When bridal shops are trying to figure out how to book more brides, a lot of them turn to sales pitches. Whether it’s a paid ad or social media post advertising an event, making a sales pitch is the obvious answer to booking a bride, right?
Not necessarily! In order to book more brides, you should really have an “educate first” mindset. What does this mean? You want to constantly be thinking of ways to educate your brides before you try to sell them. Think of it this way – when you’re looking into buying a new TV, do you try to look at your options and make an informed decision before buying? And, would you want the salesperson to simply ask if you want to buy a TV and not bother to tell you about the specifications? Well, brides feel the same way. If you make it easier for them to find the information they’re looking for, then you’re most likely already ahead of your competitors!
Let’s dive into some easy and impactful ways to market to your customers using an “educate first” approach!
1. Understand your brides
The crucial first step to educating your brides is understanding them. It’s likely that your brides all have certain things in common. Of course, every bride is different and unique in her own way, but your bridal shop probably attracts a certain “type” of bride! This is where customer profiles and customer journey maps can come in handy.
Once you understand your bride, it’s a lot easier to begin educating them! You need to understand your customer’s wants and needs to deliver information that resonates with them. Otherwise, your advice could come off as a sales pitch or a lecture, and you don’t want that!
2. Give brides the tools that they need
You want to always meet your customer where they are in their buying process. If they’re researching places to book an appointment for their wedding dress, then you’ll want to make sure you give them a snapshot of your in-store experience and how it edges out your competitor’s! Tell them what to expect so that they feel supported and understood.
If you have brides who may be nervous about the dress shopping journey, it’s important to give them educational tools about what to expect at their appointment. If you have brides who are shopping on a tight budget, it’s important to give them advice on how to find the dress of their dreams at the right price.
Use what you know about your customer to deliver content online that they are already researching!
3. Do a “pre-shop” with brides who book an appointment
Not only can this strategy work to book more appointments, it can also help you close the business that you are bringing into your shop! When brides book an appointment with you, set up a pre-appointment call to build a relationship with them before their visit! We highly suggest doing this through a Zoom call, but a phone call works too. A Zoom call lets you see each other “face-to-face” and really builds up a level of trust before her appointment.
Did you know that 93% of communication is non-verbal? Hearing your bride’s voice and seeing her non-verbal communication is going to be a huge factor to understanding her.
During the pre-shop, you should start off by getting to know the bride and her relationship. How did she meet her fiance? When did she get engaged? Was she surprised?
Then, get more into the details of her wedding day. When and where is she getting married? Is it going to be a large wedding or more intimate? What’s her vision for the day?
Finally, find out what she’s looking for in a dress! Does she want something more on the simple side? Does she like lots of lace or bling? Is there a certain silhouette or style that she’s leaning toward? Has she tried on dresses before? If so, what did she like and not like?
Once you understand your bride’s wants and needs, you can end the call with some pieces of education! If she’s worried about budget, you can explain to her the range of prices in your shop, average prices that a bride spends, and more.
4. Create educational opt-ins
Opt-ins are a great way to get brides into your customer list and start leading them through your customer journey. However, simply having a spot for brides to join your e-mail list on your website is not the answer here.
Having educational opt-ins throughout your website is going to be the best way to get brides to join your e-mail list! This way, they are receiving something of value from you. This could be a bridal style trends download for the current/upcoming year or a bridal style quiz. Think of what will speak most to your customer! Most importantly, providing this type of resource builds confidence in your brand and turns you into a brand that the customer likes, knows, and trusts.
If you want to learn more about putting a resource like this together for your brides, send us an email!
5. Create a blog full of educational tools
Your blog is the #1 tool on your website that you have to educate your brides. If a bride sees a blog full of sales pitches, she’s probably going to click off right away. While it’s okay to have a blog post about an upcoming event here and there, do your best to make the majority of your content educational!
First of all, educational posts are what are going to help you out in terms of SEO. When brides are first starting out on their dress shopping journey, they are searching for educational posts! They are asking questions.
When you’re thinking about educational topics for your blog, think about questions that your customers frequently ask your sales team. This is the best place to start!
6. Educate your brides in e-mail blasts
Your e-mail list is another chance to educate your brides. While your e-mail communication is going to be a little bit more sales-y than your blog, it’s still important to sprinkle in some educational bits in there. If brides are getting sales pitch after sales pitch in their inbox from you, they are likely going to unsubscribe or stop opening them.
Remember, your largest base for your e-mail list is brides who haven’t booked yet! They want to be able to trust that you are an expert. Now is your chance to show them!
What do you do to educate your brides? Let us know in the comments!
