Open Air Business April 2017

FUNCTION VENUES
investing in some technical support
further down the line.
› Outstanding photography – This
is the other area where you just can’t
compromise and need to pay out for
a professional. You want to showcase
your amazing venue both empty/
vacant but also dressed to the nines
for a wedding (think inspiration and
aspiration). Doing this commercially,
paying all the suppliers involved their
full rates, would run to thousands
of pounds, but it is currently very
popular for wedding planners to
offer styled shoot design for free,
calling upon the suppliers from your
preferred suppliers list to help out
at low/no cost. Not only will you get
excellent images for your site, and
a chance to cement your supplier
relationships, but great quality
shoots also get picked up by the press
- meaning exposure for everyone
involved.
To get the professional website
you’re after, you should be spending
between £3,000 - £5,000.
Now you’ve built your website,
it’s time to get it out into the world.
Directory listings are a great way to
do this. Most authoritative directories
which offer links to your website will
charge a fee for you to feature so you
can find the costs racking up if you
aren’t careful, but if you research
thoroughly and focus on the ones that
fit best with your target market, it can
be really worthwhile. Treat directory
hunting like going to a casino or an
auction – have a budget in mind
and stick to it! If you find you’re not
getting referrals in six to 12 months
from the sites you chose, you can
always change them.
How about expenditure on printed
materials? Luxury venues should be
producing brochures and other take
away material that is memorable
and brand appropriate. As a farm or
a rustic barn owner, it isn’t necessary
to spend money on printed materials
when a well-designed PDF with all
the relevant information will do.
Make this downloadable from your
website and you’re good to go. It will
need to be professionally designed,
but you can always get your web
developer to create this for you as an
add on. You will, of course, need some
business cards to match your brand,
but these needn’t be expensive. The
likes of Vistaprint offer great products.
Think of it as like ordering wine in a
restaurant; pick the next one up from
the ‘house’. You’ll get quality at an
affordable price. You really needn’t
allocate more than £200 to £1,000 for
printed/PDF materials.
At this early stage in the business,
you can also start thinking about
these other marketing activities:
› Testimonials – begin collating these
from couples as they come your way.
Add the kind words to your website,
PDFs, social media content and
LinkedIn page.
› Social media – pick the social
platforms which work for you (you
don’t have to do them all) and get
social. Tweet useful industry content
and share your most impressive
photos.
› Networking – in addition to the
network you have built within your
preferred suppliers list and styled
shoot, start mingling with other local
suppliers to see how you might be
able to work together. You can do this
by simply attending local business
events and wedding showcases.
› Blogging – you either blog or you
don’t. Google loves it, so if you do it
well you can really boost your SEO.
But it may not be relevant for you,
so if you don’t have the time, don’t
bother.
You’ll be delighted to know that
the costs for these extra activities is
exactly £0. They can all be done inhouse
by your good self.
So, where does that leave us? By
my calculations, you’ve followed the
4 steps so know exactly what you are
selling, who you are selling it to, how
you want them to feel about your
business and, crucially, how best to
reach them. Put aside between £5,000
and £9,500 to put the steps in place
and you’ll soon be on the path of a
solid strategy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Isabel Smith has 10 years in the wedding industry behind her as
one of the UK’s top wedding planners and business consultant
to venues and other suppliers. Isabel’s expertise spans
marketing, sales and operations as she helps new vendors
launch as well as assisting established businesses should they
find their sales falling. www.isabelsmithconsulting.co.uk /
www.isabelsmithweddings.co.uk
Realistic marketing
start-up costs
CREATE
THE
OFFERING
No room for
compromise
here! The key
features of
your marketing
activities
must all send
a consistent
message.
Work with
a professional
branding agency.
SPLURGE
£1-3k
COLLATING
TESTIMONIALS
NETWORKING
IDENTIFY
THE TARGET
MARKET
LISTING
Go for quality not quantity
when it comes to signing
up with directories.
Look for longer-standing
websites with good SEO
authority and make sure
you get a link back to your
own site. Set a budget and
stick to it.
SAVE £500
SAVE
THESE ACTIVITIES SHOULD
BE UNDERTAKEN IN-HOUSE
ON A NO/LOW COST BASIS
SOCIAL
MEDIA
BLOGGING
DEVELOP
THE BRAND
WEBSITE
IMAGERY - Your shopfront
– it must be flawless,
professional and creative
COPY - Perfect spelling and
grammar is a must but this
can be a DIY project
SEO - Read up on white-hat
techniques and manage
yourself until you can afford
to outsource
BUILD - Costs will depend on
the functionality you require.
Simple websites can be
DIY, high functioning
ones should be built
by a professional.
SPLURGE
£3-£5k
PRINTED
MATERIALS
Your business cards
and brochures should
be as luxury as your
product is, but there
is nothing wrong with
certain materials
remaining digital until
funds allow for the
high quality print-run
you need
SAVE NOW | SPLURGE LATER
£250 - £1,000
WRITE
THE
MARKETING
STRATEGY
TOTAL
£5 - £9.5k