“The Business Resource For Wedding Entrepreneurs”

As a wedding vendor, joining wedding fairs is one of the most common means to advertise your brand and services to engaged couples looking for wedding vendors. It is the time where you would be busy updating your portfolio and marketing materials in preparation to meet potential clients.

As there will be a lot of participants, your potential clients can freely browse every wedding vendor in the market, all at once. It can be stressful to think how you should differentiate yourself to get as many leads as possible. Therefore, we have come up with six guidelines to help you attract potential clients!

1. Start promoting before the event starts
Before the start of the wedding fair, promote your participation at the event on your website and social media. Post more frequently as the day gets closer to excite your followers and build anticipation (especially if you'd be throwing special promotions only at the fair). Don't forget to invite your prospective clients to the event so they can enjoy in-fair-only deals and gifts. The wedding fair should be your opportunity to book as many leads as possible, so don't hesitate to spread the words however you can!

2. Design your booth to stand out from the rest
Let's be honest, it's all about a good first impression. The chances are visitors in the wedding fair are more likely to enter a booth when it's nicely fitted with gimmicks because booth is a reflection of skill, taste, and personality. With a lot of vendors for your potential clients to look at, make an effort to stand out. Take a look at your booth, how do you want to decorate it? You can consider partnering up with a decoration vendor to bedeck the usually bare space and in return you will credit them in your social media and place their business cards in the booth. Bring also some of your best works for display as evidence of your expertise because as people say, seeing it is believing it!

3. Distribute useful flyers
Distributing flyers is a traditional way to advertise your brand, services and packages as well as starting price. It is effective as an easy comparison between you and the other vendors, however it can also be ineffective when many instead end up in the trash can. In any case, do your best to come up with attractive layout and straightforward content that visitors would read. Your benchmark should be if you'd like to read your own brochure, then chances are other people would too. Most importantly, include valid contact information and social media accounts so potential clients can easily reach you.

4. Stand upright, don't cross your arms, and be friendly
The right gestures make you look more approachable in the eyes of potential clients. Never slouch and play with your phone because it doesn't look like you're excited to answer questions. Once a couple approach you, avoid long pitches and instead talk briefly about your brand and the services before losing their attention. Though most vendors expect to book leads right away on the spot, avoid rushing to sell your service. Be informative and genuine so they would feel comfortable dealing with you. Don't be reluctant to set up another meeting after the event as some couples like to weigh in information before making any decisions.

5. Collect information to follow up later
Create a database of all the couples who have talked to you by having them fill up a guestbook. Ask them to leave their names, wedding date, phone number, email and ask what is the best way to contact them so you can follow up later using their preferred communication method. Don't forget to make your own personal notes regarding each couple's interest to use as the subject while following up later.

6. Don't forget to follow up all of your leads
Last but not least, always and always follow up your leads. Many couples these days prefer email because they can be more detailed and the email itself becomes a record of conversation. Remind them where you met and set up an appointment so you can discuss more about the services they were interested in. Be prompt to follow up so you can have the benefit of time and be ahead of your competitors. Don't be too disappointed if some couples don't reply, instead follow up again to confirm if they are still interested in your services and prioritize those who replied.

Do you have other tips for wedding vendors to increase engagement in a wedding fair? Feel free to share them below!