How we communicate with couples as wedding suppliers is probably the most important part of our job.
There is no ‘wedding planning’ without communication and in order to give yourself the best chance of securing that booking, impressing that client and winning rave reviews, you need to be communicating in a way that couples appreciate and understand.
In Bridebook’s 2017 Wedding Report, 84% of couples said that email was their preferred method of liaising with wedding suppliers.
No matter how much you advocate phone calls or how frustrated you get at couples for avoiding actual voice on voice contact, you can’t change a Millennial.
Why Millennial brides and grooms aren’t big on phone calls
The reason behind this generation’s preference for online communication is fairly simple. The Millennial generation grew up with the internet, social media and smartphone technology, and they’ve fully experienced the evolution of information consumption.
Millennials are used to consuming information fast; absorbing one thing and then quickly moving on to something else. And they’re spending more time online.
This renders them big on multitasking and put simply, whizzing an email across to you listing out succinct details of what they’re after is preferable over a phone call involving pleasantries and a degree of chit chat.
Seeing as most calls need to be followed up with an email of action points anyway, we can kind of see where they’re coming from.
Think about it; in a world where “Likes” are a way of showing you appreciate content without having to spend time on writing actual words, you too need to adapt.
So you’ve come around to the idea of email over phone call. How do you now ensure your email etiquette is on point?
4 easy ways to make email work for your wedding business
Here are four things you need to be doing to ensure you’re nailing the communication game in 2018…
1. Be responsive
51% of couples said that responsiveness was a factor they looked for when planning their wedding in 2017 so you need to make sure you reply as promptly as possible.
Leaving couples ‘hanging’ for more than 48 hours will not only lose you a booking it will also damage your reputation as a wedding business. Take time to reply to all enquiries.
2. Tone and consistency is important
As this is probably the first impression you’ll be making on the couple, think carefully about your email ‘tone of voice’.
Don’t spend ages editing your emails but do think about the words you’re using and be sure to inject some of your personality into your response. You should try to convey your excitement to the couple as best you can so that they in turn, feel excited reading your email.
And although nowadays, emails are often used informally in communication make sure that you always check your punctuation, spelling and grammar so that you come across as intelligent and professional.
Consistency in the way you communicate with couples is an essential component in building a strong brand for your wedding business.
3. Get personal
Generic emails that could apply to anyone aren’t going to win over newly engaged couples – or anyone for that matter.
Personalise your emails by addressing the person you are emailing by name and include the name of their partner (if you know it at this stage). Refer to the details they’ve included in their enquiry to show you’ve taken the time to read their message and consider their request.
4. Use emails efficiently
As mentioned earlier, phone calls with couples are usually followed up with emails and action points anyway, so use emails to your advantage and include as much detail as you can in each to ensure communication is efficient AND to give yourself more time to focus on other things.
Really think about what you want to say and you’re more likely to receive positive responses from your recipients.
Email is a wedding suppliers best friend
Millennials like to take charge of their own organisation and work at their own pace. Email allows for this and further still, the team at Bridebook supports this by enabling couples to contact venues and wedding suppliers directly (via an email direct to your inbox).
Win new clients and win positive feedback from existing ones when you choose to liaise with couples over email.
Be responsive, be polite and embrace email! Of course there’s a place for phone calls, texts and website contact forms but lead with email and you shouldn’t go far wrong.