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Archive 2014 · Bridal Show Give aways?

  
 
g-money
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Bridal Show Give aways?


Hi all, Have my first Bridal show coming up at the end of January and while things are coming together pretty good as far as booth set up, images, albums etc I do have a couple questions

Give aways. Are they a must? Now, when I say give aways I am thinking of two types I keep reading about. One would be like having them register for a drawing for a free bridal session or engagement. I have mixed feelings about this as I really don't see much benefit of providing this service if the bride happened to have already booked someone else as her wedding photographer.

2nd I have read where lots of vendors have handouts such as cookies with their logo, water bottles with their logos etc. Is this something I should consider?

I ask this having already pushed my budget about as far as I really want to. This being my first I have basically started from scratch, but if most feel these are things expected at the show then so be it.

I will finish up with this question on closing the deal. Do you try and close at the show or do you basically just try and gather as much info from a potential brides and set up a follow up meeting. I have read good and bad on both. I can see why you could lose out on someone if you are tied down going over your contract etc with one bride and ignoring others in your booth. But then a bird in the hand is always better!!

Open for any suggestions, Thanks

Greg



Jan 13, 2014 at 04:11 PM
TTLKurtis
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Bridal Show Give aways?


I see no benefit to having cookies / waters with your logo which people will consume and then throw away. If you're going to do any sort of give-away it should be something that is used as an incentive to get them to book there at the show. So many people say that they don't try to book at the shows but I think that's an awful waste of money. You have to strike while the iron is hot if you're going to bother at all with this kind of thing in my opinion. You don't have to be high-pressure about it, but if anyone asks well we aren't booking anything today can we get that special next week, the answer is simply I'm sorry but we've designed this special to make doing the show worth our while, it's only going to apply for brides that leave us a deposit today. We would be happy to spend some time with you chatting about your plans etc. to make sure you don't have any unanswered questions and you're completely confident in your decision. For seriously interested brides, we'll easily chat with one for 30+ minutes.


Jan 13, 2014 at 07:12 PM
Chris Fawkes
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Bridal Show Give aways?


The candy type giveaway helps break the ice. People are always wary of being sold even when they are shopping so to helps to start a conversation.

In terms of engagement giveaways you could ask on your form if the couple have already booked a photographer and only give sessions to those who have not.

Having said that I would only ever give the session and a print or some credit so you should be able to make some money from those sessions as well. That would at least return you the investment you made into the show in the first place.

Point of the engagement session is that people bond with photographers once they have worked together so those who do them are more likely to book the wedding than those who hand out a brochure then sit next to the phone.

But it does not need to be an engagement sessions. The important point is a bridal show is an opportunity not to book weddings on the spot but to make a series of appointments after the day where you can get to know the couple. If there is another way to do that other than an e session then that would help you stand out from the others. (not that I disagree with providing an incentive for those who would book on the day. I just think most potential bookings can come after).

The reason you want time with clients after the day is because there is so much going on at a show that by the time clients get home half of them cannot remember if you were the guy with the massive photography stand or the single table with a couple of prints on it. The entire event is a bit of a blur.

Btw always put a monetary value on what you give away. If all the other shooters are giving away free e sessions you give away a session and credit valued at $dollar value. It will make a difference in the response.

Good luck.



Jan 13, 2014 at 07:18 PM
Philbert
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Bridal Show Give aways?


We have had really tremendous success doing a raffle for a free engagement session. The free-session-to-paid-wedding conversion ratio is well over 50% for us. As Chris Fawkes mentioned, the point is to get them to LIKE you and feel good about you and your work. Often before even seeing the photos, they are so happy to have a photog that they vibe with that they want to book right then and there (at the engagement session).


Jan 13, 2014 at 07:56 PM
John Patrick
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Bridal Show Give aways?


(Caveat, I am not a wedding photographer, but I know a thing or two about sales.)

Why not have the give-away/raffle only for those who schedule--and then attend--a meeting with you in the upcoming week? That way you can meet with them, get a feeling for each other, show them your work, talk about their plans, etc. All the "touchy-feelly" that is required to book a wedding. The raffle/give-away is only for those who book this initial meeting with you and attend. This way you get valuable time with a prospective client that is not in a "wedding fair" atmosphere.

And if you do give away something, make sure the worst you're out is your time or maybe $20 if it doesn't turn into something. So a shoot with one print or so.

John



Jan 13, 2014 at 08:19 PM
Ryan Britton
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Bridal Show Give aways?


TTLKurtis wrote:
So many people say that they don't try to book at the shows but I think that's an awful waste of money. You have to strike while the iron is hot if you're going to bother at all with this kind of thing in my opinion. You don't have to be high-pressure about it, but if anyone asks well we aren't booking anything today can we get that special next week, the answer is simply I'm sorry but we've designed this special to make doing the show worth our while, it's only going to apply for brides that leave us
...Show more

I completely agree, and we love it when people want us enough to book us right at the show. We unfortunately just finished this year's bridal show with zero bookings at the show, which was a huge drop after six at last year's show. I'm hopeful this week shows some results.

Of the other photographers I talked to that booked at the show, they're giving away the farm and offering all day photography starting at $1500. For the closest package equivalent we offer we're double that or more.

We do offer a simple engagement session giveaway at the show. We've found it useful to draw people into the both and give the perception of being busy. People stopped more frequently when there were others already in the booth.



Jan 14, 2014 at 01:39 AM
Jamesbjenkins
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Bridal Show Give aways?


All of my incentives are contingent upon the client booking their wedding with us. No booking, no prize.

We generally have a $500 print credit promotion we run for brides that book at the show or up to 14 days after. Total cost to me is about $150, but if that nudge is enough for the bride to book with us, that's a really cheap acquisition cost.



Jan 14, 2014 at 07:45 AM
rmric0
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Bridal Show Give aways?


I think one point of the giveaway/raffle is to snatch up their e-mails before they're inundated with messages from all the other vendors once the show mailing list comes out.


Jan 14, 2014 at 10:37 AM
Philbert
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Bridal Show Give aways?


rmric0 wrote:
I think one point of the giveaway/raffle is to snatch up their e-mails before they're inundated with messages from all the other vendors once the show mailing list comes out.



From my experience - and I've only done about 5 shows, I'm sure others have much more experience - MOST brides we talk to tell us that they signed up for multiple raffles / drawings / giveaways, and we are usually the ONLY one they've heard from a week after the show.

It always blows my mind when I hear that. All these photogs putting in all this effort, and then they DON'T contact their leads after the show?! Great for us, but man that's just leaving money on the table. Follow through is key!



Jan 14, 2014 at 11:28 AM
g-money
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Bridal Show Give aways?


Philbert wrote:
Follow through is key!



Phone | email | Hand written nice to meet you card ? any experience on what works best?

I hate to cold call people as I hate to be called by marketers so I can probably rule that one out for me even though I am pretty good with sales when I can meet and talk to them.



Jan 14, 2014 at 03:53 PM





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