A blog on how to get the most out of wedding fairs from a supplier's point of view.
Wedding fairs are a great way to get your brand in front of potential customers. They also offer an opportunity for suppliers to meet face-to-face with other wedding industry professionals, which is invaluable when it comes to building relationships. But not all wedding fairs are created equal. There are some things you can do as a supplier to ensure that your time at the fair is well spent and that you make the most out of this valuable marketing opportunity. Don’t just attend the fair and hope for the best. Instead, do your research and find out which wedding fairs are best suited to your brand. If you’re a supplier of wedding stationery, for example, then don’t waste your time at a bridal fashion show or gourmet food festival. Instead look for shows that suit your target market and where you can make an impact by having an area on display with lots of samples on offer.
The next thing you should do is make sure that you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve at the fair. Are you trying to sell products? Or are you using it as a way of generating leads—that is, getting people’s contact details so that they can be followed up later on via email or phone?
Before the wedding fair prep.
You should do some research on the event you’re attending. This will help you to plan what you’ll need to take with you, including how much space and how many products or samples to bring along, as well as what kind of promotional material will be most effective.
Ask the organiser if you need to supply your own table and tablecloth, or if this will be supplied by the venue on the day. You may also need to ask if it is required, if there is a power-point close to your stand.
You should also try to find out who else is going—what businesses are competitors of yours? What other suppliers are likely to be there?
Will food and drink be available at the venue throughout the day for suppliers, if not you may want to make sure you take with you an adequate supply.
Also take into consideration, if you're attending the fair as a solo supplier it may worth asking someone to assist you on the day, or ask to be next to another supplier you may know, as it may not be easy to leave your stand throughout the day if the fair is constantly busy, should you need to use the toilets facilities or take breaks for food and drinks.
Prepare what you're going to wear. Wear appropriate clothing that reflects your brand image and comfortable shoes as you may be on your feet for a prolonged period of time.
What to bring with you?
You’ll need to take with you some promotional materials: business cards, flyers, brochures and leaflets about your products. This will help people find out more about what you do and how they can contact you if they want to place an order. (Make sure all marketing material is up-to-date, with your correct contact details on)
Merchandise such as key-rings, pens, magnets etc are a great way to promote your brand on the day, everyone loves a freebie.
If you’re going to be selling wedding stationery, it’s a good idea to bring with you some examples of your products. For example, if you make invitations and favors, take those along with you.
Don’t forget pens and contact forms to jot down peoples details.
Arriving at the venue
The best advice that I can give you is to arrive early, at least half an hour to an hour before the start of the fair. This will allow you plenty of time for set-up and preparation. You want to be able to spend as much time talking with customers as possible, so don’t rush through your preparations.
Park as close to the venue as possible if unloading from your vehicle. You can always move your vehicle after you have unloaded if required to do so, ie; if you're blocking a main entrance or fire exit.
The first thing you need to do when you arrive at the venue is find out where your stand is going to be located, and if you have been given adequate space for your products to be displayed.
Once you have set up and before couples arrive is a good opportunity to introduce yourself to the venue staff and other suppliers attending the fair, if you're not already an acquaintance.
Make sure that you have all your materials with you. You don’t want to be standing around for ages looking for something that could have been packed into your bag in advance.
Greeting visitors to your stand.
As a wedding supplier, you've got to make guests feel welcome and comfortable. Your job is to get them to trust you, and part of that is greeting them warmly. A personal pet hate of mine is when suppliers start a conversation with couples that goes along the lines of "Hello, when is your big day and where is your venue?" Put yourselves in the couples' shoes—how fed up must they get repeating this throughout the day? This can be asked in a more subtle way during your conversation as you get to ask them more questions. Your initial conversation, icebreaker, could start with something more along the lines of…For example: "Good morning, I would like to introduce myself: I'm [name] from [company name] and we supply [product or service]. Is this something you would be interested in for your big day?" (This is also an opportunity for you to describe your USP, what makes you different from all your competitors in the room?)
Show off your body language by smiling and speaking about the benefits of your product or service and how it will help them. Make people laugh by asking questions that require a response, like "How did you guys meet?" This instantly makes people feel more relaxed talking to you, and shows that you're showing an interest in them personally, not just treating them as another generic lead. If they then go on to book with you, you can use this information again in conversation, so make notes on couples as you go along. All of the questions you ask are helping you to build a picture of their personalities to allow you to create a future relationship with them, helping build a trust between one another.
Always ask a couple for contact details, explain what the information will be used for. For example, special offers, newsletters, etc. (Make sure you follow GDPR regulations) If you're unsure about collecting data you can always ask them to follow your socials, having a QR code on display is a quick and easy method of getting them to do this there and then.
Follow-up after the wedding fair
Following up with prospective clients after the wedding fair is one of the most important parts of your sales process. The more you can do to show that you care about people and remember them, the better your chances of landing a client.
If you're using a CRM (Customer relationship management) system, add them straight away before you forget. This will help you build your database and keep track of who has signed up for your services or products.
You should always follow up with an email or phone call within 24 hours of meeting someone at the wedding fair. This could be as simple as saying thank you for taking the time to speak with me today, or it could be a more detailed follow-up on what they're looking for in terms of planning their wedding.
Wedding fairs are great for making contacts and getting new clients if you do them right.
Most of the work starts after the wedding fair. So don't be disheartened if you feel that you didn't get much interest on the day. A lot of couples get very overwhelmed at fairs speaking to numerous suppliers, it is a lot of information to digest at once. This is why following up afterwards is vital. They may be at the very early stages of their wedding planning therefore haven't even thought about the added extras etc, so it's up to you to put the work in to educate them from that point on, into how you can help them and what the benefits of your services and products will provide.
Most importantly enjoy them! (Video from the last wedding fair I organised at https://draycotehotel.co.uk/
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