A GUIDE TO YOUR REFERRAL SOURCES
HOW TO USE PHOTOS TO TELL YOUR STORY
A FOCUS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
LOOM – A TOOL TO CUT THROUGH THE NOISE
USING YOUR VENUE SUPERPOWERS TO NAVIGATE THE NEW NORMAL
Post-pandemic everyone in the wedding industry is wondering: what the heck should "normal" feel like at this point? Have things "normalized" yet? Or should we all get used to this new NEW normal? In this module, we discuss the shift from the uncertainty of Covid-19 to the "boomerang" of 2021–2022, to navigating the industry's return to "normal" in the midst of a struggling economy. Learn how you can amp up your sales practices and amplify your venue superpowers to not just survive, but thrive in 2023 and beyond.
Refer to the time-stamped show notes below when you want to revisit any particular portions of the episode.
1:23 What the heck should "normal" feel like in the wedding industry right now?
2:40 Going from 2020 to 2021: the Boomerang year
2:56 What were venues experiencing during the Boomerang year?
4:11 Venues and couples were scrambling for dates and through regulations
5:26 The big change to address after the Boomerang year
5:50 What we were seeing at Here Comes The Guide during this time
6:27 The new "normal" isn't a slow down
8:20 The results we see during economic uncertainty
9:23 How couples make decisions during this time
10:16 What are the commonalities with the venues that are able to book right now?
10:30 How to amp up your sales practices
11:05 Things that Gen Z expects
11:50 Key: quick + personal responses
12:36 Showcasing your booking promos
12:50 What are booking promos?
13:11 Tangible examples of promos
14:04 Using Flexibility to your advantage
15:27 Implement this to make sure you're on the same page with your couples
16:30 Protecting the couple protects the venue
17:20 What communication and clarity means when securing couples
18:15 How are All-Inclusive venues performing?
19:41 What if you're a venue who doesn't do all of those things?
20:05 How to create your own All-Inclusive package
21:35 Testimonials to adding All-Inclusive packages
22:56 Let's talk changes in expectations from couples who are booking now
23:42 Examples of fun additions you can offer
24:18 Hotel + Ballroom specific recommendations
24:40 The where and how of highlighting these fun additions
25:10 Weekend and destination weddings are still a thing!
25:55 Understanding the shift toward more local destination weddings
26:51 The most important concept when serving couples is…
27:23 The value in going after the right couples
27:39 What are superpowers?
28:12 How to deal with superpowers in the NEW new normal?
29:10 How to adapt what you're doing now to what's coming
29:31 Jolene's Case Study #1
30:29 These photos changed everything for this Southern California venue
31:38 Find the superpowers in hiding
31:48 The difference between offering and promoting your superpowers
32:50 Case Study #2
33:34 Asking the right questions opened up this venue's demographic and revenue stream
36:32 Small and intimate weddings are not over, so be loud and proud about it!
37:11 Recognizing the NEW new normal, and acting on it.
37:33 Diversify your revenue streams
A venue’s superpowers are the 3-5 things that that wedding venue has or does better than its competitors.
And we’re not overstating things when we say that knowing your venue’s superpowers is THE most important thing in order to sell OR market your venue effectively.
It’s the place where all your marketing efforts should start.
Once you've identified your superpowers, use this worksheet to come up with your single-sentence Superpowers Statement.
This fill-in-the-blank worksheet will help you craft a concise statement that highlights your venue’s superpowers in one fell swoop! You’ll use it everywhere.
WORKSHEET
This worksheets walks you through, step-by-step, how to find your wedding venue's superpowers.
If you're going to take 30 minutes on any exercise in this entire content series, this is the one to do. Just knowing your superpowers will change everything about your sales and marketing.
WORKSHEET
Jolene Rae Harrington may be Here Comes The Guide’s "wedding venue know-it-all", but it wasn’t always so: She was completely clueless when she planned her own wedding back in 1996—and the 2nd edition of Here Comes The Guide’s legendary "big book" saved the day! Grateful and inspired, she joined the small women-owned company as a writer and editor, but quickly found her niche helping wedding venues customize their profiles and map out their marketing strategy.
Meredith Monday Schwartz started at Here Comes The Guide in 1997 (we didn't even have a website back then—there might also have been dinosaurs running around!) and was a wedding venue specialist for 10 years before taking over as Chief Bossypants in 2007. In the years since she joined HCTG, she's learned a lot about wedding couples, wedding venues, and running a company profitably—and well.