- Guest post by Jim Parsons

When couples get married, they want something fabulous! Unfortunately, fabulous often costs money. In some cases, a lot of money.

This is a common question/statement among the brides our company speaks to on a daily basis. As a business owner, I face a constant challenge of understanding these concerns, but selling a service that is more expensive than the average DJ or planning service in my area.

Not only are we successful at it, but we’ve booked ourselves big time with the following practices. Here’s how we do it:

1. Target your audience better than any other company who does what you do.
2. Don’t waste time on leads that do not match your objectives or will take decades of convincing.
3. Be open to movement in pricing on dates when you aren’t normally busy.

In a bridal market where couples are placing more emphasis on budget, how do we “non-budget” businesses thrive? The key is in understanding how you can use low cost or free internet marketing tools to reach the audience you want to reach!

1) Facebook targeted ads.

With Facebook there are a lot of ways to waste time and money. If utilized properly, it can be a great tool for narrowing down your market and reaching ONLY clients who you’re specifically trying to reach.

Facebook’s cost per click ads allow you to specify gender, location, age, working class or income, relationship status and more.

Most people who’ve researched Facebook ads already know this. What they might not know is that you have to make sure the content in your ads is specific enough to weed out clients you DON’T want.

If you’re looking for Friday night events, offer a “Free Gift for Friday DJ Bookings” in your ad headline. If you want to book more long weekend Sundays, consider something similar. It might get you the odd Saturday inquiry, but it targets the nights you want business.

2) Free or low cost listing sites that focus on your profile and communication with clients — NOT the fact it’s free.

There are tons of sites you can create a profile on. Wedj.com, weddingwire.com, weddingvibe.com… and we suggest you list there if you want to. But, where we succeed is by focusing on the sites that allow you to really target your message and communicate directly with the client if possible. Demonstrate your expertise!

Sites like TheWeddingBidders.com work well for low cost listings that allow you to market ONLY to the clients you want by communicating your specific, unique message and offering a quote or availability to whatever client suits your needs best.

If they don’t fit your market, your desired date, or your business profile, you simply go on to the next one who does. There are multiple listings going on at once, so you can find a date that works with your schedule.

3) Offer an irresistible deal to your local hotels.

Having a few hotels or venues in your back pocket is great. But everyone is trying to do that. Try something different.

Contact local hotels and venues and let them know that you’d be willing to offer them a fantastic bonus for referring clients on off dates. Sure, you’ll take regular referrals as well, but let them know that you’ll really go the extra
mile with bonuses on off event times.

It’s easier for the venue to remember your name on an off date because for them, there are not as many clients to refer, either. It’s a much more one-on-one situation. You’ll be the “Friday guy” or that “Sunday company we call” instead of one of ten DJ’s they refer on a busy Saturday.

Try these tips and you’ll find it much easier to target the right brides for you!

Jim Parsons is the owner of Equinox Sound and Entertainment Inc and CEO at www.theweddingbidders.com, an online planning site that provides a solution to the issues many brides and vendors are facing in today’s changing bridal and wedding economy.

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