Creating Your Marketing Plan

I love the movie Pretty Woman. Remember Vivian's roommate, Kit? Towards the end of the movie she's chatting with another girl about being her new roommate (since Julia Roberts is on her way to live in luxury with Richard Gere) and she asks the woman, "You gotta have a goal, do you have a goal?"

The goal of being in business is to attract and retain clients. In order to attract clients you have to show them what you have to offer. Printing and distributing business cards and putting up a website is a good start but its not going to generate a steady stream of clients. It is going to take a well thought out plan and implementation of market specific activities in order to accomplish the goals you have for your business.

Marketing your new business may sound like a huge project and it may scare you silly (I know because I was) but it is an essential part of doing business. There are many types of marketing activities that you can make a part of your marketing plan but finding the right mixture is key. There's no fast and easy rule on which ones will work and which ones won't...it's all up to what you are comfortable with and what your market responds to.

This week we will look at a few marketing methods and how to implement them in your business. We'll also talk about how different markets might respond to them. This is by no means a complete list, but they are some of the more popular ways in which wedding planners market their businesses.

I'll share some personal stories of how these methods did or did not work for me and what I did to adjust my business model. I'll also share a sample marketing calendar so you can see how to implement your plan.

Popular Marketing Methods for Wedding Planners:

Business Collateral
Advertising
Networking Events
Client Referrals
Vendor Partnerships or Joint Ventures
Speaking Engagements

See you back here tomorrow...until then...

Aspire to Plan!