Open Air Business December 2018

FUNCTION VENUES
and reassuring couples of your timescales.
Make sure you have your systems in
place for logging enquiries for your own
marketing stats and for following up those
enquiries that look particularly promising.
TIP: I predict that 2019 will be the
year venues see a lot more enquiries
and questions coming through via
social media platforms, specifically
Instagram. So, plan for your Instagram
handle to be checked regularly and that
communication channels there are open!
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BOOK A SHOWROUND
Make it nice and easy for your enquiry
to book in for a showround – avoid the
need for the back and forth on email
and use tech to help customers book
directly from your website and/or your
enquiry response email. I recommend
youcanbook.me and calendly.com which
can sync up with your online team diary.
Hand in hand with this is the need to
ensure you have plenty of timeslots
available on weekends and/or
evenings to show couples around
or have some strategically placed
open days to capture many
couples at once.
PLAN YOUR SHOWROUNDS
How are you going to plan
your 2019 showrounds? It’s
great to be able to sit down
with your couples before visiting
your spaces to really get an
understanding of what they are
looking to create for their wedding.
Hospitality is key – a nice drink and a
welcoming gift or goodie can really help
build rapport. Remember, this is a ‘once
in a lifetime’ experience and you’re part
of that special journey – enthusiasm
is everything, no matter if this is your
first showround or 100th that week! By
building rapport and understanding
a couple’s priorities at the start of a
showround you can tailor it to focus
on the things that are most important,
whether it’s a wild party or the finest food.
What will you leave your couples with?
Glossy brochures aren’t essential but
something physical (whether printed or
a goodie of sorts) can be lovely as a lot of
your couples will be sharing with family
(who are often stakeholders!).
FOLLOW UPS
Have an agreed system in place for
how you are going to follow up post
showround – who is going to do this in
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your team, at what times of day or what
days of the week, and how are they going
to follow up and how often? I’m a big fan
of picking up the phone in conjunction
with email. Yes millennials don’t love the
phone but pre-warning them of a call to
come and/or leaving a personal friendly
voicemail still has impact. Offering to hold
dates for a short spell can work for some
venues and enable an obvious reason
to follow up. Two to three follow ups is
completely fine and highly recommended
but have a system in place to track follow
ups and note outcomes to really maximise
your opportunities.
With applying all (or even just a few) of
these tips and follow ups, I’m confident
you will be shining bright and filling that
venue diary up very nicely!
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Kelly Chandler
Wedding
Consulting
helps unique
places and
spaces to thrive
in the modern
wedding market via a range of specialist
one to one consulting and group training
programmes.
Kelly has a wealth of specialist wedding
industry experience through more
than 15 years leading her award-winning
independent wedding planning business,
The Bespoke Wedding Company, together
with a Directorship at industry body,
the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners.
Kelly is proud to eat, breathe and sleep
weddings - setting standards, inspiring,
mentoring and motivating others. She
is a well-respected go-to expert in the
business of weddings with a unique grasp
of both modern bridal expectations and a
venue’s commercial needs.
www.kellychandlerconsulting.co.uk
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