Here's what to do next
In episode 3 of 'Marketing the Murder Barn,' hosts Meredith and Mary Claire help Sarah create customer avatars to identify her ideal couples. They develop three distinct personas: Heritage Hannah & Henry (history lovers attracted to 1920s aesthetics), True Crime Tara & Tyler (mystery enthusiasts), and Dramatic Dana & Drew (gothic romance fans). Each avatar gets custom packages and marketing strategies that transform the barn's dark history into targeted selling points for different couple types.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN WHEN YOU DIVE INTO THIS MODULE:
EP. 3: find your couples - create your customer avatar
EP. 3: find your couples - create your customer avatar
Refer to the time-stamped show notes below when you want to revisit any particular portions of the episode.
listen to the podcast
SHOW NOTES:
0:14 Welcome back to Marketing The Murder Barn
1:50 Backstory of the business fable
3:15 The important question: Who exactly are you marketing to?
3:41 Check out the Couple Avatar Worksheet
4:01 Starting with real data
5:30 Creating your customer avatar
6:34 Why it’s so important to really think through your customer avatar
8:24 A useful starting point for uncovering your ideal venue event
9:00 What about venues who are brand new?
11:59 How Sarah defined her first customer avatars
12:15 Sarah’s first customer avatar couple: Heritage Hannah & Henry
14:23 The perfect package for Heritage Hannah & Henry
17:07 How “add-ons” can take couples from maybe to absolutely yes
19:33 How creating relationships with vendors that fit your customer avatar couples can be a game changer
21:19 Sarah’s second customer avatar couple: True Crime Tara & Tyler
23:41 The perfect package for True Crime Tara & Tyler
25:31 Why you should tap into possible activities or experiences on your property or nearby
26:20 Sarah’s third customer avatar couple: Dramatic Dana & Drew
27:59 Thinking about what kind of photos can be captured at your venue
28:25 The perfect package for Dramatic Dana & Drew
31:58 The Perfect Day Exercise
32:45 The Lifestyle Deep Dive
33:12 How AI can help you
33:43 The Pinterest Profile Strategy
34:10 Sarah’s customer avatar couple Pinterest boards
37:01 How these Pinterest boards become powerful marketing tools
37:58 Pro Tip: make these boards collaborative
39:29 Check out the avatar creation worksheets and some more homework for you
40:03 A look ahead at our next episode
40:35 Take a look at the mock website for The Murder Barn
41:05 Thanks for listening!
19:52 What is next for Sarah? A look into the next episode
20:48 Thanks for listening!
Identify your ideal couples by analyzing past successful bookings and inquiry data
Create targeted packages that highlight your venue's unique features for each couple type
Build visual inspiration boards to guide your marketing and branding for each target audience
Creating Your Perfect Venue Couple Avatar
A detailed customer avatar worksheet using 3 strategies: Perfect Day Exercise (wedding timeline & priorities), Lifestyle Deep Dive (demographics, shopping, social media habits), and Pinterest Profile Strategy (visual inspiration boards). Creates comprehensive couple profiles to guide marketing and package development.
FRAMEWORK
A 4-part worksheet helping venues identify ideal couples by analyzing past successful weddings, social media data, venue strengths, and creating 2-3 customer avatars. Includes sections for tracking wedding details, popular content, optimal guest counts/seasons, and developing targeted couple profiles with budgets and preferences.
Couple Avatar Discovery Worksheet
WORKSHEET
YOUR TOOLS FOR THIS MODULE
You know those people who can instantly pull you out of a funk with a one-liner that has you literally LOL'ing? That's Mary Claire: witty, sharp, and comfortable in her own skin. Since joining our team, we can't imagine functioning without her. When she's not chatting with clients and brightening their day, she's outdoors with her family or designing jewelry. She's the ultimate gem.
MARY CLAIRE NEWCOMB
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.
MEREDITH MONDAY SCHWARTZ
