Have you ever known anyone who built their own pond? My boss from my very first job created his own pond in his yard and filled it with the fish of his choice. Of course, he would bore me with the details of the fish he was purchasing, but it brought him a lot of excitement as he eagerly awaited their arrival.
I want to ask you if you could fill your pond with hand-picked brides and grooms, what would they “look” like and why would you be excited to finally have them arrive?
I remember when I first started my business and thought that any client was a good client. I was willing to help anyone with literally anything travel related.
This resulted in a marketing message that wasn’t clear (it actually wasn’t even a message at all), a website that did nothing for me, and occasional leads that really just wanted to get quotes.
It is easy to get swept away with the beauty and design of other people’s brands. It is easy to partner with companies that will give you an auto-feed of content for a monthly price, it’s easy to take the website that your host agency gives you, it’s easy to sign up for email marketing to be sent on your behalf even though it is all cruise deals...
Here’s the thing, I needed to take some time to figure out who I wanted to work with before anything else in my business would properly flow. I needed to carefully build my pond for a specific type of fish to desire to swim in. I had to build my pond with her in mind.
I believe this is a step many wedding and travel professionals miss because we figure we can just do what everyone else is doing.
So, how do we figure out who we are meant to serve? And once we figure that out… Then what?
I want you to think of it like this – you are getting together with a friend who you’ve known for a long time. You stay in touch with her and you are getting ready to meet for coffee. You can’t wait to catch up with her and follow up on some things you know she has been dealing with.
You picked out a coffee shop you know she’ll love because she is the type of friend who enjoys the hidden gems and local places that tell a story and have a unique vibe and atmosphere. It is always a joy to connect with her because the relationship is reciprocal and you both are fulfilled by it.
Do you see what I’ve done? This is how intimately I want you to know your target audience. Why? So that you can cater everything you do and say to appeal to them, which will result in your relationship with your client being easy and natural.
You see, I didn’t take the time to do this when I first started my business and it resulted in frustration, wasted time, website re-dos, rebranding, and attracting a less than ideal client on many occasions.
Once I took the time to ask myself who I want to work with and what problem or situation is that bride struggling with, everything came together. My message to that bride was clear and my branding appealed to her because I wrote the message to her and I created the look for her.
If you’re not attracting couples who appreciate you, have a decent budget and are willing to pay for your professional services, ask yourself why.
Take a step back and look at your business from the eyes of your target audience to see if what you’re saying in your social media post is written to them and if your website and branding is attractive to them.
The purpose of this is so that you are very clear on who you are here to serve and how you can help them, how you can be the solution to their biggest fears, worries and concerns. How you can be the one that assists them in fulfilling their biggest desire for their wedding.
If you didn’t catch it, this past week I hosted a Facebook Live and we discussed defining your target audience to attract quality brides. You may want to go check it out for tips on uncovering who your target audience is. 👇
