   
8. Update All of Your Listings.  Make sure that all of your business information is up-to-date, and that your tone, wording and images acknowledge the current state of weddings.
   
9. Network Like Never Before.  Identify your best referral partners and strengthen your relationship with them.  For example, send them a card, a small gift, an invitation to a Zoom brainstorm meeting, etc.  And it’s a good idea to send them regular texts to check in often.
   
10. Over-communicate with clients and business partners.  Weddings look different today, so it’s critical that wedding businesses keep everyone updated on changes and the status of things.  There should be no surprises on the day of the wedding.

What tips can you share to help other wedding businesses succeed during this tough time?